“We were born to make the sea dry!” This Dutch motto is most clearly drawn and architecturally structured in this part of the city. The land on which East Amsterdam stands today simply did not exist in the early 20th century. And there was only the Hey River, with which the Dutch have long behaved extremely cavalierly, in the spirit of “hey, move over!” The districts of Seeburg (closer to the city center) and Eiburg (a very new, eastern satellite city) are a grand construction project of the 21st century.
And what good would it do to live in the almost constant wind here? But the A-Project is the most ambitious and expensive residential project in Amsterdam in recent years. The best architectural and construction forces are thrown here. All the old harbor warehouses are being broken down and high-end apartment buildings are being built.
The area of Zeeburg is ready for living, it was built up in the 90s. Seeburg includes the islands Koninklijke Nederlandse Stoomboot-Maatschappij (KNSM) and Java (Java), so named apparently because of its shape, remotely resembling its Indonesian counterpart. The first island was named in honor of the late shipping company whose ships sailed between Holland and Indonesia.
KNSM Island can already be considered an architectural exhibition. At the easternmost tip of the island, closest to the station, the new Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ concert hall was built in 2005 and the Bimhuis Jazz Club is under construction.
There is also the new IPTA river passenger terminal (2004) and the 20-story Movenpick Hotel (2006). The Jan Schaeferbrug Bridge (2001), a giant centipede across the island of Java, is extremely funny. What is left of the past is the heavy-weight Hotel Lloyd (1920, architect Breman), built especially for immigrants.
The old warehouses of the late 19th century are now being actively converted into something different, more in keeping with the post-industrial era. At the far end of the island there are masterpieces of modern house-building: the Barcelona complex (1993, architect Albert), the “whale” house, which really looks like the largest marine mammal (1995-2000, architect van Dongen) and the round house Emerald (1997, architect Joe Kuhnen).
A tourist to KNSM island can be brought by the desire to have fun in a trendy club Panama (Oostelijke Handelskade, No. 4), opened in 2001. It is located in a former warehouse and includes a cafe-restaurant, a dance studio, and a theater.
Uburg, consisting of seven new islands, is to be completed by 2012. The area should become fashionable and expensive, so all sorts of boutiques, clubs, theaters, etc. are already opening here. The first residents moved to Eiburg in 2004, and now three islands are ready for living.
Eiburg is connected to Seeburg by the original and aesthetic Enneus Heermabrug bridge (Enneus Heermabrug, 2001, architect Nicholas Grimshaw).
Both areas can be reached from the station by the high-speed streetcar 26, the travel time to the terminus is 20 minutes. There are buses 28,32,59,61 to KNSM Island.
