Among good Company
Amsterdam, the last city
My two month backpacking trip in Europe has finally come to an end in the best possible way. When I first booked my plane tickets back in April it seemed like I would be seeing my friends Jenna and Evan at the end of the trip so I was estatic when we finally reunited in Amsterdam. Our plans from months ago had materialized.
We had two fun days together to visit some museums and see the city. Importantly, we walked around the city and saw some interesting architecture.
For museums, we went to the Moco modern art museum which had a bunch of Bansky art. He has impressive spraypaint work but I was also impressed by his ability to use other mediums.
Later we went to Nxt, the Netherland’s first immersive and interactive museum. I wasn’t as impressed because it was a series of six rooms and I only enjoyed two. I’d felt that a lot of them were more video watching with narration than immersive experience. In hindsight, Evan pointed out that they were all in fact interactive to some degree. That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy Nxt, I just found it underwhelming. I think this is because I was so impressed by Tokyo TeamLabs that it set a high bar. Now every time I hear about an immersive experience I get excited and think that it’ll be Teamlabs level.
We also visited the Nemo museum of science and technology but that was to see the public space on the roof. The angled shape of the building makes for a large stepped plaza which has spinning platforms and a water channel for kids to play with.
At night we walked through the red-light district and went to a show that was more sex than performance, but that was mostly to say that we’d done it. The red-light district was certainly an experience for a night but not for two.
Like all cities, Amsterdam has different housing typologies from houses to townhouses to stacked apartments and condos. What makes Amsterdam different is that they’re all relatively near to the water.
The old town is well-kept rowhouses that are leaning out over the street. this is probably due to settelement of the brick buildings on the soft soil. Evan thought that Amsterdam was a better version of Venice and I’m inclined to agree. There’s more places to walk, the buildings are in better condition, and it feels less like a tourist Disneyland and more like a place where locals still live.
Near the Sporenburg Bridges, two landmark red structures, Evan knew of some modern houses backing the canal. They are each the same width and height but each is uniquely designed. There was one on the corner with channel glass that we all particularly liked. I think it’s because the semi-transparency makes for an interstital zone that is more welcoming and also a semi-private outdoor space. Their backs are all along the water and so most had a boat dock. That would be great in the summer and I really digged it.
One project that’s talked about a lot in school is Silodam by MVRDV. It’s a pretty cool block because it has different facades referencing stacked shipping containers. Evan also pointed out that the different facades allude to what’s behind, whether it is single bed units, larger family units, or studio lofts. I haven’t studied Silodam myself, but I’ve come across it in passing multiple times.
Jenna and Evan had an earlier flight home so after they left I continued to explore the city by myself for two more days walking around to see more architecture. There were some interesting restaurants over the water and on one day I stumbled into the public library. The library was a big building and seemed to be the place to be if you were a student. Half of each floor appeared to be dedicated to study carols and only a small portion had book stacks.
The valley is another MVRDV, who seem to have projects everywhere in the Netherlands. It recently opened so there was still evidence of construction. It’s an interesting three towers on a sort of podium that has a pathway on top. The exterior of the buildings is curtain wall glass but that part that’s “exposed” to make the valleys is a beige sandstone. It’s a cool project because there are a lot of protrusions and a large cavernous atrium in the podium but I also wondered how private the units would be if they’re seemingly looking at each other across the valleys.
I’m glad that I was able to walk around different neighbourhoods in Amsterdam and see different housing typologies. I think there’s a lot to be learned from the bike culture and having pedestrian walkways. Most notably, I enjoyed that they weren’t bland condo towers for investments but actually felt like homes for people and families. Even though the ground floor units would open onto the sidewalk, careful placement of planters and reflective glass made it feel like a city for people instead of capital. That’s not something that can be said for many neighbourhoods in Toronto.
I concluded my Amsterdam tour at the Straat museum for street art. It is an old factory building that has been emptied out and filled with large canvases. The artwork was quite impressive both in detail and size. Evan really wanted to see it but it was closed when he was in town so I sent him some photos.
Now that the European trip in the first half of the summer is over, I’m gearing up for the second half, which I hope to be a roadtrip to the Maritimes. I’m a little frustrated that everytime I return to Canada after backpacking I don’t have a place to call home. Each of the three times I’ve gone backpacking I’ve left my residence so that I don’t pay rent while I’m away for months on end. But it also means that I have nowhere to call home and nowhere to sleep when I return. In fact, Toronto isn’t much different from Europe in the sense that I’m still booking AirBnBs and hoping between accomodations. For now I’m stuck in a somewhat smelly suburban home with terrible central heating running like a turbo fan every hour. Hopefully, in 5–10 years I’ll have a place to call home, but that’s still a far out dream.
