Pop-up shopping mall to open in NDSM-Wharf

Pop-up shopping mall to open in NDSM-Wharf

You can still imagine the gigantic ships slowly approaching from the bay onto the slope, underneath the grand crane. The engineers in their suits and the work force scruffy and strong. The NDSM Wharf in Amsterdam Noord still carries the traits from back when it served as a shipyard. The brick warehouses, the long wide slopes, the spacious roadways and of course, the monumental crane. The wharf which manufactured bulk carriers, cargo and war ships up to 1937, finally closed in 1984,  due to the decline of the industry. Today the area once again boasts with the power of creation, this time moving away from matters of transport and trade and becoming an important player in Amsterdam’s creative industry. This I was about to find out when I took my first trip to the not-so-derelict NDSM Wharf.


As I exit Centraal Station on the free ferry the change of setting is noticeable. Floating on the expansive IJ lake I can finally breathe again after a long day battling in the small streets back in the heart of Amsterdam. The views aboard take you far far away from the 17 century mansions of the Prinsengracht. Rimming the IJ is an aesthetically unpleasant collection of insanely designed post-modern buildings, featuring dizzying diagonal lines and unrecognisable materials. Something of a comical take on architecture. As the ferry approaches the surprisingly large crane the half sank black submarine welcomes us to the darker side of Amsterdam.

The look is derelict but somehow sturdy, a piece of history yet an image of a futuristic dystopia. Look to your left however and the IJ Canteen is the first clue to your actual whereabouts. The restaurant offers a humongous selection of spirits, displayed against one of its all glass walls. A beautiful sight to be enjoyed on days when the sunshine lights up the different coloured liquids inside the bottles. After half a dozen of oysters it is time to explore the decrepit scenery that lies beyond. Walk a little further and a recognisable 3 letters pop up adorning a warehouse. M-T-V. A fully working office building , not a post-apocaliptic MTV headquarters.

Back on my walk I contour a life-size tree made out of rusty metal, a piece of art which seems to have grown naturally from the seeds spread from the surrounding ageing materials. Fair enough the Lonely planet calls it ‘recycled-junk street-art’, but it fits so perfectly with the scenery that its description deserves some poetry. I also spot an old abandoned tram, perfectly placed for a photograph with the big crane as the backdrop, and an enormous Tiki head looking into the distance.There is definitely a ‘Berlinesque’ air about the place, graffiti, decaying warehouses, rubble. And young, good looking people. Some zooming past on their skateboards heading to the Skatepark housed in a warehouse a couple of buildings past MTV. Holding no skateboards or skills I took a quick peak inside. Expecting a couple of makeshift ramps I was faced with a polished wooden surprise, an ultra professional set of ramps, pipes and handrails, miles away from the usual inner city concrete skatepark. And a shop selling all the latest gear.

My next stop was the ‘arts city’. Which was to be a revelation of course. The derelict hangar turned out to be a congregation of studios subsidised by media and visual arts start-ups, where 250 artists put the massive space to good use. The studios have been set up in rows of piled up containers divided by walkways resembling again some sort of sci-fi film set. I wonder how many of them have had their work shown in the local art galleries, VOUS ETES ICI or the Nieuw Dakota. The latter which describes itself not as a gallery but as ‘a network platform, a continuous process, in which collaborations can be made visible in the form of presentations / exhibitions’.

To finish my expedition I sat with with a glass of biertje (beer in Dutch, still grasping the pronunciation) and a massive bowl of nachos in the lovely Noorderlicht Cafe, a greenhouse of tranquillity and stupendous views over the IJ. And yet more poetic ‘recycled-junk street-art’.

Plans have been announced for the launch of a pop-up shopping mall within the former industrial terrain at NDSM-Wharf in Amsterdam Noord. The unusual creation will make use of sea containers to house small businesses, shops, cafes and bars.

NDSM’s redevelopment
The NDSM-Wharf is a former shipyard located on the banks of the River IJ. Covering grounds exceeding the size of ten football pitches combined, it was the largest shipyard in Amsterdam, finally closing down in the mid-’80s. However, throughout the past decade, the terrain and buildings have been regenerated and re-purposed, and now the NDSM-Wharf is home to multiple art disciplines and various traditional forms of craftsmanship. It also provides new development spaces where independent organisations and companies can collaborate and inspire each other, leading to the development of new initiatives.

Boxpark
The initiative to create the new pop-up shopping mall at NDSM-Wharf is being led by Boxpark, which opened a similarly themed container-based shopping mall in East London in 2011. The company has now signed a lease to make use of the Lasloods territory at NDSM. Measuring 110 x 55 x 22 metres, this vast industrial shed will be transformed from a no-man’s land into a centre of retail and innovation. In total, 120 containers will be installed in the building and offered as creative spaces for small companies, fashion retailers, lifestyle brands, cafes and bars. The new Lasloods pop-up mall is set to open in 2013.