In Betondorp

Looking through the architecture section in my Monocle Amsterdam guide before we left London, I found a little section about Betondorp (Concrete City). Oomoo walked past and saw a photo of the clocktower above, stopped in his tracks and asked if we could go and check it out. I was so excited that he found it interesting, and on one of the days when my friend Z was working, we made our own way there. Google Maps sent on us on a hilarious round the houses (haha) way to get to there, with an added stop at the Tropenmuseum on the way (pix from there in another post). Z was already sceptical when I’d showed her the route, but it didn’t deter me from giving it a try. It turned out to be an insane route, through what felt like the middle of nowhere in places, but it showed me and O parts of Amsterdam we would never have seen otherwise. In fact that bike ride is one of my funniest memories from our whole trip. So how did Oomoo react when we finally got there? “Is that it?!”. As in, “Muuuum, you made cycle all that way here for… that?!” I felt so bad for him. I agree, it was a bit underwhelming, but I was so curious to see it with my own eyes.

Betondorp is a garden city that was built in the 1920’s as a way of solving a housing shortage in Amsterdam, and a way of trying out a different way of building houses quickly, using concrete as it was a cheap material. Half of the neighbourhood was built in traditional brick, but as bricks were also short in supply, the other half was built using concrete, in nine new different styles of houses.

The architecture is mixed, and the neighbourhood very quiet. As if modern life has some how passed it by.

Oomoo had totally zoned out by this point, so I had to do my architecture walk quite quickly. I felt too shy to have a proper nosy along this row of houses.

Can you see him in his red beanie? He stayed in the main square

where he almost passed out from boredom, inside a, eh, rabbit?

So, as you can see, I was on borrowed time. I think I had about 10 mins to get a feel for the place.

I really liked the different style and colours of the doors.

See what I mean?

As well as spotting little signs of the the personality of the inhabitants - in unexpected places.

Did some birdwatching too.

A detail from the town hall. Such a great font! And I love the zig zag brickwork.

And the sign of the library.

I would have loved to have stuck my head in there to see what those windows, including the stained glass ones, looked like from the inside.

Betondorp’s most famous inhabitant was Johan Cruyff, one of the world’s most famous and influential footballers, and this is the house he grew up in. As a kid he could be found in the same square that Oomoo almost fell asleep in, always kicking a ball. I made sure we found the house so I could send a picture from there to one of our friends back in the UK, who’s a big Cruyff fan. Oomoo isn’t into football, but by this time we were back on our bikes, getting ready to cross the city (this time going a more central and normal route), him happy that we were leaving, and me happy that we got to see this little ‘hood. You can watch a zany little YouTube guide/film about it here. If you want to see what some of the houses and flats look like on the inside you can peruse some for sale here. I think they look really rather nice, even the one that’s a wreck. So much light! Have a good weekend alles.

Solo walk

Let’s go for a little architecture walk in the Jordaan neighbourhood of Amsterdam, shall we? I’m sure you’ll like it. I found myself with a couple of hours spare one afternoon, as Z was at a meeting and Oomoo did a work experience shift at L’s deli shop (he did really well and really enjoyed it. I was so proud of him and he seemed to have matured a few years in just two hours). So, I used my trusty Monocle Amsterdam guide to see what it recommended. Seeing as I was only about a five minute walk away I went to check out the 17th century Karthuizerhojfe (hofje - courtyard) almshouses on Karthuizerstraat. It was originally built as charitable housing for elderly widows, and is now residential. I was lucky enough to be there by my own, and stood there for a while just taking the quiet in.

It felt so apart from the rest of the neighbourhood, and I thought how awesome it would be to live there if you got on with your neighbours, and maybe how less awesome it would be if you didn’t.

This is the street side of the courtyard. I like how the residents make the most of the tiny spaces they have by their front doors.

See what I mean?

You can just picture yourself with a cup of tea and the paper on one of those benches couldn’t you? I don’t think you could do that here going by the chat on my local Nextdoor app. People seem to have their plant pots and anything that isn’t chained down stolen from their front gardens.

Anyway, time to keep walking. Have you ever seen a letter box in stairs before? I sure haven’t. It says ‘The Holiday Cyclist’ and there was a bike shop right next to the stairs, so I guess that kind of explains it… I’m pretty sure it had a door though, so I have no idea why this has come about.

Hoi little doggie. Fiiiiine, don’t look at me.

One of the many many many many many canals. I was texting my friend D back in London, sending her pictures as I was walking along, which she thoroughly enjoyed seeing as she was my architectural walk partner in the lockdowns. She’ll be able to see it all for herself when we go there in May - yay!

This doesn't look like much I guess, especially the shorter grey building on the right, but it was the one that caught my eye. In real life it looked incredibly cosy.

And old bank building which I think has been converted into flats. I couldn’t quite make it out standing and looking at it with a canal between me and it.

Dutch (or at least Amsterdam houses) are usually quite narrow, and as a result the inside stairs are equally so, as well as ridiculously steep. In one Airb’n’b we stayed in years ago the stairs were so much so that you practically had to crawl up them on all fours. Winching your furniture through the windows is the only way to get them in, so most buildings have hooks so you can set up a rope and get your winching on - like here.

Nice bit of randomness above my head.

Amazing bit of brick work above my head.

I don’t think I’ll ever tire of Dutch architecture, new or old. It’s just so different and beautifully done. Even the new builds look stunning, and not like the soulless glass buildings that keep popping up here. British architecture was great up until the Victorian era, but something went very wrong there. It just got really bland. Sure, there are some great buildings from the past 100 years, but as a whole something is aesthetically amiss.

This row of plants - YES! Nicely done.

