Magazine 2 by Why magazine

The importance of

repurposing When one thinks of the word ‘repurpose’, one may not immediately think of buildings. The reallocation of a new, sometimes temporary, function to an empty building is a trend that’s iconic of Amsterdam. Since the beginning of the economic crisis, numerous buildings have become vacant. So, in the last few years many creative projects have been planned and implemented, all to do with repurposing these spaces. A great initiative as, vacant buildings can have some serious repercussion for the city’s wellbeing and development. Unoccupied spaces are easy targets for vandalism, trespassing and burglary. The buildings also end up becoming ignored and maintanance slips, resulting in aesthtically displeasing dilapidated structures. A good example of one of those projects is the Volkshotel. For 45 years before 2014 the building functioned as head office for one of the most progressive newspapers in the Netherlands: De Volkskrant. The building was supposed to be demolished, but instead has now become a hotel with 172 rooms, and a creative space where people can brainstorm and be inspired in the work conducive lobby area. Another example of repurposed spaces is Club Trouw. The former head office of a newspaper was used as a dance club for a number of years. There are even rumours that the club will be relocating to an old school building. Repurposing of buildings is not necessarily new phenomenon in the city. Since 1964, empty spaces have been taken over by organized squatters. The trend of organized squatting saw an increase in the 80s. Not all that squat use the space as living quarters, the spaces are also used to house small creative projects and businesses. Repurposing a building is also not confined to the interior, but extends to the exterior too. Street art involves using a structure’s walls as a canvas. These are just a few examples applicable in Amsterdam. Repurposing is all around us, we’re often so oblivious to it too. Oblivious to the major roles it plays in maintaining a city or even giving it character.

INDEX Editorial

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Videos Page 6 FEATURE ARTICLES De Ceuvel

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Volkshotel Page 14 Krakers

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PHOTO ESSAY Broedplaats

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INTERVIEW The nostalgic â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;music man in Amsterdam Page 26

WATCH O

OUR VIDEO:

A melange of an analogue and digital

age On polluted soil somewhere in Amsterdam North the small community of De Ceuvel builds its own sustainable future. Using their own creativity, manpower and faeces they want to prove that an environmentally friendlier society is possible. Two rows of cars and small trucks are parked along an inconspicuous street which leads to the end of the Johan van Hasseltkanaal in Amsterdam North. It is busy. Cars have to pull over and hoot. While their breaks squeal, bicycles are trying to slide in between them. A huge sign at the end of the street promises quietness and relief: De Ceuvel. A modern Natopia Walking through the gate with its very prominent sign on it, the visitors of De Ceuvel really find themselves transported to a different place. While the neighbourhood remains almost unchanged from its industrial origin,

the De Ceuvel is an oasis amongst this all. Two years ago this spot in Amsterdam North was an unused place of polluted soil. Now it is a polluted place with fifteen houseboats and a cafĂŠ on it. For eighty years the De Ceuvel had been used as a shipyard until it was closed in 2000. Twelve years later a team of architects won a competition run by the municipality for a ten years loan of this site. This was the advent of the current. It was the lack of money and the soil polluted by the industrial use that required a lot of creativity and thinking about by the winners that took over it.

The contaminated ground made the connection with the sewer and gas system impossible. There was also no money to remove the one meter deep layer of polluted soil. But despite it seeming like the obvious option, the team did not want to remove the soil. The whole place has a stellar principle: recycling. A tenet which is the footing of its current success. The area of 1,250 square meters is now the autonomous home of creative workers and a cafĂŠ with smoothie sipping students. It is a shared-work place with sustainable clean technology for very different start-ups and artists.

Shipping towards a different, eco-friendlier communal life The idea of the De Ceuvel was to create a diverse community. One requirement to win the competition for the loan of this place was to build cheap studios or ateliers for creative people who tend to have a low income. Now each of them pays only around 65 Euros per square meter a year. Working at the De Ceuvel the community is facing different challenges, which they seem to fulfil with an eager smile. Then, even though their time at the De Ceuvel is limited, they think about thousands of years in the future. Since they were not able to build a proper footing because of the polluted ground, the architects behind the De Ceuvel used houseboats to build its fifteen offices. In Amsterdam spaces in the canals are expen-

