Osdorp is the newest of the garden cities in west Amsterdam. It has become a central point for people in the surrounding garden cities as a place to shop in the Osdorpplein or go to the Meervaart theater.

In 1960 a special pile was driven into the ground at the Saaftingestraat: the 100,000th pile of the Western garden cities, marking the start of Osdorp. Of all the garden cities, Osdorp has the most striking skyline, especially when viewed from the lake (Sloterplas).

Cornelis van Eesteren had already drawn in high-rise apartment buildings in his expansion plan, functioning as an aesthetic accent among the low-rise development in the other garden cities.

In the sixties, high-rise construction met the continuous demand for housing. Torenwijck (literally: the tower neighbourhood) is also called the gold coast. This move towards high-rise also brought in new designs. The apartment buildings on the Notweg were, at the time, a novelty. They had elevators, chutes and even a nifty rack to hide the laundry on the balcony.

Since it was originally built technological advancement and modernization have taken great steps and Osdorp is also now home to a few fancy new building projects. The Oklahoma building on the Ookmeerweg by the architectural firm MVRDV, for instance, is an attraction for architecture aficionados. The floating floors in particular are worth noting. The aluminium-coloured Schutterstoren on the Oeverpad is also quite striking.