proudproud. 2008 redlight fashion amsterdam since january 2008, the redlight district has been...
TRANSCRIPT
IBM GLOBAL CENTER OF EXCELLENCE FOR WATER MANAGEMENT
Market power of waterELECTRONATION
Dancing round the worldRAU ARCHITECTS
One planet architecture
BABCOCK & BROWN
Investing in public projects
180 AMSTERDAM
Amsterdam as USP
STREAMLINE STUDIO’S
Name of the game
CREATIVE AMSTERDAM
QUALITY OF LIFECREATIVE FESTIVALS & EVENTS
MUSIC & DANCE
ART & DESIGN
PHOTOGRAPHY & FASHION
INSPIRING GLOBAL VILLAGE
MUSEUMS & STROLLING
AMSTERDAMSECOND EDITION2008Proud.
REDLIGHT FASHIONAMSTERDAM
Since January 2008, the Redlight
district has been transformed to
an international fashion hotspot.
For the period of one year
ex-brothels are loaned to the
twenty upcoming Dutch fashion
designers of the moment and
used as shop-windows, workshops
and living areas.
www.redlightfashion
amsterdam.com
003
Since way back, Amsterdam has been known
for its resolutely freedom-loving character.
We Amsterdammers have always prided
ourselves on embracing new modes of living
and artistic styles, and on being open to
alternative concepts and ideas – before, and
more, than anywhere else. This special talent
has always been a source of boundless vitality
for the city.
Three centuries ago, great artists and thinkers
such as Rembrandt and Spinoza were drawn
here on account of this particular characteristic,
and as Mayor I’m proud that our attractive-
ness on this point has continued up to the
present day. Amsterdam keeps inspiring
people with creative ideas, concepts and
products.
There are plenty of proofs of this. Some of
the most striking of the advertising and
marketing campaigns were developed and
designed by media offices in Amsterdam. In
numerous places in our city, people are devi-
sing sustainable solutions for the multiple
energy and environment problems that
threaten us, and we are well on the way to
becoming an international centre for new
forms of expression and for entertainment
products like dance music and computer
games.
Amsterdam also has the advantage of great
connections. Thanks to a high-quality broad-
band network, and the presence of important
logistical hubs such as Amsterdam Airport
Schiphol and the ports of Rotterdam and
Amsterdam, the transport of people, goods,
capital and data is nowhere more rapid or
reliable in continental Europe.
At least as important is the fact that Amster-
dam has remained pleasantly compact. Later
in this second edition of Proud, an advertising
executive recommends Amsterdam as a world
city on an intimate scale. I’d like to add to that:
Amsterdam is a global village. Work and life
here are both on a manageable scale; within
a few square kilometres, numerous big
concerns have set up their head offices or
distribution centres for continental Europe,
and a high density of business service provi-
ders has sprung up around them.
The creative industries especially benefit
from this. The creative process thrives on the
undercurrent of renewal, tangible everywhere
in the city, that constantly invites you to go
just one step further. No wonder that creati-
ves feel pre-eminently at home in this inspi-
ring climate, that they are always so happy
to come to Amsterdam. What’s more, the
presence of so many potential clients means
that there is an ever-increasing demand for
all forms of creative production.
As Mayor of Amsterdam, I am naturally proud
of these developments. But I’m also aware
that our success is vulnerable. Therefore,
further reinforcing Amsterdam as a creative
incubator for the rest of Europe is high on
the administrative agenda of Amsterdam’s
Mayor and College of Aldermen. And I can
promise that we will continue to give a highly
creative emphasis to the coming years.
Job Cohen
Mayor of Amsterdam
Proud
INTRODUCTION: MAYOR JOB COHEN
PHOTOGRAPHY: MART ENGELEN ~ A-A-P
005
INTERVIEWS
Alexander & Hector Fernandez Streamline Studios
Djeevan Schiferli IBM global centre of excellence for water management
Roy Avni Electronation
Thomas Rau Rau architects
Edgar Kasteel & Peggy Stein
Rob Oudman Babcock & Brown
Alex Melvin 180 Amsterdam
PAN-EUROPEAN CREATIVE BUSINESS HUB
Creative Director of Europe Networking in Europe
PAN-EUROPEAN BUSINESS HUB
Expatcenter
A tax system bred for progress and expansion
Facts & figures
Contact
QUALITY OF LIFE
Creative festivals & events
Music & dance
Art & design
Photography
Fashion
Inspiring global village
Museums & strolling
AMSTERDAM ICONS
The Nightwatch research project
Canals
I amsterdam
Redlight Fashion Amsterdam
MISCELLANEOUS
Schiphol VIP-Centre Concrete
UN Studio Ben van Berkel
Spaces for Creatives
Academies
Yes I am Miami Ad School Amsterdam
Gateway to Dutch Creativity
The Stone Twins Garech & Declan
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Cover Mr. M.J. Cohen, Mayor of Amsterdam by Mart Engelen ~ A-A-P
Publisher City of Amsterdam, Almere, Amstelveen,Haarlemmermeer, Amsterdam PartnersDirector Hilde I. van der Meer, Charles van RenesseProject management Riske Akkerman,Mike Shulmeister
Contributing Publishers Creative AmsterdamContributing Directors Joke van Antwerpen, Alma SchaafstalContributing Project management Masja Zeegers
Editorial Director Peggy Stein
EDITORIALConcept Bureau PindakaasCreative Director Peggy SteinDesigner Marjo DuivemanProduction Tim van der Most, Joanna Królikowska Editor Hans KopsContributing Editors Jane Szita, Ron M. Boyle, Daniel Joseph
PHOTOGRAPHYPhotographer Mart Engelen ~ A-A-PProduction Director Victor Alling ~ A-A-P
ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHYVictor Alling ~ A-A-P, Edwin van Eis, Henni van Beek,Tim van der Most, Port of Amsterdam, BureauBroedplaatsen, Frans Hals Museum, RVDA, Gert Janvan Rooij, Kees van Hageman, IBC, Picnic, MylouOord, Cool Unlimited, Illustration Dick Bruna © Mer-cis BV, 2003, Sensation, Tiesto World, Cary Marke-rink, Philip Riches ~ House of Orange, Jannes Linders
Maps C. Mayhew & R. Simmon (NASA/GSFC, NOAA/NGDC, DMSP Digital Archive), Fenna Westerdiep,Google MapsPrinter Drukkerij Grafinoord
Additional Editors/Production Lilian Aarts, NurahAbdulkadir, Nicolle van den Elst, Tjarda de Haan,Sanne van Hees, Lucas Hendriks, Christa de Kemp,Leonie Kuijer, Hilde Lübeck, Eva Olde Monnikhof,Anja van Os, Geerte Udo, Sabrine Strijbos
© Concept & Design Bureau Pindakaas© Text City of Amsterdam Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is strictly prohibited.
Every effort has been made to ensure that the information in this brochure was accurate at the time of going to press. We apologise forany errors or any omissions.
COLOFONProud. 2008 | second edition
004
THE NIGHTWATCHRESEARCH PROJECT
Rembrandt’s Nightwatch is a
master piece painting with
monumental status as a symbol of
Dutch culture. The Nightwatch
Research Project wants to expose
the significance of this painting
through the eyes of contemporary
artists. Reputed artists were
selected to give their creative
interpretation and were required to
maintain the format (363 x 437 cm)
and the dynamics of the original
composition. Initiator Aldert
Mantje and Jan Maris created
”The Nightwatch, Two Minutes
Later”, a work that has been
valued at €50,000 by Sotheby’s.
www.nrpworldwide.nl
For games
producer
Streamline Studios, being in Amster-
dam is key. Co-founder and partner
Alexander Fernandez is convinced
that the location of his business, with
its 50 employees of 18 different na-
tionalities, plays a decisive role in its
international success.
“Every day, dozens of new games
enter the market worldwide,” says
American-born Fernandez. “In the
midst of this huge product offering,
you can only distinguish yourself if
your concept fits perfectly with the
target group, and both the design and
the creative interpretation are of the
highest quality. We stay ahead in the
race, because we can still get the best
and most creative game and level de-
signers, draughtsmen and developers,
to work for us. And they always seem to
think that our address in Amsterdam is
one of the most attractive parts of the
job contract.
“For creative people, living and working
here is an extra plus. We’re inspired
just by being here. For developing
games, it’s vital that you stay in touch
with what’s alive in the youth culture,
and as far as I know, nowhere else in
Europe is there as much movement in
that area than here. Also, there’s a
continuing cross-pollination process
going on, with other games businesses
of course, but also with people who are
interested in more traditional forms of
design and with media companies too.
Add to this the fact that you really can
fly everywhere from Amsterdam, as well
as have access to the most powerful
broadband connections, and I think it’s
no surprise that Streamline Studios gets
at least one Platinum title (selling a
million copies or more) every year, and
has built up a portfolio of 35 titles.”
VIRTUAL BUSINESS
Devising, developing and publishing
computer games is a pre-eminently
virtual business. Traditional location
requirements such as needing to be
near the market or the presence of a
good logistics network, hardly count in
the games industry. Distribution is via
the Internet and mobile phones, or is
left to one of the three big producers
of console games (Sony, Nintendo and
Microsoft). So the really decisive factor
in choosing a location for a games
producer or publisher is the attractive-
ness of the city or region for creatives,
the presence of a network of gaming
and other companies to cooperate with
creatively and technologically, and
enough critical mass to result in
economies of scale. The Amsterdam
Metropolitan Area shines in all these
areas. Since younger demographic
groups spend more time on playing
games than watching TV, the number
of games businesses that have been
started up here or located here has
grown explosively. In the triangle
formed by Amsterdam, Utrecht and
Rotterdam, a conservative estimate
puts the number of companies actively
involved, directly or indirectly, in the
production of virtual games at over 100.
Together, they have a total turnover
amounting to over one billion euros.
This makes the The Amsterdam Metro -
politan Area a focal point of European
007
STREAMLINE STUDIOS
Hector Fernandez,
VP Business Development
& Alexander Fernandez,
Chief Executive Officer
gameINTERVIEW: ALEXANDER & HECTOR FERNANDEZ
TEXT: HANS KOPS | PHOTOGRAPHY: MART ENGELEN ~ A-A-P
The nameof the
GUERRILLA GAMES
Guerrilla is a young but rapidly expand-
ing game development studio, with a
growing reputation as one of Europe’s
leading game developers.
Guerrilla's outstanding technology
and strong creative and artistic vision
quickly elevated the company to a
prominent rank among Europe’s game
developers. After the successful re-
lease of Killzone for PlayStation 2, the
company was acquired by Sony Com-
puter Entertainment in 2005. It went
on to release the critically acclaimed
Killzone: Liberation for PlayStation
Portable, and is currently working on
Killzone 2 for PlayStation 3. The devel-
opment studio is based in the heart of
Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
www.guerrilla-games.com
OPEN SOURCE 3D ANIMATION
Last April, the Amsterdam based
‘Blender Institute’ premiered the short
3D animation movie ‘Big Buck Bunny’.
The movie differentiates itself by its
totally open character. The movie -
including all materials in the animation
studio - are freely accessible for every-
body to reuse, learn from or just enjoy.
“The main intention of the movie was
to stimulate the development of open
source 3D software” said producer
and Institute director Ton Roosendaal,
“But the result equals on an artistic
level as well as on a technical ingenuity
the quality of what you would expect
from large animation studios”.
www.bigbuckbunny.org
009008
developing a new game can come to
us for support for the actual creation
and all other design activities. Together,
we can profit in time and efficiency.”
The last point is especially important,
as the production of new games is be-
coming increasingly expensive, while
their earning time is constantly getting
shorter. “Five years ago, you could still
produce a game for two or three million
euros, whereas nowadays you have to
raise 20 million or more for a project,”
explains Fernandez.“The consumer is
only getting more demanding, and
expects any new release to be more
life-like and to offer more challenges.
At the same time, you can see that the
technology is developing so fast and
the global competition is so fierce that,
in extreme cases, your have to try to
recoup your investment in just a couple
of months. That means that production
times must be accelerated, and that
the basis of the creative process must
be standardised, wherever possible.
We can do that.” After a few growing
pains in earlier phases, Alexander Fer-
nandez believes Streamline Studios is
now pre-eminently positioned to make
an even bigger jump in the coming
years.“This industry is experiencing an
enormous acceleration in growth,” he
says. “Almost every day, there’s a new
business opportunity. You can also see
that more and more foreign players
have found their way to Amsterdam.
Actually, we’re currently working mainly
with non-Dutch partners on new
projects. Right now we’re busy produc-
ing a new game with a Swedish pro-
ducer, and we have contacts with
other clients in and outside Europe.”
The advantages of the Amsterdam
Metropolitan Area as a location, noted
at the start of this article, stand to
become even more attractive thanks
to what Fernandez calls, “the power of
critical mass.” He explains: “In the past,
when it came to games, you thought
immediately of San Francisco or
London. Now, you can see that there’s
so much happening in Amsterdam,
and so much knowledge and expertise
meet here, that it has become the third
gaming hotspot. And of course, that’s
the best impulse imaginable.”
STREAMLINE STUDIOS
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN THE NETHERLANDS
ESTABLISHED IN THE AMSTERDAM
METROPOLITAN AREA SINCE 2001
EMPLOYEES 50
INDUSTRY VIDEO GAME INDUSTRY /
INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY
ACTIVITY HEADQUARTER
games technology. One of the figure-
heads of this still young industry is
Guerilla Games, which was recently
bought by Sony. The design and coor-
dination of its megaseller Killzone, for
example, were done from a 17th-cen-
tury canal house in the heart of the
city. While Guerilla Games aims espe-
cially at the console market (games
which can only be played on purpose-
built games computers such as Nin-
tendo Wii and the Sony Playstation),
producers such as Gameworld, Zylom,
Playlogic and Spill Group are mainly
active in online or casual gaming.
Their games are accessible via the In-
ternet, and users pay for registration or
if they download a game. Spill Group,
based in Hilversum, is a major power
in this segment: it has over 60 million
international visitors a month on its
several gaming sites, enough to score
highly in the rankings of the most vis-
ited web addresses.
