More photographs from my Amsterdam on Edge series made between 1992 and 2007.
Amsterdam (4×5) — © Brian Rose
New plans for the Bijlmer, a troubled neighborhood built from scratch in the ’70s, in a passageway beneath a train viaduct.
Amsterdam (4×5 film) — © Brian Rose
In the south of Amsterdam alongside the same rail line, advertising signs convey social messages.
Amsterdam (4×5 film) — © Brian Rose
Ijburg, the latest new neighborhood in Amsterdam.
I’ve been enjoying these photos and others in your Amsterdam series. What’s your feel for the issue of quality in those comtemporary buildings as compared to those in the US, i.e. our boxes, especially the stucco boxes ala Southern California where the feeling is that they are definitely temporary. What a contrast to the older buildings. Or is it just me being in SoCal where it seems like most everything is crap?
Innovative architecture is the norm in the Netherlands, and design in general is taken very seriously at every level. But the Dutch are so enthralled with the new that they often lose sight of basic values that make places coherent and vital. Many of these new outer neighborhoods feel vacant to me, despite all the planning that went into them. On the other hand, there is nothing in the Netherlands that compares to the miles of strip malls, fast food chains, and gas stations on the edge of nearly every American city.
From my experience, construction quality is mixed in the Netherlands. Probably better than average American quality, but many of the same issues that come up here with regard to new construction are present there.
I think that attitudes about permanence are different–the US has so much more space to waste, is a more mobile society, and cost of living is cheaper. The Dutch have a lot at stake in how they manage their limited land, and ever encroaching water.