sive, but houseboats are cheap. Lots of them are demolished or rot at dumpsites. On a website the architects found houseboats that cost them between one and two thousand euros. After being refurbished the boats now stranded on contaminated soil, are the workplaces of theatre groups, documentary makers or unknown start-ups. The boats are connected with wooden pathways. Partly planned and built by Daan Dijkstra and his colleague Marcel van Wees. Together they own the wood construction firm ‘Logic. Works’ at the De Ceuvel. Daan stands in front of his shop right opposite the De Ceuvel café in the middle of the area. In front of him, a wooden board. Daan is a hands on kind of guy. Since his childhood he has wanted

to know how things work. In his childhood he opened his own computer with a knife, now his fingers roll a cigarette with natural tobacco at the back of their houseboats’ workshop. While opening the windows to the wild plants at the back, the 34 year old explains: ‘I grew up in a time when I saw the change from the analogue age to a digital one. I think the De Ceuvel is a mixture of both eras’. When things are broken at the De Ceuvel, they try to fix it. This is often hard, but in his view this is what gives them autonomy and freedom. ‘We have no one we can call to do this or that, we have to do it on our own’. But that gives them also self confidence. ‘We can show that a different kind of society is working’, says Daan while blowing

Hosting a café and a variety of fifteen offices, the De Ceuvel attracts a highly diverse cliente-

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The De Ceuvel’s welcome sign shows that that it is more than just another space

Holy crap! Sipping a Ginger-banana-apple smoothie Guus van der Ven sits in the opposite café De Ceuvel next to the waterfront. Between the mixed crowd of tourists, students and business folk enjoying the not too often seen sun, Guus explains his personal reasons to be exactly here: at the De Ceuvel. Being against ‘the consumerism and its impact on nature systems’, he wears second hand clothes and shoes, is living in a house which will be demolished soon with furniture he built on his own or found on the street: ‘Nothing should be produced for me’. Guus deems himself more of a passionate person than an oppositional person. He remarks that at the

De Ceuvel he is living his personal dream. Guus is working for Metabolic, the company which is responsible for the sustainable systems at the De Ceuvel. This includes compost toilets and a greywater system. In addition, every houseboat has its own solar panels and heat pump. The solar power is enabling the houses to be fitted with air-conditioning and heating systems. The faeces from the compost toilets should be used to grow food in the De Ceuvel’s greenhouse after being tested. Thinking of life as a cycle is a lifestyle. ‘When I think about sustainability, I think about thousands of years ’, Guus states. To achieve that, the society

really has to use its resources wisely. ‘A regular toilet as we daily see it in Amsterdam involves wasting drinking water and energy, while not using the rare resource from our urine.’ This means: every time we flush, we are flushing away a chance. In the café, the urinal does not use water. Instead the pure urine is gathered. By adding magnesium and stirring it, the community is creating almost pure phosphor. A substance which has been used as a fertilizer all over the world and will be gone in the distant future. By using different kind of toilets it could be used to grow food. Potentially starting another symbiotic ecological cycle.

An amalgam of right angles, art and clean-tech This is not the only time Guus thinks more globally than the square meters of the De Ceuvel. ‘Even though you cannot use refurbished houseboats everywhere, cities can tap into their own waste stream, as we did with the houseboats. They can try to reuse things. We are a model of the merging of urban life. We combine sustainability, architecture and culture.’ Looking at the different people in the café Guus annotates: ‘We customize a broad scale of things in

one place. That is our uniqueness and the root of our success. If people want to go to theatre, they come in contact with the idea of sustainability. If young folks swing by for a beer they see new and different forms of architecture and infrastructure. Very different people are acquainted to a new form of urban development.’ This sustainable way of organising a community needed also a new form of understanding. Before the De Ceuvel was even built,

Guus had workshops in which he showed how the sewage systems of plants like willow or bamboo work. This not only formed a community between the houseboat renters but also embedded the knowledge that people really have to use biodegradable soap to not destroy the natural filter. ‘Instead of a technical approach with a complex highly technical sewage system, we decided to take the social approach’, says Guus about the preparations for the De Ceuvel.

Daan Dijkstra believes in the prosperity of the De Ceuvel: “The municipality has to see the human factor behind it”

Above the ground: the refurbished houseboats are connected with bamboo walkways

Man should be aware of their own strength, the De Ceuvel wants to use human urine from its toilets to produce phosphor as a fertilizer

‘Too much energy and intelligence is used the wrong way’, says Guus van der Ven, community coordinator at the De Ceuvel