Another sector of the games industry
that’s currently gathering momentum
is the field of serious gaming. This cat-
egory covers all applications that have
an educational purpose. For example,
Delft-based knowledge and research
institution TNO worked with several
games companies to develop a game
in which surgeons can practise their
hand-eye coordination. And that’s still
just a warm-up for the many applica-
tions that this still relatively new
specialism offers: think of the possibili-
ties in the field of e-learning, company
training and product instructions, for
example the Amsterdam knowledge
institute Waag Society (“developing
innovative technology for creative
applications”) is currently busy making
an inventory of the several options,
and the opportunities arrived at so far
promises to become much larger,
according to director Marleen Stikker.
“This really is an enormous growth
market,” she says.” And as a region, we
have already gained a strong position.”
CO-DEVELOPMENT
Within this rapidly growing and matur-
ing network, Streamline Studios, with
its eclectic group of national and inter-
national partners, has a unique place.
“We specialise in co-development
services for third parties,” explains
Alexander Fernandez. That means that
a company with a good concept for
INTERVIEW: ALEXANDER & HECTOR FERNANDEZ
- The games industry is a rapidly growing segment
of the entertainment and media sector.
- In 2012, according to estimates from the OECD
and business consultants Pricewaterhouse -
Coopers, its global turnover will be $68 billion
(€43.3 billion), up from $42 billion today.
- The total market for media and entertainment
products is currently $2200 billion (€1400
billion).
011
PAN-EUROPEAN CREATIVE BUSINESS HUB
pean cultures like no one else, and they
are used to working with them. Add to
this the fact that he can cycle to work
every day, that his wife and children
already feel like Amsterdammers, that
the office he manages is attracting
increasingly prestigious accounts, he
hopes that he can spend many more
years working from an office with an
Amsterdam canal view.
FAST ANSWERS
Ask the directors of foreign companies
in Amsterdam what distinguishes the
region from other interesting business
locations in Europe, and you’ll get
many different answers. One will cite
the fact that nearly all the European
multinationals have a base or are rep-
resented here, while another will point
to the international orientation of
Amsterdammers and the multicultural
character of the city. A third prizes the
excellent physical and digital connec-
tivity, and the inspiring setting of this
historic trading city with its rich cultural
inheritance. But there is one thing they
all agree on: Amsterdam is the director
of Europe.
Thanks to its central position, the
Amsterdam Metropolitan Area has
long been a transit port for people,
goods and capital, to and from the 350
million consumers on the European
continent. And with the rise of the
knowledge-based economy and ad-
vanced communications and informa-
tion technologies, the importance of
this directing role has only increased,
and even gained an extra dimension.
The development of the creative sector
in Amsterdam is visible proof of this.
More and more European and non-
European companies which depend,
in various ways, on developing and on
elaborating new ideas, concepts,
products or services, are gravitating to
Amsterdam and the surrounding area.
Whether they are advertising agencies
or architectural bureaus, creative fin-
anciers, TV producers, or businesses in
relatively new industries like dance or
gaming, one after another they are
choosing for Amsterdam Metropolitan
Area as a creative platform for the rest
of continental Europe.
The many advantages of the region as
a business location are also pre-emi-
nently suited to the start-up and growth
phases of all kinds of knowledge-in-
tensive businesses. From so many per-
spectives, Amsterdam is exceptionally
well connected. It has the second
highest concentration of broadband
connections in Europe. What’s more, it
is a global Internet hub, and Amsterdam
Airport Schiphol is just a 15-minute
train ride from the city centre. Then
there’s the fact that a logistics cluster of
010
CreativeDirector of
EuropeNETWORKS IN EUROPE
As an American advertising professional
put it, summarising the advantages of
his chosen business location: “Amster-
dam is a world city on an intimate scale.”
Asked to elaborate, he explained that
in Amsterdam he can rely on a creative
network of a similar quality and breadth
to those in his earlier working locations,
London and New York. But what really
distinguishes the city is the compact
scale that facilitates creativity and
knowledge exchange. All the contacts
relevant for a creative company are
just a stone’s throw away (often quite
literally), and this fact alone makes the
total process of creation and produc-
tion faster and more flexible than he’s
been used to.
Above all, he sees the Dutch as bridge -
builders. They know the sensitivities
and idiosyncracies of different Euro-
- In 2007, the Amsterdam’s creative sector’s
turnover was an estimated €5.5 billion and is
still growing and prospering.
- In Amsterdam Metropolitan Area, over
40,000 people are active in developing and
realising new ideas, concepts or services.
- In 2007, the total number of new jobs in the
field was 1,322, representing an increase of
4.2 per cent on the previous year.
013012
unique scope and innovative strength
has developed around the port cities
of Rotterdam and Amsterdam.
While such physical advantages are
important for claiming the role of di-
rector of continental Europe, the most
important USPs of Amsterdam where
the knowledge industries are concerned
are immaterial in nature. In the famous
Golden Age (1600-1700), the city was
already considered the European cen-
tre of social and cultural innovation.
The world’s first multinational, the VOC,
was established here, share trading was
invented, and the first stock exchange
opened its doors. But liberal Amster-
dam was also a setting in which the
ideas of a free thinker like Spinoza
could flourish, and last century, during
the Sixties, it became the epicentre of
a broad wave of emancipation that has
since had an enormous influence on
today’s Western world. Nowadays,
Amsterdam is taking the lead when it
comes to developing new solutions for
energy and environmental problems.
STILL SPARKLING
Today, the presence of a wide range of
high-quality institutions, plus the pro-
portionally highest concentration of
business service providers in the world,
is encouraging knowledge sharing and
multi-disciplinary thinking. The manage -
able scale of Amsterdam, as referred
to in the opening words of this article,
is a big advantage in this. The Dutch
way of doing business is characterised
by its ability to build bridges between
different cultural identities. In the melt -
ing pot that is Amsterdam, with its 174
different nationalities, that approach
has become a way of life. The compo-
sition and attitude of the local (profes-
sional) population is proof of this:
mainly multilingual, multicultural,
tolerant, sometimes opinionated, but
always eager to find a consensus.
Living and working in creative Amster-
dam is a rewarding experience in itself,
but the material benefits of being based
here are also convincing. A broad range
of non-Dutch companies is migrating
to Amsterdam Metropolitan Area. At
the moment, there are over 1,400
companies of foreign origin, including
over 150 European head offices and
sales offices. They all profit from a
consistently positive tax and invest-
ment climate, and as a result they
achieve above-average rates of growth.
Last year, their average turnover in-
creased by 10 per cent or more, and
growth in profits, at 9 per cent, was
higher than elsewhere in Europe. The
client portfolios of the creative sector
also profit indirectly from this. Or, in
the words of the advertising executive
quoted at the start of this story: “In
Amsterdam, you always have the feel-
ing that you’re in the flow. You float
along on an undercurrent that is
stronger than you are. If you go with it,
the possibilities for profit creation ar-
rive almost automatically.”
- Foreign companies account for 15 per cent of
employment.
- They represent more than 25 per cent of the
turnover, and bring in 21 per cent of the added
value.
- The average productivity of a non-Dutch
company is higher (€111,200 per employee,
compared with €96,800 on average for Dutch
companies).
- Foreign companies have lower overheads, and
make extensive use of cost-effective strategies,
such as outsourcing non-core competencies.
THE INTERNATIONALISERINGSMONITOR,
A PUBLICATION OF DUTCH CENTRAL BANK
AND CBS (2008)
PICNIC CROSS MEDIA WEEKFrom 24 to 26 September 2008, thousands of creative minds from all
over the world will come together in Amsterdam for the third
PICNIC.
PICNIC brings together and disseminates the ideas and knowledge
of the world’s best creators and innovators, through a top-class con-
ference, a broad selection of seminars, a series of hands-on work-
shops and many many other events.
It spotlights cutting-edge products and services at the intersection
of media, technology, arts and entertainment, and brings together
entrepreneurs, investors, creators as well as scientists, and other in-
dustry leaders. And you can do more than pick up new ideas and
network with your peers. Save the world.. Create a new service...
Experience new tools... Find a business partner... Admire the arts...
Get inspired... And of course party with Europe’s digital elite.
IMAGINE, CREATE, INSPIREThe PICNIC Conference is a high-level plenary meeting of bright,
creative minds. The world’s best media entrepreneurs, thinkers and
creators share their stories. The buzzing heart of the action, the con-
ference attracts more than 1,000 delegates from all over the world
for series of groundbreaking sessions.
The main theme is Collaborative Creativity in its many guises. We
will look at new and connected forms of intelligence and creativity,
from the fields of entertainment, science, the arts and business.
From the global brain to crowd-sourced design, from data visualiza-
tion techniques to fostering creativity; from connected cities to con-
nected souls: in a series of ground-breaking presentations,
discussions and debates we will explore the future of collaborative
creativity and its implications for us all. www.picnicnetwork.org
creative festivals& events
QUALITY OF LIFE: CREATIVE FESTIVALS & EVENTS
GRACHTENFESTIVAL The Grachtenfestival is the annual festival with (classical) music in
special locations that have cultural and historical value: concerts on
pontoons on the Amsterdam canals, at famous houses and in
monuments like the Anne Frank Museum. The theme of this year's
Grachtenfestival is 'secretive', inspiring artists and musicians to
create programmes with sneak previews, secret tales, and obscure
work of famous composers and unknown contemporaries.
www.grachtenfestival.nl
FREEDESIGNDOMAll design-related events in the Amsterdam/Utrecht region in
September and October are now part of a single festival: 4 weeks of
FreeDesigndom. The programme includes Via Milano Dutch
Design, Streetlab, Multiplicity & Visual Identities, the Woonbeurs
Amsterdam. The popular Inside Design Amsterdam exhibition is a
symposium from Utrecht Manifest about social design and, for the
first time ever in Amsterdam, the much talked-about Experimental
Design biennale. www.freedesigndom.com
EXPERIMENTAThe prominent design biennale from Lisbon will now also be held in
Amsterdam and alternate annually between both cities. The theme
of this year’s Experimenta is Space and Place. There will be three
large projects: Urban Play, Playground and Come to my Place.
Amsterdam Conferences and Open Talks will take place and a
programme of special fringe events will pop up at unexpected
places in the city. www.experimentadesign.nl
WCIT 2010World Congress of Information Technology (WCIT) is the world’s
biggest and most important international IT forum. Every other year
the event brings together world leaders from business, government
and science. In 2010, the 17th edition of this Olympic Games for ICT
takes place in Amsterdam with the theme, “Challenges of Change”.
www.wcit2010.com
STREETLABWorld Streetlab is a Dutch platform for young ‘street based’ designers.
Streetlab offers fashion designers, street artists and photographers
a stage by organizing exhibitions, manifestations, talk shows and
festivals. During the Amsterdam design month ‘Four Weeks of
Freedesigndom’ in September 2008, Streetlab will organize an
event at the brand-new Amsterdam Bijlmer Arena railway station in
Amsterdam South East.
In the summer of 2007 the festival attracted 13,000 visitors. In the
summer of 2009 a big international festival will again take place in
Amsterdam. www.streetlab.nl
KLIK! ANIMATION FESTIVALThe Amsterdam animation festival “KLIK!” is a platform for anima-
tion in the broadest meaning of the word. In Kriterion, a cinema
where students are in charche since 60 years, a multimedia festival
will feature short animation films, games, and everything in between
from all over the world. Next to the student compitition there is the
open compitition. www.klikamsterdam.nl
B-OOSTUnder the heading of B-oost a major music festival will take place in
Amsterdam’s Oostelijk Havengebied (Eastern Harbour Area). There
are open-air concerts on the water of the IJ harbour, at the tip of
Java island and at other venues. Theme of this year is ”Space
sounds from the eastern docklands”. www.b-oost.nl
AMSTERDAM INDIA FESTIVAL The Amsterdam India Festival presents a cultural calendar of dozens
of events in the field of music, dance, fashion, film, photography,
theatre, art, architecture and multimedia. The theme of the festival
is Blended Cultures. During the festival, an economic conference
has been organised, in which representatives of Indian and Dutch
businesses will participate. www.indiafestival.nl
INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTINGCONFERENCE (IBC)Since 2007, the International Broadcasting Conference has devel-
oped into the largest congress of its type: in 2007, it had over 45,000
visitors. It is principally known for its many presentations of spectac-
ular new products and is the number one broadcasting conference
in the world. www.ibc.org
015014
QUALITY OF LIFE: CREATIVE FESTIVALS & EVENTS
creative festivals
&events
QUALITY OF LIFE: CREATIVE FESTIVALS & EVENTS
In retrospect, IBM’s decision to coordi-
nate all its water management activities
from Amsterdam was quite logical. For,
as the company’s business development
executive Djeevan Schiferli points out,
since time immemorial the Netherlands
has had an almost schizophrenic love-
hate relationship with water.
Over the centuries, to keep their feet
dry in a delta region mainly below sea
level, the Dutch have built up a unique
and internationally respected exper tise
when it comes to constructing water
defences, locks and other interventions
devised to withstand the coastal waters
that are regularly whipped up by violent
west winds. At the same time, they
quickly realised how many disadvan-
tages can be overcome with water.
Through ‘poldering’ new farmland was
created, and by digging irrigation
channels poor land was made fertile.
On top of this, all that water inside
and outside the dikes needed to be
filtered and regulated. The whole
complex even underpinned the
creation of the first democratic struc-
tures in the region: centuries before
the Netherlands’ state model had
been developed, there was already
water management.
Conducting solid, reliable water
management is part of the Dutch
genetic code, and, says Djeevan
Schiferli, this accumulated knowledge
and skill-set (continuously tested,
elaborated and exported since those
early times), was an important factor in
the location choice of IBM Global
Center of Excellence for Water
Management. “Nowhere is the water
sector so broad and of such high
quality as in the Netherlands,” says
this specialist in the field of climate
control issues. “At IBM, we play an
active part in that. We’ve already
determined that the water market will
be the growth market of the future:
worldwide the demand for better
management and risk systems will
increase enormously, as will demand
for solutions to improve the quality of
water and, for example, to make
drinking water out of salt water.
