Inside Design Amsterdam was held in IJburg, which I’ve always wanted to explore. As far as Amsterdam neighborhoods go, IJburg is completely different from anything in the city.
For starters, IJburg is the only neighborhood that sits in a lake, the IJmeer (eye-meer), and was constructed atop reclaimed land—on six man-made islands of dredged-up sand, to be exact. More importantly, and what makes it unique in a city with medieval roots, IJburg is new. Bright, shiny and new. This neighborhood came to life when the first buildings were completed in 2001, and construction is still ongoing on its second phase.
I first visited IJburg to investigate the city beach known as Blijburg… and was sorely disappointed. That experience didn’t endear IJburg to me at all. But Inside Design Amsterdam (with the help of sunshine and blue skies) changed that. Suddenly, IJburg looked… appealing.
Stepping into this part of Steigereiland felt like finding myself in an architectural rendering.
These floating villas (i.e. stand-alone houses, as opposed to apartment buildings) just ooze a different lifestyle altogether: one where you have a boat parked below the house instead of a car, go sailing on weekends, have expensive minimalist design furniture and adorable ultra-blond children, and know not the meaning of clutter. So attractive, but so impossible for messy, imperfect, color-happy me to sustain.
Going to IJburg feels like a major trek, like I’m leaving Amsterdam, even though it’s within the city limits. You’d have to be a hardy biker to get around this sprawling development and to get to the center; here, a car feels like a necessity (a strange feeling to have in this bicycle-mad city). Once you get there, it feels like a different, self-contained world. (In Marlon’s words: “Para siyang… Alabang.”) If I lived here, I’d probably hardly ever leave, but I’m lazy like that.
Although the newness, the height of the buildings, and the general lack of charm (and crooked lines) give it a feel that is closer to Scandinavia than to Holland, IJburg is still very Dutch in one aspect: its proximity to, and affinity with, water.
By the way, this picture makes me think of Dexter. Season 5 stars on Sunday, yay!
On my first visit here, I found IJburg cold and impersonal. With architecture like this, it was hard not to get that impression. “I can’t live here,” I told Marlon then. “I didn’t come to Amsterdam for shiny and new.”
This time, I’m seeing things differently. Maybe living here is just about wanting something different from what you’re used to, and I can relate to that. Maybe if you grew up in narrow, crooked streets lined with wonky old buildings that sink and lean and have wavy floors, you’d want something like IJburg. And maybe you’d want to make your own life here, one that isn’t all about glossy, modern architecture, but is about backyard gardens alongside newly dug canals…
drinks with your friends at the neighborhood bar (which is more polished than quaint, and where Daddy spin his vintage vinyl on Saturday evenings)…
… and watching your kids play and run and grow, as they do in any neighborhood, regardless of how modern and cool their playground furniture looks.
I get you now, IJburg. I’d love to see what you look like three, five, maybe even 10 years from now. Let’s hope I’ll still be around to see you grow up.
