The NACO house

7

MUZIEKGEBOUW AAN ‘T IJ BIMHUIS8

ALOHA BOWLING & RESTAURANT

OOSTERDOKSKADE AMSTERDAM CENTRAAL STATIONOOSTERDOKSKADE AMSTERDAM CENTRAAL STATION

AMSTERDAM CENTRAAL STATION

OOSTERDOKSKADE DE RUIJTERKADE DE RUIJTERKADE

STARBIKES RENTAL 7

PIET HEINKADE MUZIEKGEBOUW AAN ‘T IJ

JAVA-EILAND VEEMKADE

GRAND HOTEL AMRÂTH GRAND HOTEL AMRÂTH STARBIKES RENTAL ‘T IJ

DOUBLETREE BY HILTON

ALOHA BOWLING & RESTAURANT 8

BIMHUIS

DOUBLETREE

DE RUIJTERKADE STARBIKES ROOSTERDOKSKADE OOSTERDOKSKADE BY HILTON ENTAL

6

OBA OOSTERDOK

DOUBLETREE BY HILTON

SEA PALACE

OOSTERDOKSKADE SEA PALACE

6

OBA OOSTERDOK 5

BOOKING.COM*

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

SEA PALACE

BUITEN BANTAMMERSTRAAT BINNENKANT

GRAND HOTEL AMRÂTH BANTAMMERSTRAAT BUITEN HARBOUR SUITES BINNENKANT PRINS HENDRIKKADE

HARBOUR SUITES

BUITEN BINNENKANT BANTAMMERSTRAAT PRINS HENDRIKKADE

HARBOUR SUITES

PRINS HENDRIKKADE

VOEL JE DE FRISSE WIND? HET OOSTERDOK WAS EEUWENLANG VOEL JE DE FRISSE WIND? DE TOEGANGSPOORT NAAR DE STAD HET OOSTERDOK WAS EEUWENLANG ÉN DE WIJDE WERELD. EEN PLEK DE TOEGANGSPOORT NAAR DE STAD VAN ONTDEKKERS EN VERNIEUWERS. ÉN DE WIJDE WERELD. EEN PLEK DIE ENERGIE IS NOG STEEDS VOELVAN ONTDEKKERS EN VERNIEUWERS. BAAR IN DE VERHALEN DIE DE DIE ENERGIE IS NOG STEEDS VOELCULTURELE INSTELLINGEN OVER BAAR IN DE VERHALEN DIE DE DIT BIJZONDERE STADSKWARTIER CULTURELE INSTELLINGEN OVER VERTELLEN EN BIJ DE BEDRIJVEN DIT BIJZONDERE STADSKWARTIER DIE HUN PLEK AAN HET WATER VERTELLEN EN BIJ DE BEDRIJVEN GEVONDEN HEBBEN. DIE HUN PLEK AAN HET WATER GEVONDEN HEBBEN.

CAN YOU FEEL THE BREATH OF FRESH AIR? FOR CENTURIES OOSTERDOK WAS THE CAN YOU FEEL THE BREATH OF FRESH AIR? PORTAL TO THE CITY AND TO THE WIDE FOR CENTURIES OOSTERDOK WAS THE WORLD. A PLACE OF EXPLORERS AND PORTAL TO THE CITY AND TO THE WIDE INNOVATORS. THAT ENERGY IS STILL VERY WORLD. A PLACE OF EXPLORERS AND MUCH TANGIBLE IN THE STORIES THAT INNOVATORS. THAT ENERGY IS STILL VERY THE CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS TELL ABOUT MUCH TANGIBLE IN THE STORIES THAT THIS REMARKABLE CITY DISTRICT AND WITH THE CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS TELL ABOUT THE ENTREPRENEURS THAT HAVE FOUND THIS REMARKABLE CITY DISTRICT AND WITH THEIR PLACE AROUND THE WATER. THE ENTREPRENEURS THAT HAVE FOUND THEIR PLACE AROUND THE WATER.