“As the world’s largest advisory organ-
isation, we must therefore be located
near to the source of the most promis-
ing new developments and applica-
tions. And that’s the Netherlands. For
our part, we have considerable added
value: we bring our broad knowledge
of information and communication
technology, we can rely on a network
016
Market power of water
INTERVIEW: DJEEVAN SCHIFERLIIBM GLOBAL CENTER OF
EXCELLENCE FOR WATER
MANAGEMENT
Djeevan Schiferli,
Business Development
Executive
TEXT: HANS KOPS | PHOTOGRAPHY: MART ENGELEN ~ A-A-P
018
of branches in 170 countries, and we
have plenty of experience of develop-
ing globally accepted standards. So we
think that our Amsterdam centre of ex-
pertise can contribute a lot more value
to the creation of products and services
in the field of water management.”
MARKET WITHOUT BORDERS
The international water market is liter -
al ly boundless. Worldwide, a billion
people still have no access to clean
drinking water or irrigation facilities.
Water, as a result, is becoming an
increasingly scarce (and therefore
more expensive) raw material, even
while the threat from water grows. As
a consequence of climate change, the
sea level is expected to rise consider-
ably over the coming years. Already,
two-thirds of the world’s population is
living in coastal regions where the
danger of flooding in extreme circum-
stances is high. Through the combina-
tion of an increasing number of
cyclones and tornadoes, the rising sea
level, and the lack of sound water de-
fences and reliable warning systems, it
is only to be feared that the world will
increasingly be struck by terrible flood
calamities – as happened recently, for
example, in Myanmar.
While that’s an alarming prospect, the
flip side is that the market demand for
proven successful solutions and
constructions is growing rapidly every
year. The Dutch water sector is thriving
and growing as never before. Its eco-
nomic value last year was an estimated
€60 billion. Companies such as Van
Oord, Koninklijke Boskalis Westminster
and Ballast Nedam are active all over
the world in constructing water de-
fences and other activities to improve
regional stewardship and gain control
over the elemental power of water.
Advisory organisations such as Arcadis,
Aveco de Bondt and Deltares (formerly
Waterloopkundig Laboratorium)
predict water movements and devise
solutions for better water manage-
ment. Moreover, the scientific study of
all aspects of water here is at a very
high level, and the Netherlands is the
only country in the world with a spe-
cialised Ministry of Transport, Public
Works and Water Management as its
largest authority. Even the heir to the
throne, Prince Willem-Alexander, has
specialised in water management.
Says Schiferli: “Nowhere else in the
world do you find such a large variety
of market players and institutions who
are all directly or indirectly occupied
with water. That makes the cross-
pollination of ideas, and reciprocal
inspiration, so much simpler.”
OPEN INNOVATION MODEL
IBM now believes in the strength of an
open innovation model. “Our most
important objective is to build as many
partnerships as we can with companies
and knowledge institutions, and to look
at how we can create an attractive
competitive edge together,” explains
Schiferli. “And this brings us to another
advantage of being located here. Not
only is everyone here reachable within
an hour’s drive or train ride, but the
culture of enterprise is also pre-
eminent ly directed towards coopera-
tion and sharing knowledge and
networks. More than anywhere else.”
Although it has 30 employees of
numerous different nationalities, the
IBM Global Center of Excellence for
Water Management is still in the
pioneer stage, in the sense that its first
operational year is mainly being spent
on mapping the many possibilities
which the water market offers a large
party like IBM, and deciding which
priorities should be set. Provisionally,
it has been decided to focus on inte-
grating forecasting and security soft-
ware for high-risk areas: from
forecasting models for tsunamis and
other extreme weather conditions,
and systems for safeguarding dikes or
monitoring tides, to software for plan-
ning massive evacuation operations.
“Currently, the greatest social need is
for these applications,” says Schiferli.
“By reiterating the physical risk to
more and more areas from flooding
over the coming years, and by increas-
ing the realisation that this is a real
and present danger for many people,
we can anticipate a very great need.
As IBM, we can add our expertise in
the field of corporate training, virtual
worlds and processor technology.
“But in the future we will also un-
doubtedly turn our attention to the
quality market. Through the introduc-
tion of simpler, more reliable water
filtering systems and applications to
increase the access to clean water, we
can also make an important contribu-
tion to what many say will be the
biggest social and environmental
technology problem of the future.”
Meanwhile, Djeevan Schiferli is sure
that IBM’s Amsterdam centre of
expertise can play an interesting,
pioneering part in all this. “And that
make us here more than a little bit
proud,” he says.
IBM GLOBAL CENTER OF EXCELLENCE
FOR WATER MANAGEMENT
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN USA
ESTABLISHED IN THE AMSTERDAM
METROPOLITAN AREA SINCE 2008
EMPLOYEES 30
INDUSTRY INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
ACTIVITY GLOBAL CENTER
INTERVIEW: DJEEVAN SCHIFERLI
AMSTERDAM DANCE EVENT
With over 700 DJ’s / Acts performing at
34 locations, clubbers are calling it: The
worlds biggest club festival. Music pro-
fessionals refer to the ADE as Europe’s
main electronic and dance music con-
ference. Now at the twelfth edition, the
ADE has grown into a business confer-
ence that attracts 1900 key profession-
als from 36 different countries and a
club festival audience of 72.000 of
which 25.000 are from abroad.
The ADE is organized by Buma Cultuur,
the foundation dedicated to the pro-
motion and support of Dutch music
copyright. Founded and supported by
the Dutch music author rights organiza-
tion Buma/ Stemra, Buma Cultuur initi-
ates, contributes to and sponsors a
number of projects in the Netherlands
and abroad. In terms of genre, Buma
Cultuur covers the entire scope of the
Dutch music scene.
www.amsterdamdanceevent.nl
022
According to promoter Roy Avni, the
dance industry in Amsterdam deserves
its own icon: a monumental recognition
of the fact that the city has developed
into an epicentre where new electronic
music forms are developed, where the
most talented DJs come to do a trial
run for their big international break-
through, and where appealing party
concepts are invented that go on to
fill rooms all over the world - and even
pack stadiums.
The Israeli founder and director of
organisers and consultants, Electrona-
tion, has an idea of his own. A dance
tower should be established in the cen-
tre of the city, where the many millions
of enthusiasts in the Netherlands and
abroad can enjoy a unique experience.
According to Avni’s plans, they would
be able to choose the floor with their
favourite music form (trance, techno,
you name it), and each of these stacked
venues must, of course, have the best
conceivable acoustics, plus the best and
most powerful sound systems and light
shows, and the latest gadgetry in infor-
mation and communications technol-
ogy to support the beat with visual kicks.
“In dance, it’s all about offering a three-
dimensional experience,” says Avni.
“And what could be more beautiful
than setting up a dance temple in the
heart of Europe’s most swinging city, a
place where the international dance
community can enjoy incomparably
beautiful parties? Not only would it be
a wonderful impulse for one of the
fastest growing segments of the inter-
national entertainment industry, but
Amsterdam would gain a magnet for
the younger generation of tourists.”
FASTEST GROWING SECTOR
After gaming, the dance phenomenon
is the fastest growing sector in the
modern experience economy. Although
hard turnover figures are lacking, the
compilers of the authoritative Media
and Entertainment Outlook, a report
produced by accountancy and consul-
tancy group PricewaterhouseCoopers,
estimate that it must already amount to
a cool €30 to 35 billion worldwide -
double the total of just two years ago.
A considerable part of that turnover is
generated from Amsterdam. Or, in the
words of a spokesman from Buma
Culture, an organisation promoting the
export of Dutch musical forms: “Dance
is already the biggest export product
of the Dutch entertainment sector. And
I’m convinced that its importance will
only increase over the coming years.”
Indeed, the dance industry in and
around Amsterdam has become an
economic and cultural force to be
reckoned with in a surprisingly short
amount of time. Ten years ago, when
dance was still associated with often
illegal events in viaducts and derelict
factories, the first professionally
or gan ised dance festivals were held in
Amsterdam. For example, the now
annual Dance Valley, held in a recrea -
tion area north of Amsterdam, was the
first large dance event in Europe to be
held with the permission of the local
authorities. Now it’s attended by 40,000
visitors each year, and has become a
stage on which top DJs can present their
latest samples to the internation al
music world.
Subsequently, in and around Amster-
dam a group of creative, and mostly
young entrepreneurs were soon busily
organising festivals, thinking up new
concepts and promoting renowned DJs
likeTiësto (the world’s most popular DJ
in 2008) and Armin van Buuren (his
successor in the trance department).
It was around this time that Duncan
Stutterheim and his partners set up
ID&T, which has become one of the
biggest dance event organisers in the
world. One of their early products was
the first stadium concept, Sensation, a
large-scale dance extravaganza which
draws tens of thousands of fans to each
event, and has subsequently been ex-
INTERVIEW: ROY AVNI
Dancinground theworld
023
ported all over the world. In Australia,
for example, ID&T recently won the
exclusive rights to organise dance fes-
tivals in the Telstra Dome, Melbourne,
for the coming ten years.
That dance has become a big business
is evident from the fact that industry
observers estimate this single contract
to be worth €40 to 50 million. The
40,000 visitors at each event will happily
pay €100 or more each for a top act.
In addition to this are earnings from
the catering for the festivals, which may
require several mealtimes, and then
there’s the yet more attractive poten-
tial of merchandising.“Organising
dance parties has become a very com-
plex business,” Duncan Stutterheim
and his partner Walter Tavecchio re-
cently told Dutch Financial Newspaper.
“You not only need a good DJ and
music, you must also have a good un-
derstanding of production, construc-
tion, crowd control, and be able to
supply food and drinks to 10,000 party-
ing people without them having to
queue for longer than fifteen minutes.
In this, we have a big head-start on
our competitors abroad.”
MUSIC LAB
It was this unique combination of ex-
pertise and critical mass, which per-
suaded techno enthusiast Roy Avni
(and a few dozen other foreign dance
promoters like him) to move to Ams-
terdam. Electronation, which he set up
less than four years ago, has developed
in that time into a network organisation,
putting on big parties in global cities
such as Barcelona and London on a
weekly basis, and consulting on con-
cepts for longer established events.
“Actually, it’s quite remarkable that we
have even got a foot in the door in
London – which is still considered as
the epicentre of the international youth
culture. But our clients think that really
innovative DJs exist only in Amsterdam,
and that Amsterdam organisers have an
extra something. Indeed, just the fact
that our office is in Amsterdam gives
us a head start in terms of reputation.”
That advantage is further reinforced
because competition between the
several hundreds of organisers and
promoters already active in and around
Amsterdam keeps everyone sharp.
Avni adds that the Netherlands is a
country of early adapters, certainly when
it comes to music. “The Netherlands is
a kind of music lab. And whatever gets
started here succeeds in other places.
For this reason, everyone involved in
dance comes to Amsterdam to experi-
ment with new music forms and to let
themselves be inspired. That makes
the cultural climate here in the city so
enterprising.”
Though having grown up himself in a
small country, Roy Avni is still astonished
on a daily basis at the convenient scale
of the city where all this takes place.
“Literally everything is within reach here:
within the radius of a kilometre, you can
rent the best installations in the world,
there are the clubs that are pushing the
borders of contemporary music, and
even the financiers seem to be more
creative here than anywhere else.”
Plus the fact that Amsterdam Airport
Schiphol, literally on Amsterdam’s
doorstep, has one of the world’s busiest
timetables. No wonder that Roy Avni
is convinced that Amsterdam will keep
the world dancing for a long time to
come.“This is the place to be,” he says.
ELECTRONATION
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN THE NETHERLANDS
ESTABLISHED IN THE AMSTERDAM
METROPOLITAN AREA SINCE 2001
EMPLOYEES 1
INDUSTRY DANCE
ACTIVITY EUROPEAN HEADQUARTER
TEXT: HANS KOPS | PHOTOGRAPHY: MART ENGELEN ~ A-A-P
Opened on June 17th by Mayors Cohen
and Van Zanen, foreign employees can
now pick up their residence permit
and register with the City of Amsterdam
or the City of Amstelveen in just one
visit. With the first residence permits
distributed to foreign employees by
State Secretary Albayrak of the
Ministry of Justice, the Expat Center’s
test phase has begun.
ONE-STOP SHOP
The Expatcenter test phase has begun
thanks to the efforts of the Immigration
and Naturalisation Service (the IND)
and the Cities of Amsterdam and
Amstelveen. With this initiative, the
IND aims to give a powerful impulse
to preparations for a modern immigra-
tion policy. The three parties have de-
veloped a working method, whereby
the employer can initiate the proce-
dure for a residence permit four weeks
before the arrival of the employee.
When the employee arrives in Amster-
dam, his or her visit to the Expatcenter
is already planned. There, the proce-
dures ena bling the employee to work
can be concluded in one go.
VIRTUAL OFFICE
The start-up of the Expatcenter
coin cides with the launch of the English-
language website: www.iamsterdam.
com/expatcenter. The website makes it
easier for expats and their families to
settle in the Amsterdam Metropol i tan
Area. It combines all useful municipal
information with tips on those important
topics requiring fast action. In the long
run, expats may be able to get started
on the process of coming to work in
the Netherlands by simply filling in a
digital form in their own country.
INTERNATIONAL COMPANIES
TAKING PART
There is great interest in the Expat -
center’s one-stop service. In a series of
meetings held in preparation for the
Expatcenter, representatives of com-
panies with foreign employees voiced
their wishes concerning procedures
and information. For the Expatcenter
test period, a limited number of com-
panies have been invited to participate.
The test phase started with knowledge
migrants.
ADDING TO THE AMSTERDAM
REGION’S ATTRACTIONS
Since finding and retaining high-calibre
employees is of great importance for
companies, a high level of hospitality
must be extended to such employees
and their families. The Expatcenter will
fulfil an important function in this.
