KNSM Island
Encyclopedia
The KNSM Island is a man-made peninsula in the Eastern Docklands
of Amsterdam
. It is named for the Koninklijke Nederlandse Stoomboot-Maatschappij
(KNSM), the Royal Dutch Steamboat Shipping company which used to have its headquarters and its docks on the island. It is now a large residential area containing modern architecture with a mostly well-off population.
for the Oostelijke Handelskade, just like the adjacent Java Island. Later its level was raised with soil dredged from the North Sea Canal
. The ensuing harbor terrain was occupied in 1903 by the KNSM, which covered most of the island. In 1956 the KNSM celebrated its centennial, but the decolonization
of the Dutch East Indies
and the growth of cargo
transport spelled the end of the company, which merged into Nedlloyd
in 1981. KNSM moved some of its to the Western Docklands of Amsterdam and stopped others, and finally left the area in 1977. In the 1980s, squatters, artists, and urban nomads took over the area. In the 1990s, these groups that occupied what had come to be known as "sloaps" ("sites left over after [or before] planning") and had originally been tolerated, were slowly ordered out by the city.
, his first big project. He envisioned a mixed use of the space, and planned "super blocks," big buildings containing lots of individual homes and apartments, along a central avenue, mimicking the organization of the island's former warehouses and storage buildings. The redevelopment of the island was part of a masterplan that would turn the entire Eastern Docklands into modern residential areas to allow the city to expand. Many of the old buildings on the KNSM Island were preserved by order of the city, such as the old cafeteria
, the houses of the medical doctors, a storage building ("Loods 6"), a customs building, and the office of the Rijn Scheepvaart Maatschappij. While plans initially called for a rather exclusive neighborhood of home owners, the city mandated that a significant portion of the homes were to be build as rentals, to attract a more diverse population. Still, the island is known as a place for yuppies; the English paper The Telegraph
called it "Dockland chic."
Loods 6 currently contains artists' work spaces, a gallery, and an art exchange. The building, a showcase of 1950s design and architecture, also houses an exposition dedicated to the island's history. The former company park from 1956 was preserved and restored in 1994, with the help of original designer Mien Ruys
; it was renamed in her honor to Mien Ruysplantsoen.
and made by Dutch/Flemish sculptor Albert Termote. The sculptures had to be moved to make way for housing in 1981 and were removed to the Oosterdok, near the Nederlands Scheepvaartmuseum. In 2009 they returned to the island in the Azartplein.
Eastern Docklands
The Eastern Docklands is a neighborhood of Amsterdam, Netherlands, located between the IJ and the Amsterdam–Rhine Canal. The harbor area was constructed in the late nineteenth century to allow for increasing trade with the Dutch East Indies; a new location was necessitated by the construction of...
of Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
. It is named for the Koninklijke Nederlandse Stoomboot-Maatschappij
Nedlloyd
Nedlloyd was a Dutch shipping company, formed in 1970 as the Nederlandsche Scheepvaart Unie in a merger of several shipping lines:*Stoomvaart Maatschappij Nederland *Koninklijke Rotterdamsche Lloyd...
(KNSM), the Royal Dutch Steamboat Shipping company which used to have its headquarters and its docks on the island. It is now a large residential area containing modern architecture with a mostly well-off population.
History
Originally, the island was a breakwaterBreakwater (structure)
Breakwaters are structures constructed on coasts as part of coastal defence or to protect an anchorage from the effects of weather and longshore drift.-Purposes of breakwaters:...
for the Oostelijke Handelskade, just like the adjacent Java Island. Later its level was raised with soil dredged from the North Sea Canal
North Sea Canal
The North Sea Canal is a Dutch ship canal from Amsterdam to the North Sea at IJmuiden, constructed between 1865 and 1876 to enable seafaring vessels to reach the port of Amsterdam...
. The ensuing harbor terrain was occupied in 1903 by the KNSM, which covered most of the island. In 1956 the KNSM celebrated its centennial, but the decolonization
Decolonization
Decolonization refers to the undoing of colonialism, the unequal relation of polities whereby one people or nation establishes and maintains dependent Territory over another...
of the Dutch East Indies
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies was a Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia following World War II. It was formed from the nationalised colonies of the Dutch East India Company, which came under the administration of the Netherlands government in 1800....
and the growth of cargo
Cargo
Cargo is goods or produce transported, generally for commercial gain, by ship, aircraft, train, van or truck. In modern times, containers are used in most intermodal long-haul cargo transport.-Marine:...
transport spelled the end of the company, which merged into Nedlloyd
Nedlloyd
Nedlloyd was a Dutch shipping company, formed in 1970 as the Nederlandsche Scheepvaart Unie in a merger of several shipping lines:*Stoomvaart Maatschappij Nederland *Koninklijke Rotterdamsche Lloyd...
in 1981. KNSM moved some of its to the Western Docklands of Amsterdam and stopped others, and finally left the area in 1977. In the 1980s, squatters, artists, and urban nomads took over the area. In the 1990s, these groups that occupied what had come to be known as "sloaps" ("sites left over after [or before] planning") and had originally been tolerated, were slowly ordered out by the city.