6

OBA OOSTERDOK 5 7

MUZIEKGEBOUW AAN ‘T IJ HANNEKES BOOM

BOOKING.COM*

PIET HEINKADE

9

MEDIAMATIC

9

MEDIAMATIC

VEEMKADE PIET HEINKADE DIJKSGRACHT PIET HEINKADE

5

UNDER CONSTRUCTION BOOKING.COM* CONSERVATORIUM UNDER CONSTRUCTION VAN AMSTERDAM

PIET HEINKADE HANNEKES BOOM VEEMKADE DIJKSGRACHT

DIJKSGRACHT

PIET HEINKADE

CONSERVATORIUM VAN AMSTERDAM CONSERVATORIUM HANNEKES BOVAN AMSTERDAM OM DIJKSGRACHT

9

MEDIAMATIC

AROUND OOSTERDOK WALK OOSTERDOK OOSTERDOK WALK WALK IJSFONTEIN*

DIJKSGRACHT

AROUND OOSTERDOK AROUND OOSTERDOK IJSFONTEIN* KANTEEN25

IJSFONTEIN* KANTEEN25 DIJKSGRACHT CODAM

CODAM

LLOYD HOTEL 1 KM

NIET TOEGANKELIJK

NOT ACCESSIBLE

NIET TOEGANKELIJK

NOT ACCESSIBLE

OOSTERDOK

FOELIESTRAAT

4 4

CODAM KANTEEN25 NEMO SCIENCE MUSEUM 10

NEMO DE STUDIO

DEFENSITY COLLEGE*

Noord

Noord Centraal station

Dam Centraal station IJ IJ

IJTUNNEL

4

NEMO SCIENCE MUSEUM

3

NEMO SCIENCE MUSEUM

103

MUSEUMHAVEN

OOSTER IJTUNNELIJTUNNEL DOK

SCHIPPERSGRACHT 2 FOELIESTRAAT FOELIESTRAAT

ARCAM 12 3

10

MUSEUMHAVEN

NEMO DE STUDIO MUSEUMHAVEN

RONDJE OOSTERDOK

NOT ACCESSIBLE RONDJE OOSTERDOKNEMO DE STUDIO RONDJE OOSTERDOK

PENSION HOMELAND

bus 246 bus 22 bus 48 KATTENBURGERSTRAAT PENSION HOMELAND PORTRAIT GALLERY STUDIO PENSION HOMELAND PORTRAIT GALLERY STUDIO

bus N89

OOSTERDOK ACOOSTERDOK ADEMY PICTURES* PORTRAIT GALLERY STUDIO

11

MARINETERREIN AMSTERDAM

ACADEMY PICTURES* ACADEMY PICTURES*

11

tram 26

Ruijtergaard food & drink

11

swimming no public access* MARINETERREIN AMSTERDAM

MARINETERREIN AMSTERDAM

2

ARCAM 12

HET SCHEEPVAARTMUSEUM

KATTENBURGERPLEIN WITTENBURGERKADE

RONDJE OOSTERDOK

HET SCHEEPVAARTMUSEUM 1 MUSEUM ‘T KROMHOUT 450M

HOOGTE KADIJK KADIJKSPLEIN SCHIPPERSGRACHT HOOGTE KADIJK KADIJKSPLEINSCHIPPERSGRACHT ARCAM TIP TAKE A WALK AROUN OOSTERDOK KATTENBURGERPLEIN RONDJE OOSTERDOK KATTENBURGERPLEIN RONDJE OOSTERDOK D

1 MUSEUM ‘T KROMHOUT

2 12 HET SCHEEPVAARTMUSEUM

KADIJKSPLEIN HOOGTE KADIJK

Dam

NIEUWE HERENGRACHTNIEUWE HERENGRACHT expeditieoosterdok.nlexpeditieoosterdok.nl

ENTREPOTDOK

1

450M MUSEUM ‘T KROMHOUT

450M

ENTREPOTDOKENTREPOTDOK

OVERHAALSGANG

1. MUSEUM ’T KROMHOUT The droning engines of the Kromhout shipyard recall the history of the Amsterdam shipbuilding industry.

2. ARCAM (ARCHITECTURE CENTRE OF AMSTERDAM) The architecture and urban development of Amsterdam are explored in detail in this sculptural building.

3. MUSEUMHAVEN Twenty-two floating monuments reflect the objects that used sail on the Dutch inland waterways. 4. NEMO SCIENCE MUSEUM Discover the wonderful worlds of science and technology. The lab is yours!

5. AMSTERDAM CONSERVATORIUM International vocational training for classical music, jazz and pop music, with regular concerts and events.

6. OBA OOSTERDOK (PUBLIC LIBRARY) A meeting place for people, languages and cultures.

7. MUZIEKGEBOUW AAN ’T IJ Leading international podium: everything from contemporary music to classical and electronic. 8. BIMHUIS An intimate setting for listening to state-of-the-art, ground-breaking jazz music.