Power plants In eight years the loan for the De Ceuvel community is expiring. Until then the soil should be less polluted. The landscape architects of the project have installed plants to absorb the chemicals from the ground. The first results at the 60 annual test stations are not as good as he had hoped. ‘But we are in beginning phases’, says Guus still confident. If successful, the plants could be used to produce biogas. Instead of truck loads full of contaminated soil, the digester of few cubic meters of concentrated pollution could be used

to experiment to find a way to clean the ground. While Guus is optimistic that new ideas will improve the life at the De Ceuvel, he is unsure whether the place can be remain their project after the eight years. ’The price of this land is increasing. It is possible that the municipality will sell this place. Big buyers might make a Hotel or whatever here’. With the money from the future De Ceuvel land owner, the polluted ground layer could be removed and taken elsewhere. Somewhere isolated, a place with no human interest, where

it cannot disturb the environment and people. Would be the sentence. ‘The funny thing is that half of the polluted soil here is from the centre of Amsterdam. They thought they would do more with this land, but it appears to not be the case’. Being so different, the De Ceuvel is not only working on a solution for its contaminated soil, it is working on better solutions for a sustainable society. It is a project which will in anyway not be limited to the ten years at the De Ceuvel. By: Jonas Achorner

A haven for the

lonely heads

A few years ago the De Volkskrant building was ready to be demolished. Now it seems to be a success. The building hosts hotel guests from all over the world, while being a workplace for the creative. Three of them share their experience of working in the Volkshotel. Right next to one of Amsterdam busiest and loudest streets, Marouscha Levy is standing in her quiet office in the back of the Volkshotel building. An office the 38-year old theatre designer shares with a journalist, ad maker, three documentary makers and photographers. She has been part of a shared workspace since 2010. As the founder of Mush Design, Marouscha pays 150 euros per month for this space. The main reason Marouscha decided to work at the Volkshotel was to avoid loneliness: ‘Before I came here I worked from home for six years. That can become

very lonely. It is cool to have other artists around you. So you feel like you’re are not alone. Everyone here has the same kind of life style and is a creative freelancer’. For her working with others helps her: ‘I think it leads to more diverse productivity because of the help that is around every corner. You spend less time searching for answers because all you need to do is ask. It results in the creating process being quicker and better. You still have to be the one that comes up with the ideas and motivates yourself to do so.

Before the Volkshotel took over the Volkskrant’s building it was dilapidated but people still occupied it. Then, like now, it was a place of creativity. Part time space renters were already working there. As the hotel took over Marouscha was sceptical about whether the hotel’s new vision would gel with the existing one. Now she thinks the hotel wants to collaborate with a larger variety of tenants, making it the ultimate creative hub. At the moment it is hard for her to earn a living as a theatre designer, especially in the Netherlands: ‘I’m working many, many hours and a lot of my work is abroad. There were cuts in finances in the cultural sector in Holland. To move with times I decided to change my work approach and broaden my field. For instance, I want to enhance my skills in 3D-printing’ Another initiative part of the Volkshotel is the Bureau Wibaut. At the end of 2009 it started with seven freelance journalists who wanted to have a workspace to share with other journalists. It has since developed into a space in which eighteen, very different journalists, share an office at back of the Volkshotel. The Bureau is one of the largest freelance offices in the Netherlands. Hidde Boersma (35) and Desiree Hoving (38) are both freelance journalists. The main reason they chose to join the team was to also avoid loneliness of working from home. For Hidde this aspect was especially important. Through this initiative his work and private life are separate. The journalists are also able to receive critique, help and feedback from their colleagues. ‘For me it’s a community where I can meet people. We support each other, if someone has a bad month, he or she gets the work others can’t do. It is not a competition with the other scientific journalists, I see them

as my colleagues’, Hidde states. In 2009 together with five HvA- alumni he and a friend started to look for a workplace and found the Volkskrant building. When he moved in six years ago, they were told that they will have to leave in four years. Now this place has completely changed and became a permanent creative space. Hidde enjoys the social life here, but has no contact with any other renters: ‘Besides my workmates I don’t have any contact with someone else from the building. Most of the people around me are interested in the same things. Being freelance journalists we have the same problems, but also the same free time. We can go out to have a drink, join debates and work whenever we want.’ For Desiree it is also a good place to invite interview partners to come over and meet. The Bureau Wibaut, in her view, is also becoming a brand, where clients know that they can find quality freelance journalists. For her it is really the possibilities of feedback and the motivation through working alongside others that really enhancing the quality of her work. Others seem to think the same way. ‘If people drop out, the Bureau always has people to fill in their vacant place.’ Desiree says. It seems that the Volkshotel building is a place for people with a lot of freedom. While preserving their liberty, they work side-by-side in crowded offices to avoid the loneliness and isolation that comes with working from home. This not necessarily leading to more creativity but to a better social life. In the end, young people who work in new working models are looking for the old working principals: a separate workspace with colleagues. By: Jonas Achorner and Petra Van Gelsdorp