025024
PAN-EUROPEAN BUSINESS HUB
Expatcenter
www.iamsterdam.com/expatcenter
DANCE4LIFEDance meets charity. Amsterdam entrepreneur and part-time DJ
Dennis Karpes came up with a concept that has added a new
dimension to charity events. Dance4Life encourages young people
all over the world to develop activities which support the worldwide
fight against AIDS and HIV in their own country. To motivate and
reward that network, a cross-border dance festival is organised from
the home base in Amsterdam, under the Dance4Life umbrella. For
this year’s event, stages were set up in 11 countries, and well-known
artists such as DJ Tiësto and U2’s Bono generously donated their
time. Thanks to these efforts, Dance4Life has become the best-
known charity ‘brand’ in the world, and in participating countries
there are over 50,000 active change agents who have been brought
in by means of the dance platform. www.dance4life.com
MYSTERYLANDMystery land is the oldest Dutch dance event. In 1993 an annual
house party grew into one of the biggest dance events in Holland.
It had to find a new location every time. Since 2003 they have earned
a fixed location in Haarlemmermeer on the old Floriade area.
www.mysteryland.nl
DANCE VALLEYAttracting about 55,000 visitors a year, Dance Valley is an open air
festival where dozens of circus tents host different styles of dance
music, making it an epic event. www.dancevalley.com
SENSATIONThe Sensation dance festival is divided into two distinctive events.
The white party and the Black party. As you can imagine, the dress
code matches the theme of the party. Sensation White features the
“lighter” house styles, where as the Black Edition is darker and
harder. Since 2005 there is Sensation International, a world tour of
Sensation White. www.sensation.com
DEFQON Defqon is the dance festival of Q-dance, an anual free festival in
Almere in July. This year’s ninth edition is one of the biggest free
dance festival in the Netherlands. Held at the most beautiful beach
in Almere, with more than 10.000 m2 of dance stages and open
space, this festival is not to be missed. www.q-dance.nl
music &
dance
QUALITY OF LIFE: MUSIC & DANCE
027
INTERVIEW: THOMAS RAU
Over 16 years ago, Thomas Rau made
the move from his home country of
Germany to the Netherlands. It was a
well thought out, strategic decision.
Determined to set up his own architec-
tural firm that would distinguish itself
through the sustainability of its designs
and concepts, he had considered
every aspect of his future location.
First of all, he’d reasoned, no one else
knows the power of nature - and there-
fore also its laws - quite like the Dutch.
“When you spend some time here, you
notice that the Dutch have a very par-
ticular relationship with their environ-
ment,” he explains. “Partly, it’s that they
have literally had to win their land from
nature. But this has also had the con-
sequence that they are aware of their
responsibility for their biotope - more
than many other cultures, I believe. In
the Netherlands, there’s a better under-
standing of the message that the built
environment must be in harmony with
the natural surroundings.”
In addition, Rau notes that Amsterdam
has many other advantages, including
its compact scale, the presence of many
different creative talents here, and the
fact that the Netherlands has a broad
and internationally oriented design
tradition. Young Dutch designers have
put new life into the reputation of Dutch
design worldwide, and in their wake
Thomas Rau has witnessed the rise of
a new architectural dynamic.
“The Netherlands has always had inter-
nationally renowned architects,” he
says. “Think of Berlage, Rietveld, and,
more recently, Van Berkel and Kool-
haas. They have paved the way for the
international acceptance of a new
generation of architects, who want to
distinguish themselves not only through
their choice of forms and materials, but
also through their awareness of the fact
that a building always has a cultural and
social impact.”
Add to this the fact that the Netherlands
is making major investments in its infra-
structure, and that the ‘green city’ will
get a major impulse here in the coming
years, and Rau’s decision to locate in
the Netherlands - more specifically on
the southern bank of the Amsterdam IJ
– seems to have paid off relatively
quickly. “So far, I haven’t been disap-
pointed on a single point,” he agrees.
He’s speaking in his office, which was
designed according to the latest
principles of sustainability.
“In fact,” he continues,“I’m in the most
stimulating setting imaginable for my
work. Right now, Amsterdam is Europe’s
centre for sustainable building, and I am
convinced that in the long run, we can
also claim that position worldwide. Es-
pecially if the demand for sustainably
realised construction projects contin-
ues to develop as positively as has
been the case over the last few years.”
EYECATCHING
RAU Architects is one of the trendset-
ters in a rapidly expanding niche in
the Dutch architectural tradition. In
and around Amsterdam, there are an
estimated 500 architects specialising
in forms of sustainable architecture.
While this is already an interesting de-
velopment in itself, what is even more
important for the investment climate is
that the development of energy-neutral
and biodegradable real estate is start-
ing to become a much sought-after
export product. Or as Thomas Rau puts
it: “People everywhere are now be-
coming aware of the need to build
sustainably. Of course, this is mainly
because existing buildings and houses
are enormous energy wasters, respon-
sible, for example, for more than a third
of global CO2 emissions. But it’s also
because the residual value of sustain-
ably realised projects will be higher in
the long run. The current energy prices
are helping us to persuade investors
and buyers that there is great material
value in designs which return measura-
Towards oneplanet
architecture
RAU ARCHITECTS
Thomas Rau,
Founder and Director
TEXT: HANS KOPS | PHOTOGRAPHY: MART ENGELEN ~ A-A-P
029028
bly more energy than they use. Above
all, by 2020 people will just no longer
have the funds for energy-gobbling
houses and industrial buildings.”
The architectural proofs of this propo-
sition are meanwhile rising in and
around Amsterdam. Last year, a num-
ber of creative media companies took
up residence in the Kraanspoor build-
ing in North Amsterdam, a renovation
project realised entirely with sustainable
materials and new construction tech-
niques in the northern harbour area of
the city. A few kilometres further north,
environmental consultancy Search re-
cently opened an office designed and
constructed to work as a zero-energy
building, and Stadshaven Minerva will
soon have a “sustainable incubator”
for new creative companies. Sister city
Almere will shortly get the world’s first
energy-neutral supermarket. Close to
Schiphol Airport, in Hoofddorp, work
has begun on a business park based
on the cradle-to-cradle concept as
developed by German chemist Michael
Braungart and American architect
William McDonough. All materials used
must be able to be recycled eventually,
or must biodegrade naturally. What’s
more, a kind of return policy has been
agreed with the builders and project
developers, stating that they must
dismantle and remove the building in
30 years time for an agreed price.
RAU Architects, meanwhile, has some
of the most striking sustainable designs
outside the Netherlands to its name.
In China, Thomas Rau and his 40 em-
ployees are developing a completely
sustainable city district, and in Lyon,
France, they are supervising the world’s
largest energy-neutral residential and
retail project. “And so much more is
still in the pipeline,” says Rau. “Not
only for us, but also for our colleagues
elsewhere in the city.”
THE NEXT STEP
While Thomas Rau and his peers are
convinced that sustainable architecture
is experiencing a heyday, Rau believes
that now is the perfect time to take the
next step forward. “If we want to keep
up our current lead, then we must, as
internationally oriented architects, look
to what I call ‘One Planet Architecture.’
We should look not only at what we
can gain in sustainability within the
construction industry, but also at the
surrounding factors involved in our de-
signs. How, for example, can we keep
unnecessary commuter traffic to a
minimum, and what contribution can
we make as architects of the built envi-
ronment to increasing the pleasure of
our users in their home and work lives?
And what can we do to anticipate
people’s changing needs with respect
to their work-life balance? These are
just a few of the questions that we must
ask ourselves as architects, if we view
our buildings as a temporary covering
of the planet.”
Rau believes that the Netherlands is an
ideal laboratory for developing such
fresh concepts and testing them in the
context of daily reality. Not only are
people here used to making the best
use of scarce living space, while the
congestion problem forces the finding
of solutions, but a form of thinking
‘outside the box’ is possible that, he
says, still astonishes and inspires him.
“On some points,” he adds, “Dutch
legislation and the construction sector
can be just as stuck as in other coun-
tries, but when a problem is seen to
affect everyone, then everything
suddenly becomes fluid. Nothing is
impossible, and even the most enve-
lope-pushing solutions are seriously
considered. This was how it was decided
to build the Delta Works, which is still
the world’s largest coastal reinforce-
ment project, and now serious consid-
eration is being given to the idea of
mooring an artificial island in the form
of a tulip off the North Sea Coast.
“Perhaps it will take a couple of years,
but that tulip island is definitely com-
ing,” continues Rau. “And it goes to
show that the Netherlands is still ahead
when it comes to knowledge and ex-
perience in the field of water defences.
This is just the sort of pioneering work
the world needs in order to find the
right sustainable solutions.”
With growing globalisation, Amster-
dam is in direct contact with the world.
Europe’s no. 4 passenger airport
Schiphol wants to contribute to the
cultural environment by exposing the
history and modern innovations of the
Dutch. In the design of the VIP-centre,
Concrete decided to combine these
two elements, choosing objects exclu-
sively designed by contemporary
Dutch artists and product designers.
At the same time, visitors of the VIP-
centre will also be introduced to typi-
cal Dutch characteristics: the sense of
humour and satire, the pragmatism
and the economical practicality. The
VIP-centre creates an oasis of peace,
away from the hectic atmosphere of
the airport. Terminal buildings consist
of corridors and traffic areas and in
contrast, Concrete decided to create
an area without any corridors.
INTERVIEW: THOMAS RAU
RAU ARCHITECTS
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN THE NETHERLANDS
ESTABLISHED IN THE AMSTERDAM
METROPOLITAN AREA SINCE 1992
EMPLOYEES 40
INDUSTRY ARCHITECTURE
ACTIVITY EUROPEAN HEADQUARTER
- Almere will grow according to the cradle-to-
cradle Philosophy as defined in William
McDonough’s book, “Cradle to Cradle”.
The book is a manifesto calling for the transfor-
mation of human industry through ecologically
intelligent design. Through historical sketches
on the roots of the industrial revolution;
commentary on science, nature and society;
descriptions of key design principles.
- Almere Principles are key in the challenge to
double the City size of inhabitants and create
an extra 100,000 jobs.
Schiphol VIP-Centre
Concrete
www.concreteamsterdam.nl
030
IMAGINE AMSTERDAM
On the sidelines of the two huge events
of 2008’s summer of sport, the Olympic
Games and the Euro 2008 football
championship, Nike and Adidas were
competing in their own advertising
tournament. The rival sports brands
bought up several hours of TV time,
splashed themselves across billboards,
newspapers and magazines all over the
world, and supplemented all this with
every conceivable interactive possi -
bility capable of increasing the per-
ception of their brand.
The messages differed, of course. Nike
embroidered on the theme that every-
one can be a top performer if they
only challenge their own limitations,
while Adidas suggested that choosing
its own triple-striped brand is a step
towards the same kind of fame
achieved by the featured icons.
But there was one striking similarity:
both campaigns were conceived and
developed in Amsterdam. The global
Nike campaign originated in the
creative brains of Wieden+Kennedy
and the Amsterdam office of American
agency 72andSunny, while the concept
and media strategy for the Adidas op-
eration were the work of 180 Amster-
dam, the Dutch outpost of another US
company, 180 Communications.
TREND INTERRUPTION
In the international advertising world,
a trend interruption is taking place.
Globally recognised brands like Coca-
Cola, Philips and Sony, formerly opted
for partners of a similar scale and world-
wide coverage. But, with the increasing
individualisation of the consumer, and
the rise of information and communica -
tion technologies, the advertising in-
dustry is being influenced by the
‘best-of-breed model,’ to use an anol-
ogy with the IT business.
That means that client companies are
surrendering control (or part of it) of
their own communications, and instead
setting up their own networks of part-
ners based on the added value of the
different components, according to
the scope and nature of each project.
The scope of the partners is less impor-
tant: they are mainly chosen for what
Edgar Kasteel, of research bureau
ARCUSplus, calls their ‘bandwidth’. He
explains: “The term is very broad, and
means partners must be flexible and
optimally contactable, and they must
excel in their specialisation.”
The realignment that is resulting from
this development amounts to an evo-
lutionary process that will change the
face of the advertising world over the
coming years. Next to giants like WPP
and TNS, an increasing number of small
and medium-sized network organisa-
tions are springing up. They are strongly
oriented towards specific sectors or
certain parts of the creative and pro-
duction process of the campaign.
“Creativity has been rediscovered as a
core competency,” observes Peggy
Stein, the creative brain behind Ams-
terdam agency Bureau Pindakaas,
which has been responsible for projects
such as the implementation of the city’s
‘I amsterdam’ marketing campaign.
While all this means that many advertis-
ing agencies are now busily reinvent-
ing themselves, it also has major
con sequences for their location strate-
gies. London (for Europe) and New
York (for the rest of the world) will
remain the advertising capitals of the
world. The critical mass in these places
is unequalled, with most offices main-
taining their headquarters in them. But
alternatives are becoming increasingly
attractive, and in some cases opening
an office in one is even becoming a
INTERVIEW: EDGAR KASTEEL & PEGGY STEIN
ContinentalEurope’sbusiness hub
Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam
Schiphol Airport
72andSunnyAmsterdam
180 Amsterdam
Miami Ad School Amsterdam
150 Europeanhead offices,350 millionconsumers inthe backyardand 174 nationalities
032 033
condition for growing along with antic-
ipated market developments. This ap-
plies especially to Europe. More and
more advertising agencies (and their
clients) are reaching the conclusion
that having London as an exclusive
operating base is no longer sufficient
to conquer continental European mar-
kets or extend their market share there.
The European single market still con-
sists of a lot of different cultural identi-
ties, so the generally Anglo-Saxon
perspective of the top offices of the
British capital may sometimes function
as something of a drawback.
Another factor is what Stein calls, “the
rediscovery of imagination.” The crea -
tive process is central once again, and
for a contemporary network organisa-
tion this means that it’s necessary to be
present where the creative process can
take its most challenging form, and
where creatives can feel most at home.
And in this respect, Amsterdam is dar-
ing to measure itself against London as
the new epicentre of advertising creati -
vity for continental Europe - and more.
ADVERTISING HUB
Amsterdam Metropolitan Area is cur-
rently becoming even more attractive
as an advertising hub. Last year, an
estimated€5.5 billion was generated
by the 40,000 people in the creative
community in and around Ams terdam,
and the advertising industry was re-
sponsible for half of that. With an aver-
age annual growth of over six per cent
over the past decade, Amsterdam is
one of the fastest growing advertising
centres of continental Europe.
