Scheepvaarthuis (Shipping House)
The first great building of the Amsterdam School: a shipping office worked, end to end, with the imagery of the sea.
At a glance
The Scheepvaarthuis was built between 1913 and 1916 as a shared headquarters for six Amsterdam shipping companies. Joan van der Mey led the design, with Michel de Klerk and Piet Kramer, and it became the first major statement of the Amsterdam School. Brick is treated like sculpture; ironwork, stained glass and carving carry a single maritime theme. It is now a hotel.
Key facts
- Location: Prins Hendrikkade, Amsterdam
- Architects: Joan van der Mey, Michel de Klerk, Piet Kramer
- Built: 1913–1916
- Style: Amsterdam School (Expressionist brick)
- Today: a hotel
History
Six shipping firms pooled their offices into one building on the site where, by tradition, ships once left for the East. Van der Mey was given freedom to make it expressive, and he brought in de Klerk and Kramer, the young talents who would define the Amsterdam School.
They covered the building in maritime symbolism, from sea gods to compass points, and designed everything down to the door handles and letterboxes. After decades as a council office it was converted, keeping its interiors, into a hotel.
What you see
The brick swells and folds around the corner site like the prow of a ship. Sculpted figures of the sea, ironwork and bands of ornament run across the front, and the stairwell inside glows with stained glass. Where Berlage stripped brick bare, the Amsterdam School made it sing.
Practical information
- Open: exterior any time; interior as a hotel
- Cost: free to view from the street
- Best for: the brick sculpture and the corner
- Time needed: 15–30 minutes
Getting there
The Scheepvaarthuis stands on Prins Hendrikkade, a short walk east of Amsterdam Centraal along the waterfront. Trams and buses pass close by.
Nearby
- Amsterdam Centraal — Cuypers’ great station, a few minutes west
- Nemo Science Museum — on the eastern docks
Sources
- Encyclopædia Britannica / Wikipedia — Scheepvaarthuis
- Amsterdam heritage register (Rijksmonument) — building record
- Wikimedia Commons — image source and licence
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