Building sights in Amsterdam
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A
Oostindisch Huis
This is the former office of the mighty VOC, the Dutch East India Company (which was the very first multinational). You could easily walk past it, as there’s no sign or plaque to identify it. This sweeping complex, built between 1551 and 1643, was attributed in part to Hendrick de Keyser, the busy city architect. On the Kloveniersburgwal side you can see that the gables defy convention by tilting backwards, making them seem much larger. Pass through the carved Tuscan entrance vault to reach the grand inner courtyard, and on the opposite side you’ll spy a small VOC emblem above the door. The mighty VOC sailed into rough waters and was dissolved in 1798.
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B
Scheepvaarthuis
The imposing Scheepvaarthuis was built in 1916 for a consortium of shipping companies. Utilising the street layout to resemble a ship’s bow, this remarkable building was the first true example of Amsterdam School style. The prowlike front is crowned by a statue of Neptune, his wife and four female figures that represent the points of the compass. The window frames, entrances and interior walls display nautical imagery such as anchors and sailing ships. The building is now refurbished as a luxury hotel. Step inside to admire the intricate wrought ironwork and stained glass of the majestic central stairwell.
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C
Paleis Van Justitie
This authoritative (Amsterdam's Court of Appeal) pile began life in 1666 as an orphanage, designed for 800 occupants, but by the early 19th century more than half the city's 4300 orphans were crammed in here. A royal decree finally relocated them to other towns, amid cries that children were being stolen. The building's current scowl, in sober neoclassical, is from an 1829 renovation after the orphanage was closed.
You can wander inside, but as a rule you won't get beyond reception unless you have, er, official business. The court is due to move into a fancy new office in Westerdokeiland in 2010.
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D
Huis Met de Hoofden
A shining example of Dutch Renaissance style, this whimsical structure has a beautiful step gable with six heads at door level representing the classical muses. Folklore has it that the heads depict burglars, decapitated in quick succession by a fearless maid as they tried to break in. The facade veritably drips with decorations – lion masks, obelisks and vases – as well as the famous heads (match ’em up) : Apollo, Diana, Ceres, Bacchus, Minerva and Mars. The building now houses the Bureau Monumentenzorg, the city office of monument preservation.
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E
De Dageraad
Following the key Housing Act of 1901, which forced the city to rethink neighbourhood planning and to condemn slums, the Dageraad housing estate was developed between 1918 and 1923 for poorer families. One of the most original Amsterdam School architects, Piet Kramer, drew up plans for this idiosyncratic complex in collaboration with Michel de Klerk. The swirling contours of the main tower have been compared to a butter churn.
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F
Metz Department Store
This building opened in 1891 to house the New York Life Insurance Company (hence the eagles inside and out), but soon passed to Metz, a purveyor of luxury furnishings, which still owns it today. The functionalist designer and architect Gerrit Rietveld added the gallery on the top floor, where you can have lunch or (literally) high tea.
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G
Centraal Station
Built on an artificial island in 1889, Centraal Station (Amsterdam CS to train travellers) was designed as a neo-Renaissance ‘curtain’, a controversial plan that effectively cut off Amsterdam from the IJ river. One of the architects, PJ Cuypers, also designed the Rijksmuseum, and you can see the similarities – in the square faux-Gothic towers, the fine red brick and the abundant reliefs (for sailing, trade and industry). The garage in the right-hand wing was built to shelter the Dutch royal carriage, but it’s rarely there (read: never). As for all that construction, it’s for another Amsterdam master traffic plan. Eventually the inner harbour will be enlarged, the stat…
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