Small and medium-sized offices, which
have sprung up in recent years along
Amsterdam’s canals or the trendy
Zuidas business area, are responsible
for a major part of this growth. Among
the offices of internationally recognised
brand names such as Saatchi & Saatchi,
Ogilvy & Mather, BBDO and Young &
Rubicam, other foreign players keep
arriving in increasing numbers. In Am-
sterdam, Wieden+Kennedy set up its
creative head office for the rest of
Europe, close to Strawberry Frog (set
up by two Canadians and now called
Amsterdam Worldwide following a
separation from the New York office),
and the Miami Ad School (a coopera-
tive venture of several international
offices where top creative talent is
trained in concept development and
copywriting). The Amsterdam branch
of the latter was set up and facilitated
by Bureau Pindakaas. Elsewhere in the
city there’s 180 Amsterdam, Wieden+
Kennedy and 72andSunny - and that’s
just a random selection from an assort -
ment of foreign offices and start-ups.
While Amsterdam’s advertising industry
is rapidly internationalising, at the same
time the influence of the surrounding
infrastructure is growing, too. “The
quality of the creative cluster is nowa-
days stipulated by the degree of inter-
action, which is above average in
Ams terdam,” says Kasteel, whose
ARCUSplus researched the strengths
and weaknesses of the local advertis-
ing industry for Amsterdam City Coun-
cil. “You get more and more crossovers
with games producers and other mak-
ers of interactive media, and more,
and closer, cooperations with TV and
film producers, for example.
The Netherlands is known to be the
cradle of many TV formats that go on
to be world-beaters. So here there’s
also talk of an interesting cross-fertili-
sation.” In any case, it’s a fact that
more and more prestigious accounts
are being handled in Amsterdam. Be-
sides the creation of the campaigns
for Nike and Adidas, the latest cam-
paign for the Coca-Cola Company was
also conceived and developed on a
17th-century canal. In addition, cam-
paigns for brands such as Microsoft’s
XBox, Heineken’s Amstel, and the
Discovery Channel have also been
conducted from here.
“In the new climate in which advertising
agencies are operating, Amsterdam is
increasingly seen as a creative incuba-
tor from where you can, in principle,
serve every international market with a
specific message,” says Stein. “Finding
and inspiring creative spirits in the
melting pot that is Amsterdam is rela-
tively simple: from way back, the city has
been a platform for nonconformists
from all continents, and in that respect,
in fact, it has only become more at-
tractive. Here, living and working are
incomparable experiences. Every day,
you gain new inspiration just by being
here, and I increasingly hear about
young expats who are working here.
And for today’s talents, living and
working surroundings are carrying more
and more weight in their decision of
where to work.”
Moreover, the Netherlands accommo-
dates the global or European head
offices of 30 Fortune 500 companies,
while in Amsterdam there are a further
150 European head offices, and the
region meanwhile meets all the other
location needs of a contemporary
advertising network. A political and
fiscally stable climate for investment,
a large network of business service
providers, the best broadband con-
nections imaginable, a playing field of
350 million consumers in the backyard,
and the presence of an airport with
direct connections to all the world’s
business and creative centres. “The
biggest weakness of the advertising
industry in Amsterdam?” asks Edgar
Kasteel in his research report. “That it
doesn’t advertise itself well enough.”
UNStudio is an international architec-
tural practice, situated in Amsterdam
since 1988, with extensive experience
in the fields of urbanism, infrastructure,
public, private and utility buildings on
different scale levels. At the basis of
UNStudio are a number of long-term
goals, which are intended to define and
guide the quality of their performance
in the architectural field. UNStudio’s
Ben van Berkel strives to make a signif-
icant contribution to the discipline of
architecture. Being elected to design
the Erasmus Bridge in Rotterdam (1996)
profoundly affected his understanding
of the role of the architect today and
constituted the foundation of his
collaborative approach to practicing,
leading to the foundation of UNStudio
in 1999. Recent projects, which reflect
his longstanding interest in the integra-
tion of construction and architecture,
are: the Mercedes-Benz Museum in
Stuttgart and Arnhem Central. www.unstudio.com
INTERVIEW: EDGAR KASTEEL & PEGGY STEIN
UNStudio Ben van Berkel
035034
MARCEL WANDERS“You don’t design for industry, but for people, you must be able to
understand people’s dreams, not just design things so that the
industry can manufacture them in the easiest way possible.” 95% of
Marcel’s customers are outside the Netherlands. “We work on some
of the world’s biggest projects,” he says. “Beautiful projects for
which we find the most talented people to work with. Amsterdam is
a fine place to live and work. Maybe here and there you’ll find a
better place, but it has a strong attraction, and people who work
here have a great time.” www.marcelwanders.com
PIET PARIS‘Piet thinks of his illustrations as ‘abstract fashion statements’. His
colourful graphic work is made with stencils created from an initial
sketch and coloured with acrylic, gouache or pastel using a paint
roller. Paris aims to achieve ‘high fashion impact’ with as few means
as possible. He admires what is well and simply made, especially
the paintings of Vermeer.’ From: Stylishly drawn by Laird Borrelli,
Harry N. Abrams, Inc. publishers
SAMIRA BOONAfter graduating with a masters degree in architecture from Delft
University of Technology in 2002, Samira was granted a Monbusho
Research Student Scholarship for 18 months at the Tokyo Institute of
Technology, architecture department. She founded Studio Samira
Boon and has been participating in design exhibitions internation-
ally. The studio designs and creates mind and sense triggering
spaces, textiles and products. www.samiraboon.com
PIET BOONPiet Boon started out as a builder and contractor. During the
nineties he developed into a designer with his own recognizable
style. His use of clear lines, space, natural and durable materials won
him international acclaim. His company is a fast growing enterprise
with expertise in all fields of design, from boats to cars, from bottles
to hotels and from furniture to bathtubs. www.pietboon.nl
ANTHON BEEKEWorld famous designer. Well known for his“Naked ladies Alphabet”.
He started up as an independent designer in1963. In1976 he became
a partner in the well-known agency Total Design in Amsterdam. In
1989 he set up his own agency, studio Anthon Beeke. www.beeke.nl
QUALITY OF LIFE: ART & DESIGN QUALITY OF LIFE: ART & DESIGN
MARTIN C. DE WAALLast year, the Amsterdam based artist, Martin C. De Waal, got a
major facelift. The eight hour surgery was filmed and photographed
to create a documentary that shocked his audience. Martin is inter-
nationally known for his work about his manipulated appearence.
His work represents his extreme and free selfimage. He also finds in-
spiration by working as a DJ and VJ in the international dance scene
under the name Martin Duvall. www.mcdewaal.com
DICK BRUNADick Bruna is one of the most famous creators of picture books in
the world. His books have been translated into 40 languages and
have sold more than 80 million copies worldwide. Dick Bruna would
tell his oldest son bedtime stories about a white rabbit who lived in
the garden of the holiday home. The rabbit was later the inspiration
for Miffy. Miffy is so famous nowadays that Dick Bruna is often called
‘Miffy’s father’. www.miffy.com
BAS KOSTERSIn 2005 Bas Kosters started the ‘Bas Kosters Studio’ to house all the
fashion-related activities he undertakes as an artist in one company
name. His work comments on fashion and the fashion industry. Bas’
work evolves throughout the creative process, his earlier work leading,
seemingly inevitably, to his newest creations. He is one of the twenty
participating fashion designers of the Redlight Fashion Amsterdam
project. www.redlightfashionamsterdam.com / www.baskosters.com
JOOST SWARTEIn 1971 Joost Swarte started his own comic magazine ’Modern
Papier’. International recognition started around 1980 when he took
part in the international comic show 'Salon International de la Bande
Dessin’ in Angouleme (France). Apart from comics and graphic
design, Joost Swarte designs furniture, leaded and stained glass
windows, murals, carpets and more. www.joostswarte.com
IRMA BOOMIrma Boom worked for five years at the Dutch Government Publish-
ing and Printing Office in The Hague. Her design for “Weaving as
Metaphor” by American artist Sheila Hicks was rewarded as ‘The
Most Beautiful Book in the World’ at the Leipzig Book Fair. The
Museum of Modern Art, New York acquired in 2008 her books for
the permanent collection of the Architecture & Design department.
www.irmaboom.nl
art & design
037036
MART ENGELEN”It is very important that there is a certain honesty and spontaneity
of the moment in my pictures.” During his period in New York 1997-
2001 Mart specialized in portraits. As a portrait photographer he
captured many celebrities in the world of fashion, business, movies
among whom: Woody Allen, Roberto Cavalli, Morgan Freeman and
Richard Branson. www.martengelen.com
MARCEL VAN DER VLUGTA sensitive and daring photographer, Marcel van der Vlugt is widely
acknowledged for his striking and sometimes controversial stills shot
on large-format Polaroids. In his personal work he explores the
meaning of the word beauty. He has exhibited his work in important
gallery and museum shows such as the Fotomuseum The Hague,
Kunsthal Rotterdam, MOCA Chicago and Louis Vuitton Tokyo. Van
der Vlugt has published three books: Beauty and Other Secrets,
A New Day and Rejects. www.marcelvandervlugt.com
KRIJN VAN NOORDWIJKKrijn van Noordwijk is a Dutch artist / photographer specialized in
portraiture. Krijn currently works on a photo book called ’DJ’. For
this project he has portrayed artists like Carl Cox, Armin van Buuren,
Sven Vath, Questlove, Richie Hawtin, DJ Hell and many others. Krijn
shoots his subjects in a classical manner technically, but the way he
captures expressions and moods are rather contemporary. A selec-
tion of images will be exhibited on 100 outdoor billboards through-
out Amsterdam during Amsterdam Dance Event 2008. This will
accompany the intoduction of his book, also during ADE on Friday
October 24. Krijn’s work can be seen at www.krijnvannoordwijk.com
PHILIP RICHESIts not about tricks or well thought out scenarios, its about beauty
and hopefully a little emotion. A connection with the model, like
you can see there was a moment between the sitter and the photog-
rapher. And always sensual and slightly anxious, whats going to hap-
pen next you are perhaps left asking. Philip Riches has been forging
out a career in photography ever since he saw the wondorous trans-
formation in his older sisters early model pictures, he was only 14.
But the impression still remains with him to this day, to make beauty
and inspire. He is also currently working on a book which is his lifes
ambition, due out next year. www.philipriches.com /
www.houseoforange.nl
QUALITY OF LIFE: PHOTOGRAPHY
photogra
phy
AMSTERDAM INTERNATIONAL FASHION WEEKTwice a year Fashion Week is the highlight of Dutch Fashion with a
full schedule of catwalk shows, trade fairs, presentations, lectures
and parties. The show program is only for professionals and takes
place at the Westergasterrein area.
The official final AIFW show program is a mixture of top labels and
ambitious talents. The Lichting-initiative, the central show for the
best graduates of the Netherlands is this year supported by G-Star.
Besides famous designers and labels, ambitious starters can show
their new collections. Starters will be selected through an independ-
ent commission. The world’s most prominent denim labels are
established in Amsterdam like: G-Star, Blue Blood, Kuyichi and
Tommy Hilfiger. www.amsterdamfashionweek.com
FASHION WEEK DOWN TOWNNext to the professional part that is only accessible on invitation,
there is also a big public program during AIFW. More than 80 loca-
tions: shops; galleries; clubs, etc. are taking part in Down Town.
There are lots of things to experience: expositions, shows, a shop
window contest, different launches and parties. The official opening
took place at Redlight Fashion Amsterdam at the Wallen.
www.aifwdowntown.com
BRANDBOXX ALMEREThe center displays high-quality collections of clothing suppliers
with an emphasis on young fashion and jeans. Distinctive features of
the center are that it offers high-tempo collections and mainly works
with mono-brandstores and shop-in-shop concepts. Brandboxx
Almere opened its doors in 2002 and is housed in one of the most
futuristic buildings in the Netherlands, the Dôme. Because the
number of exhibitors continued to grow, the construction of a
second building started in 2006: the Cube. You now find over 70
exhibitors with a total of 200 brands. www.brandboxx.nl
QUALITY OF LIFE: FASHION
fashion
038
At first sight, the timing seems rather
unfortunate. At the very moment when
the confidence of the international
financial community has been shaken
by the credit crisis, causing many invest-
ment plans to be put on ice, investment
society Babcock & Brown decided to
open its doors in Amsterdam.
However for Rob Oudman, who was
recruited along with colleagues Siebren
Zijlstra and Rob Hendriks, to develop
the office into a hub for the Pan-Euro-
pean activities of the Australian invest-
ment company, it’s simply the logical
outcome of a rational assessment at
the right moment. “At Babcock &
Brown, we move in a very particular
niche area of the financial markets,” he
explains. “For institutional investors,
we are involved in a global search for
financial possibilities that offer, over
the longer term, a certain return and a
low-risk profile. Demand for these, in
fact, has only increased in recent times.”
He’s speaking in his office on the 21st
floor of the prestigious Rembrandt
Tower. From here, he looks out on the
nearby Zuidas, the business centre
developing on the southern side of the
city, and one of the potential invest-
ment targets.
“One of the instruments which we use
for this is a private-public partnership,
also known as PPP or P3,” he continues.
“This is a financing model in which pri-
vate parties invest in the development
of public projects, often taking on the
costs of their maintenance and devel-
opment. Here in the Netherlands, we
expect to see a big increase in interest
in this area over the coming years.
Moreover, there’s an almost inexhaust -
ible source of financing here: Dutch
pension funds have more than €600
billion ($740 billion) in assets. By bring-
ing supply and demand together, you
get a financial solution that’s interest-
ing for all parties.
“At Babcock & Brown, we can offer
considerable added value. Internation-
ally, we have gained a unique practical
experience with all kinds of private-
public constructions, and we have the
creativity and know-how to tailor these
for a successful application on the
Dutch market.”
