The wealth of the Amsterdam School

[EasilySuede]

After walking around the city for awhile, do you notice that there's something unique,
sculptural, highly detailed, and downright eye-candy-ish about the architecture?...
Not talking about the very old buildings (that sometimes lean), but the relatively newer work,
including the sculptural touches on the bridges and other infrastructure...


...including this outdoor urinal, now a certified national monument...
(bottom of page http://www.amsterdam.info/red-light-district-canals/ )


After Art Nouveau, yet before Art Deco, Dutch architecture went Amsterdam School-
The Amsterdam School (Dutch: Amsterdamse School) is a style of architecture that arose from 1910 through about 1930 in the Netherlands. The Amsterdam School movement is part of international Expressionist architecture.
a classic example of that expressionism, Einstein Tower (Einsteinturm) in Potsdam...


Buildings/infrastructure of the Amsterdam School are characterized by brick construction with complicated masonry with a rounded or organic appearance, relatively traditional massing, and the integration of an elaborate scheme of building elements inside and out: decorative masonry, art glass, wrought ironwork, spires or "ladder" windows (with horizontal bars), and integrated architectural sculpture. The aim was to create a total architectural experience, interior and exterior.

some examples...
waalseilandbrug, as much as a piece of sculpture, as bridge

Before designing the nearby Scheepvaarthuis alongside other prominent Amsterdamse School architects, Joan Melchior van der Mey worked on Waalseilandbrug. Like other structures associated with the Amsterdamse School, the bridge features elaborate flourishes and unusual, geometrical patterns, such as its triangular arches and decorative iron railings.

the amsterdam olympic stadium (oud-zuid) was done in this style...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic_S ... Amsterdam)

This article shows some nice examples of that early modernist style...
from https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2017/05/25/am ... l-a1560381
Walter Autumn has photographed numerous buildings, public spaces and interiors from the Amsterdam School (1910-1930) in recent years. In the new photo book 'The Amsterdam School', an edition of Architectura & Natura, these photos were collected. In combination with Ricky Rijkenberg's graphic illustrations, they show the richness of this particular architecture period.

the lit-up building on the left, the former Shipping House (Scheepvaarthuis),
and now a hotel that a few ACDers have stayed at, is one of the first examples of the style...


...and that's how you make an entrance


bridge-tender's office


window flourish


worker housing- designed and built with the humanist philosophy
that even the workers deserve housing they can be proud of...
de dageraad (the dawn)...


...and het schip (the ship). you can see this tower shortly before arriving at centraal from the airport, on the left



an Amsterdamse School facebook page-
https://pixel.facebook.com/groups/47592822586/photos/

Where To Find Amsterdamse School Architecture In Amsterdam-
https://theculturetrip.com/europe/the-n ... amsterdam/

many links to Amsterdamse School articles-
http://www.iamsterdam.com/en/visiting/w ... dam-school

Amsterdam`s Own Architectural Style-
https://amsterdamming.com/2013/06/24/am ... ral-style/

[CopenhagenCouple]

Nice write up ES, and some fine examples, some actually made me reconsider my opinion on the style. Still find it a bit too "closed up" and a bit odd, but there were some really nice details in some of those shots and the entrance and Einstein tower are quite spectacular

Thanks for that

CC

[macky]

There know as some of the best Bricklayer,s in the world,that may or may not be true.
I will say as a mason they build a highly technical brick buildings.
I became a mason because I thought they meant joints and lines all day long ,man was I wrong

[EasilySuede]

Nice write up ES, and some fine examples, some actually made me reconsider my opinion on the style. Still find it a bit too "closed up" and a bit odd, but there were some really nice details in some of those shots and the entrance and Einstein tower are quite spectacular
Thanks for that
CC

i believe that closed up quality comes a bit from the philosophy that everyone deserves their own hearth (eigen haard)...
regardless of social standing (i.e., a more socialist perspective, and a sign of the times back then). fewer windows meant more inward- towards the hearth- focus for the inhabitants. in today's lingo, just replace "haard" with "multi-media room".

most of this architectural style is concentrated in amsterdam-zuid, with a few individual buildings of it sprinkled in the old centrum, such as this pic from Lem's travelogue...


probably amsterdam's most expressionistic, and comes closest to gaudi, is the tuschinski theatre...


amsterdamse school seems far more sober in comparison. and more "modern".

There know as some of the best Bricklayer,s in the world,that may or may not be true.
I will say as a mason they build a highly technical brick buildings.
I became a mason because I thought they meant joints and lines all day long ,man was I wrong

sometimes it's like the bricks are pixels (brixels?). towards the end of the amsterdamse school era (mid- to late-30's) an attempt was made to replace bricks with more cost-effective reinforced concrete. things got bland in a hurry without the detailed "visual activity" that (expertly crafted) brickwork brings to the table...

in amsterdam's betondorp (SE of centrum).

[EasilySuede]

boerejongen's "font" is posted on facebook's Amsterdam School page, as an example of the AS style...



the AS page header, with another AS font style...