The bricks are so nice, aren’t they? And the little coloured glass panes in the windows of the left hand building? And the lettering on the right hand building? It’s so funny to now be able to read it and know what it says (it was a life insurance office in a former life).

Hoi little cat. Fiiiiine, don’t you look at me neither.

And finally, it was time to pick Oomoo up from work. I’m pretty sure he’ll be taking up a summer job here once he’s old enough (and lucky boy now also has a Swedish passport so it’s actually an option). I hope he won’t mind if I tag along too.

The Doors

Still in Stockholm, walking along Swedenborgsgatan in the Söder neighbourhood, I noticed the different style doorways, something I’ve never even looked at before. Thanks to the endless architecture walks in the lockdowns I’ve become much more interested in buildings, and on this trip I seriously drank in as many architectural details as I could.

It turns every street into a gallery of sorts. So much to look at! Like these shells for instance. And the leading on the round window. Very nice.

I also appreciate all the different colours. The reliefs on this exterior is very child oriented - I wonder why? Google ain’t telling’ me nuthin. Anyway, above the doorway I noticed something in the ceiling.

I’m guessing that’s supposed to be St George and the dragon? Buildings can hold such mysteries.

Still on the same street, I’m guessing this building had something to do with a shipping company importing soya.

Different street, but I liked the font on this 25.

In Gamla Stan I kept looking up to see what the doorways there looked like.

Symmetrical is the answer.

I guess modern architecture won’t leave as many intricate details for future generations to discover.

And lastly, the doorway in the building I grew up in, in the Vasastan neighbourhood. I do have a vague memory of the lion up there. The doorway has been modernised since I lived there, but when I walk into the stairwell it still smells exactly the same as it did when I was a kid. I have three memories that are linked to the outside of no. 51. One is that I made butterscotch in winter once, and to cool it I left it on the outside window ledge that was covered in snow - totally worked. Memory no. 2 is of blasting Lucille really loudly with all the windows open when I was about 12. So cool 😆. And lastly, like most kids with a recordable cassette player, me and a friend recorded stuff for our own “radio” programme (called Squash - don’t ask why). We talked a lot of nonsense and sang, but also did interviews with people in the street. One of them was with someone as they were putting air in the tyre on their bike. I remember trying to tell my friend off quietly, while still recording, as she was hopping noisily whilst we were asking questions. It would be bloody amazing if I still have that tape somewhere.

An Oxford wander

Seems like hardly any of my posts are from London recently... You can't blame me though, can you, as I’ve seen enough of London to last me quite a while in the past 18 months. My friend H, who used to live around the corner from me, moved out of London earlier this year, and I’m so proud of us for managing to see each other about once a month since then. Oxford is a half hour train ride from her house, so on we the train we hopped, to go for an architecture walk in the Jericho neighbourhood. I’m always up for a visit there (still haven’t managed to go to Cambridge - which is crazy)! In fact H was scheming that we should retire there together, listing good healthcare, a smaller city, but still close to London and the countryside as good reasons, to which I added ‘a bikeable city!’. She did get me thinking. Just like in London the architecture is a varied mix - Georgian, Victorian, Brutalist and new. Check out this 60’s student accommodation block out next to, I’m guessing, an Edwardian building, now a very classy wine bar.

And here, a Victorian terrace. I always think streets without trees look so strange.

Maybe that’s compensated by these ornate window frames just yards away.

And this Georgian terrace looks very different from London ones, as they’ve been built in what looks like Bath stone, rather than brick.

We all like Georgian houses, don’t we? They really knew how to build proportionally back then. Although if you look closely you can see that this house isn’t perfectly symmetrical.

Had to snap this as I liked the colours and the pattern.

Just around the corner sits another modern student accommodation building. I like how they’ve matched the exterior stone with the older houses.

Look at that cool dining area to the right. Very stylish student digs I must say.

I wanted to get a picture of the Palladian exterior of this building, and cursed loudly about the white van blocking the view. The guy in the picture, who’s van it was, apologised profusely, and I immediately apologised about my outburst. We all had a good laugh about it. The building, St Paul’s, used to be a church and is now a bar called Freud. Funnily enough, I used to frequent the original London branch a lot in the mid 90’s. Oh boy, writing that previous sentence makes me feel old.

A bit further down the road this house caught our eye. Why did the front look like that, and didn't it look great? Turns out it started out life as a greengrocers.

Hence this old painted ad on the side of the house for Hovis bread.

We stood looking at this house for quite a while. We also really liked the planting. So jealous of people who have the energy to look after their plants that well.

Same road, different style. I love these arched entryways. Something about them is so cosy.

At one point we walked onto a little bridge over the Oxford Canal. I had to take one of my waving at each others reflection pictures there. Here’s another one from Venice.

Face!

In-ter-esting… I wonder if anyone ever does. I didn’t, but maybe I should’ve.

H, looking down a street.

An Oxford alternative to a window box. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one like it before.

Ooooooff. The brick colour and windows on this house. Niiiiiiice.

Before catching the train back to H’s house we walked along Oxford Canal. At one section the houses backed on to it, with the gardens going all the way down to the canal.

Nice, huh?

Talk about lifestyle goals.

Sadly the canal isn’t clean enough to swim in. And also, you’d feel pretty exposed with the opposite side of the canal being a public footpath. Still, really nice to see how some people live (university professors maybe?), and if you wanted to be more private, the gardens were deep enough to shelter you form people like us.

And finally, an eye catching ziggurat tower atop the Saïd Business School right next to the train station. It was so cool to go to Oxford and only walk around one residential neighbourhood and skip everything else. A bit like going to London, only to walk around Islington or something. Lucky us.