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

006

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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

ELECTRONATION

Roy Avni,

Founder and Director

020

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

news and PR on the portal. A free

monthly email newsletter delivers the

latest industry news direct to our sub-

scribers.

WEB SEARCH

We index creative community websites

connected to the Open Creative Indus-

try (Open CI). Open CI is an internet

standard for data exchange between

websites. Open CI is just like the popu-

lar search engines, but is limited to the

Amsterdam Area creative companies

and services, making your search expe-

rience more relevant to you.

SERVICE

Our portal provides information on the

Amsterdam Area to foreign companies

and creative entrepreneurs on business

news and events, infrastructure,

lifestyle, housing, transport, cost of liv-

ing and more.

GET INSPIRED

In the Creative Amsterdam Hall of

Fame creative entrepreneurs reveal all

about their big ideas, inspirations, fa-

vorite tools, best advice, biggest blun-

ders and more.

WWW.CREATIVEAMSTERDAM.NL

- showcase of creativity in the

Amsterdam Metropolitan Area;

- one-stop shop for the creative

industries;

- networking tool and online

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

potential of the region. Conversely, it

also helps the region’s creative compa-

nies find the right facilities to stimulate

their entrepreneurialism.

The Amsterdam Metropolitan Area, the

fifth biggest creative metropolis in the

world, launched it's own portal filled

with creativity. What do they offer:

DIRECTORY PER SECTOR

Creative companies and individuals are

listed in our directories, covering all the

sectors of the creative industry: design,

fashion, photography, advertising, pub-

lishing, radio,TV, film, video, gaming,

the performing arts, the visual arts, the-

atre, galleries, and museums. Search for

suppliers and browse their portfolio.

NEWS AND EVENTS

Our news, events and expert commen-

tary is updated daily by our own edito-

Zaanstad

AmsterdamHaarlem

Almere

Amersfoort

Hilversum

Utrecht

Gateway to Dutch Creativity

054

057056

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

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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

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Copenhagen, Denmark 8

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TOP 10 WORLD’S BEST CITIES FOR BUSINESSMASTERCARD WORLDWIDE CENTERS OF COMMERCE INDEX™, 2008

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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

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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

E afio@ez.amsterdam.nl

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

E helen.wang@cityofamsterdam.nl

W www.cityofamsterdam.cn

REGIONAL PARTNERS

CITY OF ALMERE

P.O. Box 200, 1300 AE Almere, The Netherlands

T +31 36 527 7364

E info@almere.nl

W www.almere.nl

CITY OF AMSTELVEEN

P.O. Box 4, 1180 BA Amstelveen, The Netherlands

T + 31 20 540 4423

E c.de.kemp@amstelveen.nl

W www.amstelveen.nl

CITY OF HAARLEMMERMEER

P.O. Box 250, 2130 AG Hoofddorp, The Netherlands

T +31 23 567 6139

E selma.zorgman@haarlemmermeer.nl

W www.haarlemmermeer.nl

AMSTERDAM AIRPORT AREA

P.O. Box 75700, 1118 ZT Schiphol Airport, The Netherlands

T +31 20 405 47 76

E info@aaarea.nl

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

E marketing@portofamsterdam.nl

W www.portofamsterdam.nl

CREATIVE AMSTERDAM

De Ruyterkade 5, 1013 AA Amsterdam, The Netherlands

T +31 20 524 11 20

E info@creativeamsterdam.nl

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

E welcome@expatcenter.iamsterdam.com

W www.iamsterdam.com/expatcenter

welcome to ourcreative festivals

The Celebration of the Right Brain

SEPTEMBER10 -30win tickets at iamsterdam.com