Redevelopment
In the 1990s the entire area was reshaped into a housing area, based on a 1988 blueprint by Jo CoenenJo Coenen
Jo Coenen is a Dutch architect and urban planner. He studied architecture at the Eindhoven University of Technology , and later held professorships at TU Karlsruhe, Eindhoven University of Technology and Delft University of Technology.Between 2000 and 2004 Coenen was Chief Government Architect of...
, his first big project. He envisioned a mixed use of the space, and planned "super blocks," big buildings containing lots of individual homes and apartments, along a central avenue, mimicking the organization of the island's former warehouses and storage buildings. The redevelopment of the island was part of a masterplan that would turn the entire Eastern Docklands into modern residential areas to allow the city to expand. Many of the old buildings on the KNSM Island were preserved by order of the city, such as the old cafeteria
Cafeteria
A cafeteria is a type of food service location in which there is little or no waiting staff table service, whether a restaurant or within an institution such as a large office building or school; a school dining location is also referred to as a dining hall or canteen...
, the houses of the medical doctors, a storage building ("Loods 6"), a customs building, and the office of the Rijn Scheepvaart Maatschappij. While plans initially called for a rather exclusive neighborhood of home owners, the city mandated that a significant portion of the homes were to be build as rentals, to attract a more diverse population. Still, the island is known as a place for yuppies; the English paper The Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
called it "Dockland chic."
Loods 6 currently contains artists' work spaces, a gallery, and an art exchange. The building, a showcase of 1950s design and architecture, also houses an exposition dedicated to the island's history. The former company park from 1956 was preserved and restored in 1994, with the help of original designer Mien Ruys
Mien Ruys
Wilhelmina Jacoba Moussault-Ruys, better known as Mien Ruys , was a Dutch landscape and garden architect. Her gardening legacy is maintained in the Dutch town of Dedemsvaart, which is home to the Tuinen Mien Ruys...
; it was renamed in her honor to Mien Ruysplantsoen.
Accessibility
The Azartplein links the KNSM Island to the Java Island, and is the final stop of tram line 10.New buildings on the island
- Emerald Empire, by Jo CoenenJo CoenenJo Coenen is a Dutch architect and urban planner. He studied architecture at the Eindhoven University of Technology , and later held professorships at TU Karlsruhe, Eindhoven University of Technology and Delft University of Technology.Between 2000 and 2004 Coenen was Chief Government Architect of...
. - Piraeus, by German architects Hans KollhoffHans KollhoffHans Kollhoff is a German architect and professor.He studied architecture from 1968 to 1973 at the University of Karlsruhe with Egon Eiermann and studied abroad in 1974 at the Vienna University of Technology in Austria. He received his diploma in 1975 in Karlsruhe...
and Christian RappChristian RappJohn Christian Rapp was a professional ice hockey player who played in the SM-sarja. He played for HIFK. He was inducted into the Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame in 1985.-External links:*...
(1989-1994). 304 homes in 150 different types, 95% of which low-income housing. - Albert, by Belgian architect Bruno Albert, with a metal fence by Belgian artist Narcisse Tordoir.
- Sky Dome, a twenty-story apartment building by Wiel AretsWiel AretsWiel Arets is a Dutch architect, architectural theorist, urbanist, industrial designer and 'Professor of Building Planning and Design' at the Berlin University of the Arts , Germany. Arets studied at the Technical University of Eindhoven, graduating in 1983...
. - Hoogland, by Swiss architectural firm Diener & DienerDiener & DienerDiener & Diener is an architectural firm based in Basel, Switzerland. It was founded by Marcus Diener in 1942 and became Marcus Diener Architekt in 1948...
.
Amphitrite
When the KNSM celebrated its centennial, in 1959, the employees donated a group of sculptures and a fountain, dedicated to AmphitriteAmphitrite
In ancient Greek mythology, Amphitrite was a sea-goddess and wife of Poseidon. Under the influence of the Olympian pantheon, she became merely the consort of Poseidon, and was further diminished by poets to a symbolic representation of the sea...
and made by Dutch/Flemish sculptor Albert Termote. The sculptures had to be moved to make way for housing in 1981 and were removed to the Oosterdok, near the Nederlands Scheepvaartmuseum. In 2009 they returned to the island in the Azartplein.
External links
- KNSM Island on the site of Oostelijk Havengebied
- Model of the Piraeus building on the KNSM Island in Google's 3d warehouse