9. MEDIAMATIC A fun ‘greenhouse building’, a place to explore the fusion of art, design, nature and science.

10. NEMO’S STUDIO An extra NEMO location, where solutions to societal problems are thought up and demonstrated. 11. MARINETERREIN AMSTERDAM A green international heart, surrounded by water, with room for play, discovery and learning.

12. NATIONAL MARITIME MUSEUM 500 years of maritime history under one roof.

Walk the Oosterdok route!

“This is the blue Museumplein.” An apt description of the Oosterdok spoken by Michael Huijser, director of the National Maritime Museum. The comparison is appropriate, both in terms of size and degree of cultural diversity. The National Maritime Museum, NEMO, Arcam, OBA, Conservatorium, Marineterrein, MediaMatic and Museumhaven, are all on or around the water of the Oosterdok. Not to mention all the shops, hospitality and businesses on Oosterdokseiland, both cultural and commercial, which attract around two million visitors per year. * In order to pool their resources, around twenty of these cultural institutions and companies have joined forces to form the Expeditie Oosterdok Foundation, of which Huijser is the chair. “Our joint aim is to draw attention to the power of the Oosterdok among people from Amsterdam, people outside Amsterdam and a wider international public.”

Dutch Water Weeks

Maritime, innovative and international. These are the three key words that sum up the identity of the Oosterdok, explains Huijser. “We’re building on the age-old legacy of the area. The ships built here in the 17th century conquered the world’s oceans. Something that started locally went on to grow international wings. And this is still the way. Booking.com and TomTom, also affiliated to Expeditie Oosterdok, started life as Dutch companies and are now major international market players. This is the vibe we want Expeditie Oosterdok to project. Not in the old-fashioned way by offering museums with fences around them, but by breathing new life into old elan. We want to translate the power of yesteryear into the power of today.” The best way of doing this is by working together, sharing experiences and making joint plans. “This generates

LLOYD HOTEL

1 KM LLOYD HOTEL an incredible amount of energy, 1 KM which is exactly what Expeditie Oosterdok was set up to do.” And it leads to unique initiatives, such as the DEFENSITY COLLEGE* plans for a culture ferry, a boat that

DEFENSITY COLLEGE* takes visitors on a trip past all the bus 246 bus 22 bus 48 bus N89 KATTENBURGERSTRAATbus 246 bus 22 bus 48 KATTENBURGERSTRAAT cultural institutions in and around the Oosterdok. And the Dutch Water Weeks, events held on the water of the Oosterdok, from exhibition sports to sailing schools for young tram 26 Ruijtergaard bus N89 Amsterdammers. “What could be nicer tram 26 eten en drinken Ruijtergaard than letting children from the Nieuw-zwemmen niet publiek eten en drinken West neighbourhood learn to sail here? toegankelijkzwemmen * niet publiek toegankelijk It’s definitely in line with the ambitions of all the cultural institutions and businesses in the Oosterdok: to learn, discover and innovate. We are all doing our bit for a better city.” WITTENBURGERKADETIP LOOP HET RONDJE OOSTERDOK TAKE A WALK AROUND OOSTERDOKWITTENBURGERKADETIP LOOP HET RONDJE OOSTERDOK TAKE A WALK AROUND OOSTERDOK Water connects worlds The collaboration within Expeditie Oosterdok enables institutions to get initiatives off the ground, which would have been impossible alone. “The BIMHUIS and its partners in New York want to organise an international jazz OVERHAALSGANGOVERHAALSGANG festival in two years. Hosting a festival like this would be far too big a project for BIMHUIS on its own, but together we can say: great, go for it! Part of the festival can be hosted in NEMO, part in the National Maritime Museum, part in the Conservatorium. We help and reinforce each other. Hence our motto: water connects worlds. The possibilities are endless.”

www.expeditieoosterdok.nl

‘Houseboat occupants thrive on the fringes of society’

The inhabitants of the houseboats on the five piers at the bottom of Prins Hendrikkade are actually the oldest residents of the Oosterdok. Over the years, they have seen the Oosterdok change beyond recognition. And meanwhile, they have a continual fight to retain their moorings on their hands.

