Amsterdam Oersoep: Collaboration between Art & Architecture

The Nieuwendijk and Damrak in Amsterdam needed to be restructured and embellished. With the success story of the Markthal having proven that art can add tremendous value to a building, and helps to draw tourists, the civic authorities wanted the same for the Damrak passageway. To develop it as a big tourist attraction, Mothership was asked by Bouwinvest to write a pitch to embellish this passageway, and the pitch was won by Arno Coenen, Iris Roskam and Hans van Bentem with the work of art called ‘Amsterdam Oersoep’. 

The artwork primarily takes symbolic references from the famous canals of Amsterdam. Each object, from the ceiling to the floors, is inspired by the city of Amsterdam, its history and its future. However, the deeper meaning of the artworks is said to “refer to the magic powers of water and the coming into being of the universe.”

The passageway then has emerged as a 450 sq m of glass mosaic graphically representing all elements that reflect the unique character of Amsterdam. Traditional Italian Terrazzo flooring has a pattern that resembles archeological excavations. Handmade tiles embellished with 27 symbols applied in gold lustre, line the walls. Huge gilded and engraved mirrors displaying a tale of water, life and death, further enhance the space.

The lighting in the passageway is uniquely designed too! Seven chandeliers in three different styles: two large ones (named ‘Rembrandt’), one middle size (the ‘Vermeer’), and four smaller ones (named after ‘Ferdinand Bol’) are made of recycled bicycle parts, such as gears, head lamps, and handlebars – in tribute to the Dutch tradition of cycling. Besides this, fourteen three-dimensional stained glass lamps are installed, which are inspired by classic portal lamps, still seen in the entrances of Amsterdam’s canal houses. 

The overall experience of ‘Amsterdam Oersoep’ is wonderful; with the recreated crafts and traditions stirring up memories of a lost era; while hi-tech technologies employed to mill the bronze fish fountain, for instance, serve to indicate the way the city is moving forward – into the future!