GROWING STRONGER
The arrival of Babcock & Brown repre-
sents a welcome strengthening of the
financial sector in Amsterdam and its
surroundings. In order to compete with
the top three largest financial centres in
Europe (London, Paris and Frankfurt),
the financial and business service
providers located here need to be more
ingenious and innovative than their
foreign competitors. And arranging and
forming private-public partnerships is
an innovative extension of their offering.
Particularly now that the Netherlands
is poised to make hefty investments in
reinforcing its own infrastructure, and
in more sustainable planning of its
living and working environment.
Over the coming years, an estimated
€65 billion will be invested in planned
infrastructure works; the existing road
network will be extended and adapted,
sea defences will have to be improved
along the entire coastline in order to
withstand possible rises in sea-levels,
and large-scale new building projects
are planned throughout the country. In
Amsterdam, the North-South Line (an
INTERVIEW: ROB OUDMAN
publicprojects
Investing together in
BABCOCK & BROWN
Rob Oudman,
Managing Director
TEXT: HANS KOPS | PHOTOGRAPHY: MART ENGELEN ~ A-A-P
040
extension of the underground train
network) is already being built, and
construction of the Zuidas area has
entered its second phase. In addition,
there will be sizeable investments in
projects such as the extension of the
glass fibre network, the construction of
new wind farms and other forms of
sustainable energy, plus new govern-
ment buildings and schools.
The realisation of so many projects at
the same time constitutes a (too) heavy
drain on government funds, so the use
of private-public partnerships as a
financing method means that such
investments can be spread out over
time, while projects can be realised
more rapidly and in a qualitatively
better way. By inviting private entities
such as banks, pension funds and
insurers to take onboard (a part of) the
financing (and in many cases to also
outsource the management and ex-
ploitation to them), the realisation of
such plans is no longer dependent on
the budgetary leeway of the govern-
ment. Additionally, at the outset,
parties must determine which require-
ments need to be satisfied then and in
the future, which results in an earlier
defined and improved risk profile.
Also, the government gets more of a
grip on its expenditure; for most of the
contracts, the user pays a fixed amount
per period.
For their part, the financiers have the
security of taking part in a project for
which the government guarantees the
payments, and that promises a fixed
return for them over a longer period.
On top of all these advantages, there’s
also the fact that what is being invested
in is the permanent attractiveness of
‘The Netherlands Ltd.’, as a logistics hub
and as a knowledge centre of Europe.
ACCELERATING DEMAND
Given these multiple advantages, it is
only logical that Oudman and his col-
leagues at Babcock & Brown expect
demand for this specialism within
financial services to accelerate in the
near future - not only for the Nether-
lands, but also for the rest of Europe.
“In this respect, Amsterdam is the
ideal operating base for us in several
respects,” Oudman explains. “In the
coming years, we expect to have abun-
dant opportunities to demonstrate our
added value when it comes to getting
the right partners together in private-
public partnerships, choosing appro-
priate forms of contract, and especially
developing future models for projects
and then making them eligible for
financing. By which I mean that the
success of private-public partnerships
stands or falls on whether you are able
to map and evaluate in advance the
risks and eventualities which can occur
during the course of a project. The
ultimate cost depends on that; uncer-
tainty translates into a risk increase.
“I think we have an advantage here over
other firms. Babcock & Brown has
already gained so much practical
experience in private-public partner-
ships, especially in the United Kingdom.
We’ve built up a portfolio of schools
and government buildings that have
been realised this way. So we know
the best way to establish a contract,
how to select your partners, and how
you should match your investors to
your projects.”
Babcock & Brown hopes to access
Dutch networks by leveraging this
knowledge and experience. So far,
that hasn’t posed a problem, says Rob
Oudman: “Of course, I have my own
contacts. But it’s at least equally im-
portant that the Dutch market is very
well-suited to such specific investment
routes, and that everyone is convinced
that we really need each other in order
to be able to deliver the best possible
product.”
Moreover, Oudman believes that the
international orientation and the high
knowledge level of his colleagues in
the financial and business services
sector is an important argument in
Amsterdam’s favour. “Especially in the
field of the fiscal structuring of cross-
border deals, you can get excellent
service, as with the choice of the
correct legal forms within Europe.”
Babcock & Brown is so satisfied with
these particulars, that it has recently
been agreed that Amsterdam will be
the legal and fiscal centre for new
funds for the company’s international
network of 32 offices. “That’s an
advance return on opening an office in
Amsterdam,” says Oudman.
BABCOCK & BROWN
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN AUSTRALIA
ESTABLISHED IN THE AMSTERDAM
METROPOLITAN AREA SINCE 2008
EMPLOYEES 4
INDUSTRY FINANCE
ACTIVITY BENELUX OFFICE
INTERVIEW: ROB OUDMAN
CANALS
Amsterdam is famous for canals
that account for more then a
quarter of the city’s size.
The waterways play a major role in
water management, transport and
historically as a city-defense.
Today the city has about 100 km
of canals and canal cruises have
become the most popular
attraction in the country, with
over 3 million passengers a year.
Every year, around 200 students grad-
uate from Amsterdam’s art schools,
including the Rietveld Academy, the
Sandberg Institute, and the Amsterdam
School of the Arts. It is important for
Amsterdam to hold onto this creativity
for the city. The young creatives include
theatre professionals, designers, set
builders, painters, and others.
Thanks to Bureau Broedplaatsen (a
“broedplaats” is a hatchery or breed-
ing ground), young hopefuls can find
affordable working spaces and studios.
The office provides the workshops
space along with advice on organisa-
tion, management, finances and build-
ings. In this way, it gives future cultural
entrepreneurs the chance to build up
a professional practise without having
to be overly concerned about paying
the rent for the first couple of years.
Many young artists have the profes-
sional ambition of achieving commer-
cial success and significance in the
creative industries, an area in which
progress is generally in fits and starts.
Anyone who sees the work of Folkert
de Jong can immediately tell that he
wouldn’t necessarily fit into just any
business complex. This former student
of the Rijksakademie van Beeldende
Kunst and winner of the Prix de Rome
sculpture award in 2003, makes huge,
figurative sculptural installations in
which offenders, assassins, religious
fanatics, political extremists and
spiritual mediums play the leading
roles. From a subsidised space in a
Bureau Broedplaats building, he has
been able to develop into a successful
artist, with exhibitions of his work held
all over the world. He started in a
workshop in the port area. This deso-
late neighbourhood inspired him.
www.bureaubroedplaatsen.
amsterdam.nl
KAUWGOMBALLENFABRIEK
ART FACTORY
Noted international choreographer
Anouk van Dijk practises new ballets
with her company in a former chewing
gum factory. She shares the old factory
on the edge of Amsterdam with other
cultural and creative entrepreneurs, in-
cluding advertising agencies, caterers,
DJs, architects and theatre trainers.
In contrast to many other creative
hotspots, the chewing gum factory was
developed by a commercial company,
and as such it is living proof that busi-
ness can make money out of the
creative industries. The four buildings,
each with its own separate identity,
was redeveloped. They wanted to bring
several people together in small and
large, economical and more expensive
spaces. The location is now on the
map, the studios, workshops and of-
fices are full of activity. www.lingotto.nl /
www.kauwgomballenfabriek.nl
NDSM DOCKS
A CULTURAL INCUBATOR
The coming of MTV Networks to the
NDSM docklands of North Amster-
dam is the ultimate affirmation of its
success as a cultural incubator. It often
goes like this: first artists move into a
rough, undeveloped, neglected area,
then other cultural entrepreneurs fol-
low, and cafés and restaurants set up
shop. The huge neighbourhood con-
tains facilities like the Scheeps-
bouwloods, a hangar-like structure of
20,000m2, containing around 80
artists’ studios, and two historic ship
slipways also housing workshops and
artists’ studios. The location is emi-
nently suited to such large-scale, out-
door events. Spread over the different
halls and warehouses, the 250 local
artists form a nucleus for underground
culture. They are active in the fields of
visual arts, design, theatre, film, media
and architecture. The NDSM docks
will be further developed in the future
as an international centre for the cre-
ative industries. www.ndsm.nl
INCUBATOR FOR CREATIVE
INDUSTRY ALMERE
In the heart of the oldest part of
Almere’s city stands the former build-
ing of the Center for Cultural Educa-
tion, better known as the “Voetnoot”.
Almere has become a real Creative
City by transforming the Voetnoot into
043042
Spaces for creatıves
an incubator place for the creative in-
dustry. The building consists of several
layers, which look a little sober from the
outside. The opposite is true. Inside
energy and creativity are floating all
around. Artist and creative entrepre-
neurs from different disciplines have
found their way into the building and
are working hard to make the concept
work. Ingrid Soekroella, Creative
entrepreneur and tenant in the Voet-
noot,: “I was looking for an affordable
showroom and workshop space for
quite some time now and therefore
I am very happy with this initiative of
the City of Almere. The location, ac-
cessibility of the building and the ex-
isting synergy are a bonus to me”.
A NEW CREATIVE HEART FOR
AMERSFOORT
The art academy has been dissolved,
but plenty of artists remain. Together
with craftsmen, cultural entrepreneurs
and consultancies form the active cre-
ative scene of Amersfoort (50 km from
Amsterdam). Numerous initiatives are
in preparation for the coming years
that will bring these design and con-
sultancy strength more into focus.
Amersfoort Creative City is the engine
behind this development. It encour-
ages stimulating and connective activi-
ties for and by the creative sector. So,
the city council has released the de-
serted former industrial area of the
Oliemolen kwartier for creative use.
Thirty creative entrepreneurs from the
network have made plans for new
temporary buildings in the area, in-
cluding Discover!, a place where cre-
atives can work and events will take
place. The area will also have a clearly
defined, broad public function. The
buildings will offer space for exhibi-
tions and events that have achieved
success abroad or in the Netherlands.
www.amersfoortcreatievestad.nl
045
global village 174 nationalities
Amsterdam ranks 13th in the Worldwide ranking of most livable
cities (Mercer Human Resource Consulting, 2008). Thanks to the
relatively low cost of living, good and affordable international
schools and a ready supply of business and living space, Amsterdam
has plenty to offer in material terms. Amsterdam offers all the advan-
tages of a cosmopolitan city and business centre, but on an intimate
scale. The work-life balance that results is prized by everyone. With
174 different nationalities Amsterdam is a true global village. The
local professional population is multilingual, multicultural, tolerant,
and independent-minded.
Amsterdam’s lively international business community offers plenty of
opportunities for networking and socialising. Various events are
organised by the international chambers of commerce, business
clubs, trade organisations, embassies, and women’s clubs. There’s
also a whole range of sector- specific fairs, congresses and other
events. The City of Amsterdam and its regional partners
(Amstelveen, Almere and Haarlemmermeer) regularly organise
seminars and events for the expat community - often in cooperation
with embassies and chambers of commerce. To get their stay in the
Amsterdam Metropolitan Area off to a flying start, new arrivals can
attend expat seminars covering essential topics such as immigra-
tion, the healthcare system, banking, safety and security, housing
and schooling.
ALBERT CUYP MARKETThe Albert Cuyp Market is a street market in Amsterdam on the
Albert Cuypstraat between Ferdinand Bolstraat and Van Woustraat,
in the De Pijp area of the "Oud-Zuid" district of the city. The street
and market are named for Albert Cuyp, a 17th century painter.
The market began as an ad hoc collection of street traders and
pushcarts. In 1912, the market became a daytime market open
6 days a week.
The product selection at the market varies from the traditional range
of vegetable, fruit and fish to clothing and even cameras. There are
many products sold that are of interest to the city’s residents of
Surinamese, Antillian,Turkish, Moroccan and many more nationalities.
CHINATOWN AMSTERDAMOver the years, Chinatown has gone from strength to strength and
today, booming businesses are spilling over into the whole Nieuw-
markt area. Even the street signs are either in Chinese or bilingual
Chinese-Dutch. This buzzing complex of Far East/Asian restaurants,
shops, beauty salons, Traditional Chinese Medicine apothecaries,
massage salons, food markets and martial art schools has received
rave reviews, and deservedly so. Chinatown is the place to relax,
experience it yourself, get the feeling working.
QUALITY OF LIFE: INSPIRING GLOBAL VILLAGE
INTERVIEW: ALEX MELVIN
046
Without Amsterdam, 180’s business
model wouldn’t be as successful as it
is. Alex Melvin, managing partner and
co-founder, is sure of that. When Melvin
and his three partners decided to set
up an agency, they had a well-defined
idea of how their ‘brainchild’ should
be different. “All large and medium-
sized agencies then had the same
ambition,” he says, sitting in the recep -
tion room of 180 Amsterdam (which is
now the agency’s full name). “That was,
to set up a network with branches in
all relevant locations, and to be in-
volved in the entire creative and pro-
duction chain.’’
“But we wanted to do things differ-
ently,” he stresses. “We predicted that,
if as a medium-sized player you want
to be - and stay - successful in such a
hyper-competitive market, then you
need to develop a unique business
model. Our strength is that we create
communications that work all over the
world. To make that happen, you need
to bring the world to one place. In
other words - bring the greatest cre-
ative talents from all nationalities and
put them together in an inspiring
environment, so that they can create
and carry out their best ideas.”
Gazing out at the canal, Melvin contin-
ues: “This can only work if you choose
a location that that meets all these
conditions – and, crucially, is the kind
of place where the best talent wants
to live and work. Amsterdam offers us
this added value. In fact, choosing this
city to start our agency has become
one of our most important USPs.”
NEW AGENCY MODEL
Ten years on, 180 Amsterdam has itself
become an internationally renowned
brand name with a highly impressive
client list. The 139-odd staff members
from 31 different countries serve a
prestigious list of clients including
BMW Motorrad, the beer brand
Amstel, youth TV network MTV, Sony,
Omega, Glenfiddich, and of course the
‘founding client’, adidas. In addition to
this, a second office was set up a year
or so ago to service the US market.