“When I first lived here, this was a place where prostitutes brought their clients.” Karin van Nes, houseboat occupant on the Oosterdok since 1986, has no trouble remembering the early years. “The street prostitutes came straight here from Amsterdam Centraal Station, looking for a quiet spot to do business.”

“And we had loads of junkies. You sometimes had to chuck them off the pier, quite literally, otherwise they wouldn’t leave,” remembers Eric van den Broek, who’s lived here since 1993. “The methadone bus used to come every week. A bit further along, on the bridge, the junkies could swap their old needles for clean ones. There was a lot of stealing too. I was always pulling suitcases that had been emptied of their contents from the bushes. The piers were the city’s cesspit in those days.” Karin agrees: “I never really felt safe until I got a dog.”

But despite this, they never considered leaving. Karin: “Houseboat occupants thrive on the fringes of society; we can handle it when things get a bit rough. Live and let live is our motto. It gives us the sense of freedom that we crave. As if you could just cast off the ropes and sail out to sea. Not that you’d ever do it of course, but it’s nice to know that you could.”

Post CS

Eric and Karin still share that sense of freedom. They’ve seen the Oosterdok change beyond recognition over the years. Karin: “In the early days, you could see for miles. It was just sky, and there was nothing on the opposite bank, apart from the Post CS building, the post office where our letter boxes were. I walked across every day to pick up my post.”

That all changed with the plans for developing Oosterdokseiland. Eric: “We didn’t catch on to the plans until quite late. Maybe because in those days, we were constantly fighting for survival and trying to second guess the municipality. First, they had plans for a harbour for the round-trip boats, then the floating Chinese restaurant was going to be moved to our side. We heard so many plans, but the underlying message was always the same: you’ve got to leave.”

Unsavoury people

To this day, they’re still proud that it never came to that. Karin: “We fought tooth and nail for our right to stay. But on the other hand, we were always willing to think along with the authorities. I think that’s what did it, really. The officials liked us. They hadn’t expected to, because the people working at the town hall had preconceived ideas about people who live on houseboats. They thought we were all antisocial, slightly unsavoury people. It never occurred to many of the local council workers that we are just nice, ordinary citizens.”

Eric: “People still prejudge houseboat occupants. I can’t tell you how often I’ve heard: could you just move your boat on a bit? As if we could! You’d have to disconnect and reconnect all the pipes and wiring.” Karin: “And you become attached to your mooring, the quay, the garden on the quay, your neighbours. You wouldn’t ask people living on land to move their house along a bit, would you?” Eric and Karin are joined by Sander Rutten, who works on the project team for Oosterdokseiland, lives on a houseboat on the Levantkade in the Oosterdok area, and happens to chair the Amsterdam Houseboat Association. He can identify with their sense of freedom and he recognises the image of houseboat occupants. “It’s one of the things that our association is working on: trying to improve people’s preconceptions about people who choose to live on houseboats.”

Swimming races in Oosterdok

What do they think of Oosterdokseiland? Karin: “The skyline is higher than I’d have liked. But I understand that people need houses. I’m glad we’ve got a library. I do wonder what it will be like living on the other side. We’re a small, close community over here. I don’t think it’ll be like that on the over there, it looks too big and large-scale.”

There are things she’d like to change. “The Double Tree organises regular clean-up days. We all go round the Oosterdok clearing the rubbish from the quayside. Before the pandemic, Double Tree also organised local drinks get-togethers so the residents could all meet up. And we used to organise swimming races in the Oosterdok. I’d like to see these initiatives restart.” “I think that Booking.com would go for that,” replies Sander. “I’ll certainly go and ask them.”

So, their main hopes are for more community spirit and a cleaner Oosterdok area. Karin: “You should see what some of the visitors leave behind on the piers and quayside; gross! It’s because there aren’t any waste bins on the lower quayside. Correction: there are two – I put them there myself.” Eric: “If the City of Amsterdam wants to promote trips around Oosterdok, they should start by providing proper waste bins. And make sure that the quay gardens are presentable. Karin’s is one of the prettiest in the whole of the Oosterdok. She’s setting a great example if you ask me.”

‘Much more fun than a straightforward building project’

Züblin is the coordinating building contractor for the construction of the City Campus. According to project managers Frank de Roo and Edwin Zevenhoven, this entails monitoring the entire building project, keeping to a strict timeline and, most importantly, forging and maintaining close ties with all the parties on the building site.

