The Renewal of NDSM Wharf Amsterdam-Noord

 

Once more, Amsterdam is an example of how to turn a degraded and obsolete area into an interesting one, economically viable, where the public administration together with the different social actors and private companies are part of the urban development, avoiding speculative processes.

In 1984, after the bankruptcy of the company NDSM (Nederlandse Scheepsbouw in Droogdok Maatschappij) the land where the shipyards of the company had been erected got abandoned, therefore was used occasionally to host flea markets or to perform theater plays of the experimental group Dogtroep.

Little by little many of  these old warehouses were occupied by artists, craftspeople, designers, theater actors, creative entrepreneurs, etc, but in 1998 many of them were forced to leave these sites. In 1999 the government of the City realized that they couldn’t achieve a viable proposal of urban regeneration for the area, so the City of Amsterdam convened to submit some temporary projects to revitalize the old shipyards. The government of the city would be responsible for providing accessibility to the area (Ferry), subsidize certain activities, grant building permits as for example to build, using container, dwellings for students, while the winning team of the project would be responsible for designing and managing the financing of the basic infrastructure.

vivienda para estudiantes

Kraanspoor: edificio de oficinas

In 2000, Eva De Klerk (one of the artists who had been forced to leave her atelier) won the competition organized by Northern District of the municipality of Amsterdam to make a plan for temporary use in the eastern part of the former NDSM  (84,000 m2).  Based on the stated development concept she gathered a working team and they were responsible for the entire process, from design to planning.

The working team called Kinetisch Noord (Kinetic North) started its activities in one of the old warehouses. At the beginning it was just an “ideas-working team” where brainstorming was essential, but then it became a foundation that was in charge of administration as well starting projects such as Kunststad, Amsterdam Skatepark and the restaurant Noorderlicht.

NDSM has been a great success. Since 2002 the Ministries of Planning, Environment and Economy Affairs appointed to NDSM as a “model project of urban renewal in the Netherlands”. In a few years ago, the NDSM shipyard became one of the most renowned cultural landmark in Amsterdam and so it is today.

FORMER NDSM shipyard has become a dynamic and creative site, where converge tracks skaters, with offices, containers used as housing for students, with studios for artists, where also have place the best festivals of music and theater as Over ‘t IJ Festival, Voltt Valtifest festival, as well as is the place where companies such as MTV, Red Bull, IDTV among other, choose to install their offices. Restaurants as Pllek and Noorderlicht are the perfects places to enjoy the best environment  and the most beautiful views of the city.

Restaurant Pllek

Restaurant Pllek

Eastern Docklands

It is really interesting to see how the Dutchs architects  have managed to change a degraded zone as the eastern docklands in an attractive place for living. Housing buildings, terraced houses, cultural and commercial areas  are coexisting now in this interesting place. Despite being such a densely populated area is not perceived as such. The presence of the water and the green areas minimize this impact.

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As it was the case in many harbor cities, the docks had become obsolete and abandoned. In 1975 the authorities of Amsterdam, decided to convert the docklans into housing areas, therefore were projected the KNSM and Java islands, as well as the peninsulas of Borneo and Sporenburg.

The developing project for the island known as KNSM (Koninklijke Nederlandsche Maatschappij Stoomboot) designed by the architect-planner Jo Coenen was built between 1989 and 1996. It consisted of a series of huges housing blocks on either side of a main road and facing to the Ij river. Some of the existing harbor buildings were preserved for its historical value. Among the new buildings are featured: Piraeus bulding by Hans Kollhoff  &  Christian  Rapp , Barcelona Building by Albert Bruno and the completely round building by Jo Coenen.

Piraeus

Ed. Barcelona

Acceso Ed. Barcelona

The reorganization and refurbishment of Java island was in charge of the architect Sjoerd Soeters. The project consists of a group of dwellings along the pier designed by different architects. The island was divided by 4 canals being fragmented into 5 parts. In front of the canals were placed single-family dwellings, which emulate the classic houses of Amsterdam, narrow facades and located opposite to the canals. Among the spaces created between the single-family homes and dwellings buildings public gardens were made, designed each one differently.

In Borneo – Sporenburg were projected dwellings with a different urban vision, since most of them were terraced houses. The 2,500 homes were designed by the urban design firm West 8 of Rotterdam. The height of the houses was limited to three storeys. Due to limitations space in the plot rear gardens  (typical of the Dutch houses) were removed, terraces and interior gardens were added in order to iluminate the houses. In some housing typologies, the height of the ground floor is higher than normal so that small shops could be installed,  something quite common in Holland, while in other typologies the garages are placed there. Borneo and Sporenburg are conected by 2 pedestrian bridges also designed by West 8, inaugurated in 2001.

