"Some Amsterdamse School buildings" Personal Page by dnwitte

The Amsterdamse School was an early twentieth century architectural movement to deal with the issue of social housing in a purposefully Dutch way. Many people got their first kitchens and bathrooms this way, and there are some remarkable aesthetic achievements. You can find a great collection of Amsterdamse school buildings in de Pijp and in the neighborhood alongside the northern edge of the Westerpark.
This one overlooks the Amstel river and lots of busy traffic at the southern corner of de Pijp. Note the use of traditional dakpannen--ceramic roof tiles--and tackle for hoisting furniture through upstairs windows.

Even at their soberest, the Dutch sense of whimsy has to come out.

Do you have to know somebody to get a corner unit in this one?

Of course, there's a killjoy in any project. This one looks like somebody gave a graphic designer a box to play with, but the ceramic roof tiles applied to the side of the building are rather fun.

A very handsome apartment block. Grandeur on a small scale. How Dutch.

This one makes me think Fritz lang's film 'Metropolis', with its hints of Art Deco and swoopy curves.

Here it seems they've managed to combine severe utilitarianism with a degree of graphic elegance, and the canal-side setting brings a sense of space to a very dense development.

The Amsterdamse School's antithesis. Overdone gingerbread with too many corners to be dusted, but they still have to have their joke.
The story is that the goblins throwing a ball back and forth on the roof of this thing represent the corrupted financial jiggery-pokery it took to get permission to put up the building.
It stands on the boulevard marking the border between 'old' Amsterdam, and de Pijp.