Yes, challenging is the best word to describe it, say Frank de Roo and Edwin Zevenhoven, two of the three project managers at Züblin. De Roo: “Even after three-and-a-half years, we still say to each other: what’s this corner? It looks different from how I’d imagined it.” Zevenhoven agrees: “A works manager once said to me: Edwin, you only really know the lay-out of a building if you can sit on your sofa in the evening and walk through it with your eyes closed. I wouldn’t do that here; you’d risk a nasty fall for a start! Nothing in this building is the same.”

Just to be clear, the men love their work on the building site. De Roo: “This is a once in a lifetime experience. The fact that you have to stay on your toes, think about how to solve all kinds of problems as they come up: that’s what makes it so interesting. It’s much more fun than a straightforward building project. What’s more, you can see the building grow, which is really inspiring.”

There was no shortage of pieces to this jigsaw. The first puzzle they faced was how to keep the carpark open during the building phase. De Roo: “Closing it was out of the question. There’s nowhere else for residents and other users of the island to park. So we managed to keep it open by building a crash deck next to the railway line. This is a special construction that allows you to drive safely underneath, and prevents objects that may accidentally fall from a crane from landing on the carpark.” The construction also forms part of the gigantic steel structure that supports the overhang from the fourth floor upwards. De Roo: “This structure weighs a total of 290 tons. The steel box girder and cross girders that form the connection with the rest of the building weigh tens of tons per girder. There was no way we could get that the site in one piece, so we had to transport it in sections.”

Transport by water

One of the conditions set by the City of Amsterdam was that road transport through the city should be kept to a minimum. So most of the material was transported by water. De Roo: “First of all, we moved almost of the earth from the construction pit, 50,000 m3 , by ship to the Afrikahaven. The elements for the steel structure were transported to the site by ship, as were the pile foundations, the prefab parts of the stairs, some of the standard reinforcement and the composite decking. That went pretty well, but it’s an expensive mode of transport, because you have to organise an extra step. A lot of the material first has to be transported by road to the hub, the intermediate link, in the Afrikahaven. It’s then taken to the building site by ship. A first-degree logistic challenge, but we managed.” Once delivered, the steel elements were assembled on the steel table structure on the fourth floor. Zevenhoven: “They were welded onto each other – months of work – to form one loadbearing entity. It was a mammoth task, because the pieces of steel we were assembling weighed 20–30 tons each and had a tolerance of under two millimetres. Talk about a slim margin!”

‘Feet on the table’ sessions

This will only work if relations are good. De Roo: “You have to keep close working ties because otherwise things can get out of hand. The stakes are far too high to risk that. So, we organise regular informal ‘feet on the table’ sessions to discuss any problems we anticipate, and work out solutions together. This allows you to prepare for them, so they don’t come out of the blue.”

These sessions are vital with large-scale building projects like the City Campus, says De Roo, otherwise things can escalate. “The discussions must be informal and open, no minutes, no formalities. Just words. And if anything needs to be agreed more formally, we do this later in a building meeting. The main message is: keep talking to each other. There’s no point digging your heels in.”

The ‘feet on the table’ sessions were good for the relationship between the architect and the building contractor. Zevenhoven: “We clashed quite a lot in the beginning. We kept telling Van Berkel: “Your drawings just aren’t feasible. We want to build the most beautiful building in Amsterdam for you, but you have to make it possible for us to do that.” After lots of discussions, we finally got our ducks in a row and we’ve been on good terms ever since.”

De Roo: “It’s our job as coordinating building contractors to make sure that matters like this aren’t swept under the table. The design for the City Campus is stunning, the overhang is pure genius, but we have to work out how to make it technically possible on the building site. It doesn’t matter whether it’s the overhang, the sloping tree columns or the loadbearing steel structure; there’s always an area of tension between the architectural design and technical implementation on every building project. You usually work it out in the end, but only if you keep talking to each other. Otherwise you can forget it.”

As the coordinating building contractor, Züblin is responsible for the planning side of the City Campus. De Roo: “We monitor the progress of the building work, and manage the subcontractors and other building companies. Organising all of this is ‘a hell of a job’. We had to take four parties into account when planning the structural stage: the form setters and cement casters, the steel fixers, the steel construction and ICO for the pipes and wiring. During the fitting out stage, we’re monitoring the schedules for 25 parties on the building site. We do this by planning subschedules per zone, per day, so that we know exactly who is working where and what’s on the programme for each day.”