The company has experienced incred-
ible growth – however, Melvin empha-
sises that this is not the true measure
of 180’s success. He prefers instead to
judge 180’s achievements by the length
of the relationships that it enjoys with
most of its clients. He especially values
the fact that German sports brand
adidas still entrusts a large part of its
international marketing and communi-
cation budget to 180. “We at 180 are
sports fanatics, so we feel a powerful
affinity with a strong brand like adidas,”
he says. “When we were approached
by adidas to think of a new way to po-
sition them, we saw the chance to do
something really special.” The ‘Impos-
sible is Nothing’ campaign, for exam-
ple, was conceived by 180 Amsterdam.
From the start, 180 has stood out thanks
to the shape of its agency model. “We
chose to call ourselves a work-net or-
ganisation,” explains Melvin. “The cre-
ative process is central in this model,
more so than is possible in a network.
Everything is based on creating an en-
vironment that allows for the free ex-
change of ideas and concepts. Ideas
creation is our core business; all
processes are in place to enable this.”
AMSTERDAM BUG
Choosing the best location to work
from was vitally important to enter a
highly competitive market successfully,
especially for a company with creativity
at its heart. “That was back in the day
when almost everybody with interna-
tional ambitions automatically went to
London or New York,” says Melvin.
“We weren’t keen on the price tag
hanging on these cities – and also, we
asuspAmsterdam
180 AMSTERDAM
Alex Melvin,
Co-founder and
Managing Partner
049048
INTERVIEW: ALEX MELVIN
As an open economy, the Netherlands
has always given priority to a transpa-
rent and stable tax system, flexible
enough to anticipate the rapidly
changing requirements of international
economic flows. Moreover, tax agree-
ments have been made with most of
the world’s trading nations, which gua-
rantee univocal treatment. Companies
established in the Netherlands profit
from various tax advantages, including:
1 Competitive corporate tax rate of
25,5% well below the EU-average
2 The Dutch ruling practice, as a
result of which certainty in advance
can be obtained on future transac-
tions, investments or corporate
structures
3 Participation Exemption, meaning
that all benefits relating to a qual -
i fying shareholding (including cash
dividends, dividends-in-kind, bonus
shares, hidden profit distributions
and capital gains), are exempt
from Dutch corporate income tax
4 Double taxation relief via the
Royal Decree for the Avoidance of
Double Taxation
5 The Patent Box: an effective tax
rate of 10% for income related to a
patent obtained in respect of self-
developed intangible assets
(certain conditions apply)
6 Absence of withholding tax
on outgoing interest and royalty
payments
7 No capital-tax levy on the contri-
bution of capital to a company and
any later expansion of share capital
8 The 30% ruling for expats:
tax-free reimbursement of 30% of
an employee’s salary, provided that
the employee has been recruited
or assigned from abroad and has
specific expertise which is scarce in
the present Dutch labour market
A tax systembred for
progress andexpansion
PAN-EUROPEAN BUSINESS HUB THE AMSTERDAM ZUIDAS ADDS A NEW,
WELL-CONNECTED URBAN CENTRE OF
2.7 MILLION SQUARE METRES TO THE
CITY AND IT IS AMSTERDAM’S FINANCIAL
& BUSINESS SERVICES DISTRICT.
just didn’t see the future of an agency
like this there.” He had already experi-
enced Amsterdam. For his previous
employer, Wieden+Kennedy, he was
responsible for helping to set up the
agency’s Amsterdam office. This is
how he caught the ‘Amsterdam bug’.
“Living and working in Amsterdam has
an almost addictive effect on me,” he
says.“Everything is a stone’s throw away,
and yet it’s a city with a very cosmopol-
itan feel and a creative industry that
just keeps increasing in size and qual-
ity. When I ride to work in the morning
on my bike, I sometimes feel guilty
about the lack of stress I feel.” Although
Amsterdam was on the shortlist of
potential locations right from the start,
the choice was made in a highly rational
way. “We had three starting points,”
explains Melvin.“We wanted to be right
in the heart of Europe, we wanted to
be in a city with an international orien-
tation, and it had to be a place where
we wanted to live and work.”
Amsterdam scored highly on all points.
“For us, it is of the utmost importance
to be able to reach our clients within a
few hours. From Amsterdam we can get
to a meeting with adidas in Germany
and back within a day, for example.
And the connections to the USA and
Asia are very good, too. And of course,
we’re in the right time zone for most
of our clients.”
Another benefit is cultural. “This is an
outward-looking society in every way,”
says Melvin.“The Dutch have been
used to delving into other cultures and
trading with them for centuries. This is
very important when you want to work
on international accounts. Here, you’re
not restricted by rules that try to hold
you back when working internationally.
In fact, you’re encouraged to do things
differently.”
A crucial factor, however, was Amster-
dam’s role in attracting the best creative
minds to come and work at what is
considered ‘only’ a medium-sized
agency. “The people that we’re inter-
ested in think it’s extremely important
to have a healthy work-life balance for
themselves and their families,” Melvin
explains.
This factor, coupled with the relatively
lost cost of living and excellent facili-
ties for expats (like the broadband
network that allows people to work re-
motely), has allowed 180 to become
one of the figureheads in the growing
group of non-Dutch advertising agen-
cies using Amsterdam as a hub to work
with Europe and beyond. “This is only
the beginning of this development,”
predicts the Scot who now considers
himself an Amsterdammer. “More and
more organisations that work with ideas
are setting up here, not only agencies
but production companies and all
sorts of other types of creative compa-
nies. This becomes self-perpetuating,
and Amsterdam and the surrounding
area are starting to have a critical mass
effect, making the city more and more
attractive to clients. I predict that Ams-
terdam’s creative industry will double
in size in the next five years,” he says.
“As long as the city is able to hang on
to its ‘villagey’ charms, of course.”
180 AMSTERDAM
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN THE NETHERLANDS
ESTABLISHED IN THE AMSTERDAM
METROPOLITAN AREA SINCE 1998
EMPLOYEES 139
INDUSTRY ADVERTISING
ACTIVITIES HEADQUARTER
TEXT: HANS KOPS | PHOTOGRAPHY: MART ENGELEN ~ A-A-P
THE RIJKSAKADEMIE
Founded by King Willem III in 1870, the
Rijksakademie (the national academy for
fine arts) was intended to be “a haven
of international standing.” Today, the
Rijksakademie functions as a laboratory
for developing talent on an international
level. Leading creative talents from
every continent have discovered the
institute, which can be seen from the
fact that there are 1,400 applications
for just 25 places.
As in the past, Amsterdam is playing an
increasingly important role in offering
accommodation and workspaces to
major international talents, both in the
city and the Netherlands as a whole,
both during and after their residency
at the Rijksakademie.
The Rijksakademie residency places
participants in a welcoming, well-
equipped house, where there is space
and time (a residency covers two twelve-
month periods) for research, reflection,
experimentation, production, discus-
sion, debating, and developing an
international network. In addition, the
Rijksakademie organises the Prix de
Rome (the national prize for young
artists and architects in the Nether-
lands), and manages (historical and
contemporary) collections and an
archive, plus a library and artist docu-
mentation centre, the Expertise Centre.
A residency at the Rijksakademie is
often regarded as a career break-
through. The artists are part of the
global art world and maintain a wide
network.Over the past 10 years, the work
of many residents has found its way
into the collections of museums, com-
panies and collectors in the Netherlands
and abroad, as well as into exhibitions,
art fairs, galeries, biennales and festi-
vals worldwide. The artists who have
completed a residency at the Rijks -
akademie have had a major influence
on international contemporary art.
Artists who work or who have worked
here include, for example, Breitner,
Appel, and Mondrian; and, more re-
cently, Carlos Amorales, Alicia Framis,
Ryan Gander, Runa Islam, Germaine
Kruip, David Maljkovic, Shahryar
Nashat, Berend Strik, Roy Villevoye,
and Marijke van Warmerdam. Then
there are the Prix de Rome winners,
such as Jan Sluijters, Wim Quist, Joep
van Lieshout, Gijs Frieling, Elspeth
Diederix, and Koen van Velsen. All of
them are part of a global ‘community’:
the Rijksakademie.
www.rijksakademie.nl
THE SANDBERG INSTITUTE
Amsterdam’s Sandberg Institute takes
its name from the designer and former
Stedelijk Museum director, Willem
Sandberg. It was established in 1990,
by former Rietveld director Simon den
Hartog. The Sandberg Institute offers
051050
Academies
internationally oriented postgraduate
education in the visual arts, in connec-
tion with the Gerrit Rietveld Academy.
The Sandberg Institute’s MFA course
has a practical focus that emphasises
the importance for students of show-
ing their work. “Our Sandberg educa-
tion couldn’t exist without Amsterdam,
nor could Amsterdam do without the
Sandberg Institute,” says director Jos
Houweling. “That was true ten years
ago, and it’s still true today. Amster-
dam has become more international
over the last ten years. As a starting
point for international exhibitions and
contacts, Amsterdam is a playground
that gives young artists and designers
the chance to show off their ideas.”
The standard of graduate work is high.
Pieces by former students feature in
top Dutch museums, in art magazines
and in international art fairs. If rankings
existed for Dutch art courses, the Sand -
berg Institute would score highly. Artists
who have trained at the Sandberg
Institute include Marc de Cloe, Joost
Conijn, Job Koelewijn, Margit Lukács,
Persijn Broersen, Lisa Holden, Maartje
Korstanje and Joanneke Meester.
Alongside education, the Sandberg
Institute organises a major alternative
art fair twice a year: Kunstvlaai Art Pie
International. Foreign art institutions
are invited to take part. The invited
institutions are delighted to be able to
participate and exhibit in Amsterdam.
Thanks to contacts made at Kunstvlaai,
students from the Sandberg Institute
now exhibit regularly in China and have
been asked to take part in the Shang-
hai World Expo 2010 with a large,
varied work about Amsterdam. At the
same time, the Sandberg Institute has
developed the One Minute series of
videos, each of which lasts precisely 60
seconds, into a mini world movement,
with its first high point the (Olympic)
World One Minutes exhibition in the
Beijing Today Art Museum. In this show,
90 countries are represented by around
900 videos. The World One Minutes
exhibition in Beijing is the first of a
series that will continue in Zagreb,
Istanbul, Lisbon and São Paulo. It con-
stitutes the beginning of the World
One Minutes Biennale, with subsequent
events taking place in 2010 and 2012.
www.theoneminutes.org
www.sandberg.nl / www.kunstvlaai.nl
THE GERRIT RIETVELD ACADEMY
Amsterdam’s Gerrit Rietveld Academy
(usually simply referred to as the Riet -
veld Academy) is a college for the
visual arts, set up in 1924 following the
merger of three older art schools.
Together with the Schule für Gestal-
tung in Basel, the academy founded
AIAS, the International Association of
Independent Art and Design Schools.
This association links 17 art academies
from Europe, the USA, Japan and
Korea. There are annual AIAS work-
shops for older students and tutors,
and a thematic debate for teachers of
theory and managerial staff. These are
organised by one of the academies in
the association. Members can also take
part in exchanges and collaborations.
Every year, AIAS organises a Prize of
Honour. The member academies enter
their best students for this. In 2008,
Sachi Miyachi, a Sandberg Institute
student, won the prize.
The academy also has a varied interna-
tional network of contacts. There are
regular student exchanges with a
number of foreign academies, for
example in New York, San Francisco,
London, Paris, Barcelona, Lisbon,
Berlin, Copenhagen, Oslo, Helsinki,
Milan, Jerusalem, and Melbourne.
They also partipate in joint projects
and the development of shared
activities, including exhibitions, publi-
cations, and workshops.
www.gerritrietveldacademie.nl
www.aias-artdesign.org
FILM AND TELEVISION ACADEMY
The Netherlands Film and Television
Academy (NFTA) is founded in 1958.
The academy is the only recognised
institute in the Netherlands that offers
training to prepare for the work in the
various crew disciplines. The NFTA
differs from other audiovisual courses in
that it trains specialists to make pro -
ductions in a team. Specialisation is
possible in fiction directing, documen-
tary directing, screen writing, editing,
producing, sound design, cinematog-
raphy, production design, and interac-
tive multimedia/visual effects. This
year the NFTA is celebrating its 50th
anniversary. www.filmacademie.nl
- Former students of the Amsterdam Film
Academy include film director, screenwriter
and producer Paul Verhoeven (Basic Instinct,
RoboCop) and cinematographer, producer and
film director Jan de Bont (Speed, Twister)
053052
Kako Mendez (25) of Spain took partial
leadership of the project. “We started
to recognize Amsterdam in famous
actors, songs, events, trends, every-
thing. We got all the magazines from
the agency bookshelves and tore out
pages, marking each with a Post It
note to judge its potential.”
In a few days the room was covered in
celebrities, images and ideas. Scrib-
bled on A3 paper they wrote, “What
% Amsterdam are you?” Jack Nichol-
son was 437% Amsterdam and so was
a squirrel in a flight suit. The students,
as Peggy likes to put it, were starting
to play.
Kako and his partner Jomi Rivera of
Peru composed a poem for the city that
begins, “One voice was raised and
sounded strange, just a thought turned
an idea, into something familiar...”
With a treatment written by Erik
Wünsch, partner at S-W-H, a spot
directed by Hein Mevissen, partner at
John Doe and produced by Suzanne
Huisman of Fat Fred’s Filmcompany,
ten prominent CEO’s joined the cast
of the production that was filmed
inside the historic Bazel Building.
www.yesiamsterdam.com
If promoting Amsterdam were as sim-
ple as listing the many advantages of
expanding your business here, almost
anyone with a simian grasp of language
could launch a successful international
campaign. The challenge for Peggy
Stein and her students at the Miami
Ad School, Amsterdam was to attract
CEOs to the city and grow the creative
industry by creating a real emotional
connection to Amsterdam. She began
by listing the advantages: 350 million
consumers in an 800-mile radius, an
international airport and an excellent
connectivity. “The question I asked the
students was, ‘Are you convinced? Are
these facts enough to inspire you - to
create a personal connection to Ams-
terdam? To say, yes I am convinced,
yes I am Amsterdam?’”www.yesiamsterdam.com
Yes I am Miami Ad School Amsterdam
055
One voice was raised and sounded strange,just a thought turned an idea, into something familiar,it was the whisper of freedom,that was starting a revolution,with this spirit as a weapon and unity as a shield.Yes I am.
