The Dutch love a good cantilever- its impressiveness is largely what inspired this blog. When we were leaving Amsterdam 10 years ago, a great deal of anticipation was in the air about this museum. At that time, the north of Amsterdam was really starting to be the place to be (and it has very much become so now) and the Eye Film Museum was the marker of its emergence.
We made a stop by on our way back from STRAAT but had already had a good glimpse of it from the ferry on the way to NDSM. (Okay- at this point you are probably tiring of my plugs for taking the ferry on this series of Amsterdam posts, but a good thing is just that.)
The shape of this building is the immediate draw, but it’s rare to see buildings that are effectively entirely white – I associate that color with medical facilities. But Amsterdam hosts another white building- the Stedelijk Museum… it would be an interesting theme to see another one get commissioned.
In a rare opportunity, I headed back to this area again and got to see this building at night. But in general, I haven’t yet posted many photos from night time. I was heading to Shelter for a show and it happened to be in the same area. The coolest thing that I realize after the fact is the reflective windows on the bottom of the building facing south towards Centraal Station (see the top feature image of the post). But also, in these close up photos- the pattern of the tiles used adds some contrast and relief to the long sweeping profile of the building.
In some upcoming posts, I talk a lot about the investment into lighting and I’ll leave that commentary over there. But it is worth noting that Amsterdam is a city that thrives at night. The Calvinists believed that honest people have nothing to hide (so no curtains) and that translates into many aspects of the culture- most importantly for me that you can get a great view into the majestic interiors of some greatly preserved buildings. I would highly recommend evening walks (more than day time) along the canals- its unlike any other city.
The last thing I’ll mention about this building is how odd it is to view it from the east / west side vs the north / south. For example, I just image in my mind what the drawings would have looked like for the the “back side’ of the building compared to the water facing side- such a difference in the dramatic presence. It’s a bit bizarre.
My hope is that they continue to develop this area as that would lead perhaps to better maintenance and a more communal space like they have created in the Museum quarter. I would highly recommend getting to this side of town- you can really begin to sense the spectrum of the Dutch and what they are capable of not just planning but also executing against.
Address: IJpromenade 1, 1031 KT Amsterdam, Netherlands
Website: DMAA write up
ofallthespaces 