Amsterdam canal photos, Netherlands waterside architecture, Dutch canalside pictures, Designs
Amsterdam Canal Photographs
Dutch Water-Based Developments – Built Environment Pictures in The Netherlands
post updated 27 April 2024
Amsterdam Waterway Buildings – Photos © Adrian Welch
Amsterdam Canal Photos
A selection of Dutch waterside building images from this world-famous city:
The capital of the Netherlands has more than one hundred kilometers of canals, about 90 islands and 1,500 bridges.
The three main canals (Herengracht, Prinsengracht and Keizersgracht), dug in the 17th century during the Dutch Golden Age, form concentric belts around the city, known as the Grachtengordel.
Alongside the main canals are 1550 monumental buildings.
The 17th-century canal ring area, including the Prinsengracht, Keizersgracht, Herengracht and Jordaan, were listed as UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2010, contributing to Amsterdam’s fame as the “Venice of the North”.
Much of the Amsterdam canal system is the successful outcome of city planning. In the early part of the 17th century, with immigration rising, a comprehensive plan was put together, calling for four main, concentric half-circles of canals with their ends resting on the IJ Bay.
Known as the “grachtengordel”, three of the canals are mostly for residential development (Herengracht, Keizersgracht and Prinsengracht), and a fourth, outer canal, the Singelgracht, for purposes of defense and water management.
Construction proceeded from west to east, across the breadth of the layout, like a gigantic windshield wiper as the historian Geert Mak calls it – not from the center outwards as a popular myth has it. Construction of the north-western sector was started in 1613 and was finished around 1625.
Location: Amsterdam, The Nehterlands, north western Europe
Architecture in Amsterdam
Contemporary Architecture in the Dutch Capital City
Amsterdam Architecture Designs – chronological list
Amsterdam Architecture Walking Tours – tailored city walks around the Dutch capital city, by e-architect
Amsterdam Architecture – contemporary building information
Amsterdam Buildings – historic building information
Café de Parel
Interior Design: Ninetynine
The Pearl Café on Westerstraat
Café de Parel was originally a typical Amsterdam ‘brown bar’ with an old-fashioned dark interior and low lighting. The traditional stained-glass windows and monumental tile tableaus create the perfect setting for the new Parel.
Masterplan Marktkwartier, Amsterdam, North-Holland, The Netherlands
Architects: Mecanoo
Masterplan Marktkwartier Amsterdam
The Masterplan Marktkwartier Amsterdam will be a neighbourhood for all Amsterdammers; families, singles, students and seniors will be accommodated in a varied residential programme of around 1700 units.
Karavaan, Kwakersplein, Amsterdam West
Design: Studio Modijefsky
Karavaan Restaurant in Kwakersplein
The architects have ranslated the ‘journey of a caravan’ into a bar and restaurant concept in the brightest corner of Kwakersplein.
Dutch Architectural Designs
Major New Dutch Buildings
Netherlands Architecture Designs – chronological list
Rotterdam Building Developments – chronological list
Comments / photos for the Amsterdam Canal Architecture page welcome.
Amsterdam Canal Photos © Adrian Welch / Isabelle Lomholt