KRAKERS

What adjectives spring to mind when you hear the word squatter? Typical connotations include derelict, gypsy, homeless – you might even think of drugs and gangs. If not, then perhaps you aren’t as judgemental as some - or maybe you aren’t sure what a squatter truly is. In Amsterdam they are referred to as ‘de krakers,’ which translates to ‘the squatters.’ A squatter is a person who unlawfully inhabits an area, usually a residential building. They don’t own the building and they do not pay rent – nor do they intend to. The squatting movement in Holland began in the ‘60s. There was an extreme housing shortage in Amsterdam, while many properties remained vacant. Squatting was seen as an anti-political move rather than a sensible one, as house owners were holding on to their vacant and damaged properties in order to obtain a demolition permit. Squatters could not legally be evicted from the property, as they are considered ‘occupants’ of the building. This means the owner cannot evict the squatters unless they take them to court. Fast forward to the ‘80s and you will find street riots between the police and the squatters. Then in 2009, the squatting ban was finally official as the bill successfully passed parliament. It was backed by both parties. Squatters now face one year imprisonment if they’re charged with squatting; but if they display violent behaviour they can be facing even more time in prison.

Before becoming a squatter, *Rudy lived a seemingly normal life. He rented a house in the private sector and was employed as a social worker, when one day the news came that the owners of the apartment were looking to sell. This ultimately left Rudy homeless, which is why he turned to squatting. “I didn’t have a lot of options back then. Except for one really good option which was to join some friends of mine squatting at a place close by to where I was living. They asked me to join their group, and I did,” Rudy said. Contrary to popular belief, Rudy maintained his job doing social work for another three years. He has recently resigned in order to take up another opportunity in accounting. However it appears the Amsterdam community of squatters only hosts a bare minimum of those who live up to their negative reputation. The rest are searching for freedom in life, to create an artistic and comfortable space within their community. Rudy enjoys the creative side of squatting. He says it gives him and the rest of his community the freedom and space to be imaginative. When asked to elaborate on the word ‘freedom,’ Rudy replied with a mischievous grin, ‘well it’s already simpler because you don’t pay for it…’ “Freedom as in you couldn’t rent a big warehouse with the money people earn. Not just us as squatters, but people like you and I. The things you can do in a place that is totally empty and that is not going to be used and that has no purpose at all. You can totally fix it.” Along with that, he assured me his group of squatters do not believe in trashing a house or leaving it in worse condition than before. Personally, Rudy tries to contact the owner of the building to invite them over and prove they won’t trash their place. He would rather communicate with the owners than be on an ‘enemy basis.’ When asked about the stigma, Rudy said he could not speak for everyone. ‘A lot of people could have negative images about squatters just doing it for free housing, or angry anarchists being against everything and wanting to mess with the system but are at the same time living useless lives. Basically being unemployed and being active contributors to society. That’s bullshit for sure. ‘. As polite as it is for Rudy to go out of his way to contact the housing owners, squatting is still illegal in Holland. Rudy didn’t seem to really care for obeying the laws – as long as he is getting away with paying no rent.

Broedplaats: literally meaning

breeding ground.

Sarah Payton, NDSM OPEN Magazine’s editorial chief describes it as, ‘A place where artists, artisans and other creative workers are housed together, with the idea that the whole is bigger than the sum of its parts’. At the NDSM wharf in Amsterdam North this is definitely the case. A big old container repurposed to do exactly that. The NDSM wharf used to be the home of the Dutch Shipping Company. This industrial past is still visible as the company’s old logo is still visible on the walls. A place that used to be one of the biggest and newest dockyards in the world. But in the 70’s the NDSM wharf started suffering under the oil crisis and political conflicts. It eventually closed its doors in 1984. Years later, a group of artists, skaters and a single mom won a contest to develop the NDSM wharf. They made an ambitious plan to create an experimental, multidisciplinary and more cultural wharf. This, to support their philosophy of the city as a hull. Right now it houses creatives that have taken over this space and make it the broedplaats of experiment and creative activities of all kinds.