The Eye Film Institute Netherlnads – Amsterdam

Hace poco mas de un año se inauguró el Eye Building.  Dejó el antiguo edificio ubicado en el Vondelpark para trasladarse a la rivera norte del río Ij, muy cerquita de la Estación Central. Digamos que si antes estaba en un lugar privilegiado, en pleno Vondelpark, ahora ha cobrado un protagonismo increíble. Desde el otro lado del río se ve como una gran obra escultórica blanca.

La localización en este sitio, fue muy estudiada por el Ayuntamiento de la ciudad, que buscaba darle valor a esta zona, un tanto “sin gracia”, donde solo se pueden encontrar viviendas y algunos contenedores industriales. Es una zona de fácil acceso, se puede tomar el ferry 56 que parte desde la parte de atrás de la Estación Central de trenes y en solo 5 minutos se llega al museo.

El edificio fue diseñado por el estudio de Arquitectura vienés Delugan Meissl, contiene cuatro salas de proyección para 640 espectadores, también tiene una gran superficie destinada a  exposiciones, biblioteca —con una colección que incluye cerca de 46.000 películas, 35.000 posters y 450.000 fotografías—, talleres, tienda, y una espectacular cafetería con una terraza con una fantástica vista hacia el  río.

Se organizan cuatro grandes exhibiciones al año la primera exhibición fue dedicada a Stanley Kubrick.  En este momento y hasta el 9 de junio se puede ver la exposición dedicada a Johan van der Keuken,  reconocido director de cine documental  y fotógrafo holandés,  fallecido en 2001.

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A little over a year, The Eye Building  was inagurated. Left the old building in the Vondelpark to move  to the northern bank of the river IJ, very close to the Central Station. Let’s say if before was in a privileged place, in the Vondelpark, now has gained an amazing prominence. From the other side of the river, the building looks like a large white sculpture.

The location on that site, was studied for the City Council, seeking to add value to this area, somewhat “drab”, where only you can find dwellings and some industrial containers. The area is easily accessible, you can take the ferry 56 which departs from the back of the Central Railway Station and in just 5 minutes you can reach the museum.

The building was designed by the Viennese architecture studio Delugan Meissl, contains four screening rooms for 640 people, also has a large area dedicated to exhibitions, a library, with a collection that includes approximately 46,000 films, 35,000 posters and 450,000 photographs-workshops, shop, cafe and a spectacular terrace with a gorgeous view of the river.

Four exhibitions are held annually, the first exhibition was dedicated to Stanley Kubrick. At this time and until June 9th you can see the exhibition dedicated to Johan van der Keuken, renowned documentary filmmaker and Dutch photographer, who died in 2001.

the bathtube is ready – Amsterdam

Yesterday, sept.23th, after almost 10 years in construction and with a budget around 127m de euros, the extension of the Stedelijk museum was inagurated.

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The extension is a modern building attached to the old one which was built in 1895 by  Arch. Weissman. The designers of the new building were Benthem Crouwel architects. The groundfloor is completly glazing and above, like floating, is the huge white structure, that due its shape was called “the bathtube”. “The bathtube” is made of a material known as Twaron, mainly used in industrial fields. It’s a synthetic material more resistent than the steel, indifferent to changes in temperture and totally fireproof.

The entrance to the museum is now orientated towards the Museum square (museumplein), which is shared with Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh Museum. The large glazing along the whole facade, the continuation of the floor from exterior to interior, and the intact facade of the old  building from where you can enter to the exibithion rooms, make you feel that you are actually in a transition space between interior and exterior and between the modern and antique.

On the groundfloor of the new building are the entrance hall, the restaurant designed by Gilian Schrofer and the souvenirs shop where you can find a big amount of art and design books .

The first temporary exibithion that shelter these new spaces is  “Beyond Imagination”, artworks from 20-30 aged artists who live and work in The Netherlands. Stedelijk Museum, also shelters a permanent collection which includes artworks of Van Gogh, Kandinsky, Soutine, Chagall, Matisse, Mondrian, Malevich, Beckmann, Pollock and Appel, as well as contemporary artists as  Carl Andre, Rodney Graham, Joan Jonas, John Knight, Barbara Kruger, Melvin Moti and Diana Thater.

Exhibition Schedule