In between quaint 17th-century canal houses and Amsterdam’s historic botanical garden ‘Hortus Botanicus’, a surprisingly modern bridge house from 1956 seems to float above the water. The white cubical structure with its black, blue and yellow details reminisces of De Stijl and the famous Dutch architect and designer Gerrit Rietveld. The interior of bridge house Hortusbrug is a carefully composed ode to its building style – yes, Rietveld’s famous Red and Blue Chair is there as well.
Bookings for bridge house Hortusbrug include a SWEET little extra for plant lovers: free entrance to the beautiful ‘Hortus Botanicus’. Complete your nature and history-themed day with a visit to Artis Zoo at just a 6-minute walk.
Since your hotel room is in the middle of Amsterdam Center, many must-sees are within walking distance: the Maritime Museum, NEMO Science Museum, the Skinny Bridge, the Hermitage, the vintage market on Waterlooplein… the possibilities are endless.
Schiphol Airport is about 30 minutes by public transport; Amsterdam Central Station only 9 minutes.
From 1956 to 2017, bridge house Hortusbrug accommodated the city’s bridge keepers. In 2017 the bridge house started a new chapter as one of 28 suites for SWEETS hotel.
Architect 1956: Dirk Sterenberg
Architect 2017: Space&Matter
Architectural Style: New Objectivity
Location: Muiderstraat
Waterway: Nieuwe Herengracht
Bridge Type: Bascule bridge
Close to the Hortusbrug (bridge), alongside the Hortus Botanicus (botanical garden), stands an eye-catching modernist bridge control building, the Hortusbrug bridge house, built in 1956 after a design by Dirk Sterenberg. The white painted concrete structure, taut steel window frames and blue colour reminisce of the work of Gerrit Rietveld and De Stijl.
The building appears to float on the water, with a striking feature of two large cantilevers, the bridge control office on one side and a balcony on the other side. Underneath the office were a bicycle shed and a toilet. Sterenberg positioned the building slightly away from the bridge, so that the bridgemaster had a good view of the bend in the Nieuwe Herengracht (canal). Consequently, the building is not accessible from the bridge, but via a flight of steps on the waterside.
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