Photo by: Jos Kottmann

The nostalgic

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;music manâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; in Amsterdam

Olaf Boswijk has in his thirties largely influenced the Amsterdam nightlife scene. Firstly he opened Club 11 in the old Post-CS building. A highly popular place. Secondly, he opened Club Trouw Amsterdam in the Parool/ Trouw newspapers old printing office. Lastly in this exclusive interview he hints at his new project: another nightclub in an old school building somewhere in the city. In this interview ‘The Amsterdam Music Man’ elaborates on his love for repurposing old buildings and he talks about his big successes therein: Trouw Amsterdam

for old buildings. Koen is a real expert in repurposing old buildings. He has done it for years, mostly in the Westergasfabriek. I’m more interested in old things with character than necessarily newer modern things. My fter studying audio engi- wife sometimes calls me a nostalgic. neering, how did you end up becoming How important do you think it is to give so influential in the nightlife scene? old building a new purpose? That’s a really long story! During my studies at the School for Audio Engineering (SAE) I To me it seems logical. There is always a cirdid an internship at NEW Dance Radio. This culation of buildings that become obsolete. was the only Dutch national radio station The new generation is interested in these that only played electronic music. Throu- buildings because they have character, are gh that, I started knowing more and more inexpensive and offer more space. parties and also becoming acquainted with DJ’s. Trouw was not only a danceclub. It was also a restaurant, bar and exhibition spaEventually NEW Dance was taken over by ce at some point. Why did you choose to the company ID&T. After the takeover I combine art and the hospitality industry? continued to work there before I decided to work for myself. To me they are mutually inclusive. It’s always been very obvious that the two work Club 11 is in the old Post-CS building and well together. It is also not a new hype or after that you opened Club TROUW in anything. Anywhere in the world you can the Parool/Trouw offices. What attracts see the combination of art and the hospiyou to these old, often overlooked, buil- tality industry. dings? The restaurant was a logical extension of I was not the founder of Club 11. It was a what has already happened in Club 11. I project of my brother, Briand, and his part- also remember that I used to brainstorm ners. I was only involved after two years. with my brother about our own special plaAnd through them including Koen Vollaers ce. He would be ‘the restaurant man’ and I (my partner in Trouw), I developed a love would be ‘the music man’.

In a previous interview you mentioned that you should stop at your peak. How did you notice that Club 11 and Trouw had reached their peak?

Meanwhile, there are already speculations about ‘The New Trouw’ in an old school building in Amsterdam West. What can you tell me about this?

Life goes in cycles and nothing is infinite, so you better embrace it than painstakingly wait for it. Because you will notice that you, as an entrepreneur, will fall behind because the city is always changing. Or you’ll find that your team is starting to lack the kind of spirit a club/restaurant needs to have. In that sense you could also argue that by consciously choosing an ending date, a company always ends at his peak.

Very little… But there is indeed a new project coming up. From the same team that started Trouw. I’m more in the background this time. I’ve decided to take a year off to travel with my wife. That’s all I can say about it for now.

Public, staff and artists all work together to one particular point in time. And that’s the best feeling there is! That feeling, that place, that dance floor at that one moment it was so indescribably beautiful that you’d better stop? I think we all had that feeling about the last night in Club 11 as well in Trouw.

Lastly, why did you choose the name Trouw in 2009? And why did you leave the original logo on the building? Because the building already was called the “Trouwbuilding” and the name looked so beautiful on the facade. We, as a team, already started calling it Trouw. Besides, the newspaper and the word ‘Trouw’ (translation: faithful) in itself had so much meaning and history that it made sense to give it a new interpretation.

Trouw has been closed for almost a We approached the newspaper and asyear now. Did you in 2009 ever ima- ked for their permission to do so. Maingine it would be such a success? ly because the logo on the facade was theirs and we wanted to avoid as much Yes and no. Yes, because that’s what I conflict as possible. dreamed of and wanted. No, because those dreams were actually even This decision to allow us to keep the transcended. The first three years were name was very generous on their part. especially difficult. Trouw also almost went bankrupt at one point. However, we still get daily mail from across the country from customers Trouw was a club that focused on complaining about how they haven’t quality and was also timebound. been receiving their newspapers. What do you think was the influence of Trouw in Amsterdam when it closed? I find that really hard to answer. I was right in the middle of it all. But I do I hope it was a source of inspiration for many visitors and artists.

By: Roselinde Steijns

EDITOR IN CHIEF

romee schimmel

tanja wieser

REPORTER

EDITOR

Brooke beccarelli

REPORTER

saeeda hugiale

COLO

REPORTER

Petra van gelsdorp

jonas achorner

REPORTER

EDITOR

jackie tizora

roselinde steijns

REPORTER

paula sanchez

DESIGNER

OphON