The world was first amazed by the sex, drugs and rock & roll, these people are crazy,these people are strange,they didn’t understand the power of the claim,impossible is nothing, was in front of their face.Yes I am.
An empty canvas land, is a world without a map,where air can be shared,and invisible is fear, like a dog to a child,ideas will spin, like flowers grow in the field.
It was the dream of a guy that ate flower bulbs to survive,same reason brought a woman to work from Surinam.Yes I am.
Lots of no’s were said but just one yes remains,where one - seven - four, just means we are more,it was for sure,that no colors stayed pure.Yes I am.Oui je suis.Si io sono.Sim eu sou.Si yo soy.はい私はある.Ja ich bin.Ja ik ben.
A leaf left the tree and arrived in Amsterdam,like many hopes of others,and more and more they will,inspired by something you can just feel.Yes I am.
rial team. Members publish their own
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WEB SEARCH
We index creative community websites
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WWW.CREATIVEAMSTERDAM.NL
- showcase of creativity in the
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industries;
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community.
CREATING OPPORTUNITIES
Creative Amsterdam is a one-stop shop
for the creative industries. Creative Am-
sterdam offers national and interna-
tional companies access to the creative
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nies find the right facilities to stimulate
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The Amsterdam Metropolitan Area, the
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DIRECTORY PER SECTOR
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QUALITY OF LIFE: MUSEUMS & STROLLING
BEGUINE (BEGIJNHOFJE)The Begijnhof was originally built as a sanctuary for the Begijntjes,
a Catholic sisterhood who lived like nuns, although they took no
monastic vows. Cut off from Amsterdam's traffic noise, The Begijn-
hof is an enclosed courtyard dating from the early 14th century.
Nothing survived of the earliest dwellings, but the Begijnhof still
retains a sanctified atmosphere. The beautiful houses overlook its
well-kept green garden, include the Amsterdam's oldest surviving
house Het Houten Huis dating from around 1420. Houses in Begijn-
hof are still occupied by single women, so please respect their
privacy and be quiet. The Begijnhof Chapel (No. 29 and 30), a clan-
destine church, was completed in 1680. It contains many reminders
of the Catholic past. www.begijnhof.nl
COBRA MUSEUMThe artists who founded the CoBrA group during a major interna-
tional conference held in Paris in 1948 came from these three Euro-
pean capitals and a curled snake became the symbol of the
movement. Cobra is derived from the French names of the cities of
Copenhagen, Brussels and Amsterdam. The CoBrA painters wanted
to break new ground, preferring to work spontaneously and with the
emphasis more on fantastic imagery. In 1951 the CoBrA movement
was officially disbanded, yet during its short existence CoBrA rejuve-
nated Dutch modern art. The museum has a major collection of key
works by artists of the CoBrA group (1948-1951) as well as work by
their Dutch contemporaries, including artists of the Vrij Beelden
(1945) and Creatie (1950-1955) movements. The museum was elected
Museum of the Year 2008. The collection is regularly supplemented
by acquisitions and gifts. Works from the collection are on perma-
nent display. www.cobra-museum.nl
FRANS HALS MUSEUMNamed after Frans Hals, one of the most celebrated painters of the
Dutch Golden Age, the museum boasts a collection of imposing
group portraits by the artist. These portraits depict the merrymaking
civic guards and congregating regents for which Frans Hals became
world famous. Seventeenth-century burghers illustrated on the
paintings show the luxurious fabrics of their clothes and the fine lace
on their collars. The shameless women, drunken man and peeing
children portrayed on the Dutch genre paintings warn the viewer
against the evils of debauchery. www.franshalsmuseum.nl
museums &strolling
QUALITY OF LIFE: MUSEUMS & STROLLING
JEWISH HISTORICAL MUSEUMFour restored synagogues in the heart of Amsterdam’s former Jew-
ish quarter now house the Jewish Historical Museum. Its central
themes are the eventful history of the Jews in the Netherlands and
their colourful culture. Other historical and topical subjects associ-
ated with Jewish culture are featured in temporary exhibitions. Reg-
ular shows also highlight work by Dutch and international Jewish
artists and photographers. Temporary exhibitions of fragile works
are shown in the Print Room. www.jhm.nl
ZAANSE SCHANSThe new industrially designed Zaans Museum at the Zaanse Schans
houses a precious collection of valuable local artefacts. Every object
tells its own story. In a contemporary setting he themes living, working,
wind and water to portray the history of life in the area. In the last 400
years over a 1000 windmills were in use in the Zaanarea. Today only
a small number of them remain in this very special spot in Holland.
www.zaanseschans.nl / www.zaansmuseum.nl / www.erih.nl
DE APPELDe Appel is an internationally oriented arts centre located in
Amsterdam. Since1975 it has functioned as a site for the research and
presentation of contemporary visual art through exhibitions, publi-
cations and discursive events. De Appel also functions as a platform
for performances by visual artists, choreographers and theatre
makers. Since1994 De Appel has hosted a nine month long Curatorial
Programme that offers emerging international curators a condensed
package of experiences and skills that can be used as tools for the
development of their professional careers. www.deappel.nl
MUSEUM DE PAVILJOENSMuseum De Paviljoens received the AICA distinction in 2005 for best
museum of 2002-’03-’04 and is the only museum for contemporary art
in Almere. The museum not only organises exhibitions, but also
educational programmes, excursions, Ongoing Series, Children’s
activities, (interactive) artists’projects and Art in Public Space projects.
During summertime, the museum organises tours to land art pieces
in the area. Museum De Paviljoens is located in the former Aue
Pavilions which were designed for Documenta IX in 1992 in Kassel.
This outstanding complex, designed by the architects Robbrecht &
Daem, was relocated to Almere in 1994. www.depaviljoens.nl
059058
The Stone Twins is an acclaimed creative
agency situated in Amsterdam.
Established by Irish twin brothers
Declan and Garech Stone in 1999, the
bureau has a reputation for witty and
engaging concepts that work across
the full breadth of the media landscape.
After a three year hiatus - when the
duo spent separate stints at two of
advertising’s hottest agencies - BBH
New York and 180 Amsterdam - they
reunited at the end of 2007.
Recent projects include directing the
Dutch Army to shoot bullets through
the revered annual of the Dutch
Art-Directors Club (ADCN) and the
wrapping of a client with duct tape
(UsualSuspects). Such unorthodox and
fresh thinking is possible in other cities,
but Amsterdam with it’s rich culture
and heritage, it’s innovative infrastruc-
ture and tolerant society has the edge.
At the core of this, they insist, is the
quality of life, adding “Where else
would the MD of a multinational travel
to an appointment by bike?”www.stonetwins.com
RIETVELD SCHRÖDER HOUSEDesigned by Gerrit Rietveld for Truus Schröder in 1924. According
to Rietveld and Schröder one had to have an active attitude to life.
The occupant has to perform a transaction for every activity: the
bathroom is created by opening out a wall, while the sleeping areas
could be screened off with sliding walls, and privacy was obtained
by placing shutters in front of the windows. The house is literally a
machine for living in. At the end of 2000 UNESCO placed it on the
World Heritage List as ’an important and unique icon in Western
architectural history and a masterpiece of human creativity.’
www.rietveldschroderhuis.nl
NESIn around 1500, Amsterdam had about 20 monasteries, five of them
located at the end of the Nes. By the early 19th century, Nes was
already a centre for entertainment. Besides bordellos, it housed café
chantants, the Salon de Variétés Tivoli, and artists’ cafés. Later, it
became a centre for the tobacco trade. Since the 1960s, theatres
have once again established themselves in Nes, including the
theatre/production house Frascati, the Engelenbak, the Flemish
cultural centre, De Brakke Grond, and the ‘Comedy Theater in de
Nes’. Alongside these, there are also various bars and restaurants.
DUDOKAt the start of the twentieth century, visionary architect H. T. Wijde-
veld called Hilversum a City of Natural Beauty. The Hilversum museum
permanent collection is based on this notion. City of Natural Beauty
reveals the more unusual aspects of Hilversum, such as its relation-
ship with the surrounding landscape, villa construction, the media,
numerous young monuments and the significant influence of mu-
nicipal architect Willem Marinus Dudok (1884-1974). It took 5 years
to restore the exterior and interior, all designed by Dudok, to their
original state. It is the dozens of architecturally stunning buildings,
not only designed by Dudok, but also by his contemporaries, that
have turned the town of Hilversum into a huge open air museum.
www.museumhilversum.nl
W139W139 is an Amsterdam-based exhibition and production space for
contemporary art. Located in the oldest street in the city centre,
W139 is a grand, high-ceilinged venue. W139 has been a space for
risk-taking since 1979. The spirit and energy of artists are the driving
force behind change and innovation. So far 1678 artists have taken
part in 425 exhibitions. www.w139.nl
QUALITY OF LIFE: MUSEUMS & STROLLING
museums &strolling
The StoneTwinsGarech & Declan
061
1WORLDWIDE RANKING
2 6 8 12 14 17 18 19 20 22 26 29 30 37 40 43 45 51
LON
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$ 23
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$ 92
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,63
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,77
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BEST CITIES IN TERMS OF LANGUAGES SPOKENEUROPEAN CITIES MONITOR, 2007
OPERATIONAL COSTS OFFICES IN US$/SF/ANNUMCB RICHARD ELLIS, 2008
MOST LIVABLE EUROPEAN CAPITALSMERCER HUMAN RESOURCE CONSULTING, 2008
CITY
London, UK 1
Amsterdam, the Netherlands 2
Brussels, Belgium 3
Frankfurt, Germany 4
Geneva, Switzerland 5
Paris, France 5
Zurich, Switzerland 5
Berlin, Germany 8
Copenhagen, Denmark 8
Stockholm, Sweden 10
TOP 10 WORLD’S BEST CITIES FOR BUSINESSMASTERCARD WORLDWIDE CENTERS OF COMMERCE INDEX™, 2008
CITY
London, UK 79,17
New York, USA 72,77
Tokyo, Japan 66,60
Singapore 66,16
Chicago, USA 65,24
Hong Kong, China 63,94
Paris, France 63,87
Frankfurt, Germany 62,34
Seoul, South Korea 61,83
Amsterdam, The Netherlands 60,06
CAPITAL WORLDWIDE RANKING
Vienna, Austria 2Bern, Switzerland 9Copenhagen, Denmark 11 Amsterdam, the Netherlands 13Brussels, Belgium 14Berlin, Germany 16Luxembourg, Luxembourg 17Stockholm, Sweden 20Oslo, Norway 24Dublin, Ireland 25Helsinki, Finland 29Paris, France 32London, UK 38Madrid, Spain 43Lisbon, Portugal 44
060
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HEADING FOR THE TOP 10GLOBAL ENABLING TRADE INDEX, 2008
EU COUNTRY CORPORATE TAX RATESOECD, 2008
CLOSE TO THE MARKETS THAT
MATTER
The Blue Banana (also known as the
Hot Banana, European Megalopolis
or European Backbone) was first
seen by cosmonauts, and stretches
from North West England in the
north to Milan in the south.
It covers one of the world’s highest
concentrations of people (around
90 million), money and industry.
062
AT A GLANCE
- A single contact point to help international companies
get started, and keep growing, in the Amsterdam
Metropolitan Area
- A wide range of useful contacts in both private and
public sectors
- A support network of civic partners in the region and
around the world
- Full programmes for fact-finding visits to evaluate and
select locations, services and professional advisors
- Advice for company staff and their families
- All services free, confidential and without obligation
During every step from exploration to start-up and growth,
international companies can turn to the Amsterdam Foreign
Investment Office (AFIO) for two of the most essential ingre-
dients for success: know-how-to ease the transition into a new
business environment - and know-who - introductions to the
individuals and agencies necessary for an effective operation.
The relationship between a company and AFIO can continue
over the long term. Amsterdam uses the lion’s share of its
economic development staff and resources to support and
nurture firms already established in the city and the region.
AFIO is part of the City of Amsterdam Economic Develop-
ment Department and is directly linked to its regional
partners: the City of Almere, the City of Amstelveen, the
City of Haarlemmermeer, Port of Amsterdam, Amsterdam
Airport Area and Creative Amsterdam.
AFIO AMSTERDAM
T +31 20 552 35 36 | F +31 20 552 28 60
W www.afio.amsterdam.nl
Mail address
P.O. Box 2133, 1000 CC Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Visiting address
Metropool Building, 4th floor
Weesperstraat 89, 1018 VN Amsterdam, The Netherlands
AFIO CHINA
Rm. 1001, Fortune Gate, 1701, Beijing Road (West)
Shanghai P.R. China 200040
T +86 21 62 886 990 extension 15
W www.cityofamsterdam.cn
REGIONAL PARTNERS
CITY OF ALMERE
P.O. Box 200, 1300 AE Almere, The Netherlands
T +31 36 527 7364
W www.almere.nl
CITY OF AMSTELVEEN
P.O. Box 4, 1180 BA Amstelveen, The Netherlands
T + 31 20 540 4423
W www.amstelveen.nl
CITY OF HAARLEMMERMEER
P.O. Box 250, 2130 AG Hoofddorp, The Netherlands
T +31 23 567 6139
W www.haarlemmermeer.nl
AMSTERDAM AIRPORT AREA
P.O. Box 75700, 1118 ZT Schiphol Airport, The Netherlands
T +31 20 405 47 76
W www.aaarea.nl
PORT OF AMSTERDAM
Amsterdam Port Authority
P.O. Box 19406, 1000 GK Amsterdam, The Netherlands
T +31 20 523 45 60
W www.portofamsterdam.nl
CREATIVE AMSTERDAM
De Ruyterkade 5, 1013 AA Amsterdam, The Netherlands
T +31 20 524 11 20
W www.creativeamsterdam.nl
EXPATCENTER
World Trade Center Amsterdam, F-Tower, second floor
Strawinskylaan 39, 1077 XW Amsterdam, The Netherlands
T +31 20 254 79 99
W www.iamsterdam.com/expatcenter
welcome to ourcreative festivals
The Celebration of the Right Brain
SEPTEMBER10 -30win tickets at iamsterdam.com