Day 06 - a 'dam fine place to be
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Stedelijk Museum | Moco Museum | Canals
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The Netherlands; a happy place of mine. I’ve visited the city of Amsterdam several times in the past and I’m always amazed at the varying interactions and offerings from the times before.
It’s good to be back.
I spent this frosty Friday walking the canal-laden streets and taking in all their historic beauty. One of my favourite characteristics of the city is it’s ability to showcase a wide assortment of gracefully-aged leaning facades and integration of modern architectural overlays within the urban fabric.
A fine example of and true merging of these thematics is the MVRDV Crystal House in the PC Hoofstraat; the former flagship store for luxury-brand Chanel. The building has received multiple awards since its completion in 2016, much of which the result of the innovative introduction of modular glazed bricks gradating from a transparent pedestrian threshold to the solidified earthy masonry above.
Further past this district and under the busker-filled pedestrian tunnel beneath the Rijksmuseum I arrived at the Stedelijk. The 1895 original museum saw an extension completed in 2012 - the Benthem Crouwel Wing - one that is reminiscent of and fondly referred to as the bathtub. The two languages couldn’t be further apart. The addition sculpted as an almost seamless white volume was achieved with a fibre enforced composite and is the world’s largest example of this material application. It’s crazy that to learn that the facade is actually panelised with joints concealed through intricate detailing to maintain an expression of singular form and an impossibly thin roof.
The last stop for the afternoon was the Stedelijk’s neighbour, the Moco Museum. The modern contemporary museum had an impressive line-up of international artist exhibits including Yayoi Kusama, Banksy, and Daniel Arsham. Arsham’s ‘Elastic Walls’ was a fun and immersive display of architectural elements acting in opposite of expectation to evoke thoughts of what the properties, materials, and structures are that constitute solid forms.
Another good day!
