The Kraanspoor is a three-level lightweight office building that rests on a concrete craneway from the NDSM (Dutch Dock and Shipbuilding Company) era in Amsterdam Noord. This piece of industrial heritage dates from 1952 and was designed by J.D. Postma. It is 270 metres long, 13.5 metres high and 8.7 metres wide. It’s comparable in length and height to a street.

Trude Hooykaas has described how the Kraanspoor (craneway) project came about. ‘Searching for a location for my expanding office, I was cycling along the banks of the IJ in Amsterdam Noord, through the abandoned landscape of vacant of shipyards. Then I saw a giant concrete craneway standing the water. On top of it were two motionless hoisting cranes. The Craneway. Nothing moved. Grass was sprouting between the rails and the surface was disappearing behind moss. 270 metres of concrete silence. I saw the dilapidated, empty landscape disappear in the water. Visible in the distance were remnants of the shipping past: an immense hall, workshops, a magnificent slipway. On the other side of the water were the spires of old Amsterdam. I knew it for certain: here, on top of this piece of concrete history that hovers above the water, here’s where I want to build for my office.’
That was in August 1997. Despite various problems – the municipality wanted to demolish the structure; there were plans for a business park; developers questioned the feasibility; advisors recommended looking for a fully developed, ready-to-use site – hard work and perseverance paid off in the end. Ten years later the Craneway project was completed.

The new building, also 270 metres long and 12.6 metres wide (13.8 metres if you count the double façade), accentuates the length of the Craneway. Out of respect for the foundations, the new volume hovers three metres above the thick concrete walls of the substructure. The concrete carries three floors to exploit its maximum possible loading capacity. The floors protrude more on the water-side than on the land-side owing to the greater bearing capacity of the former cranes on that side.

The new volume is marked by a high degree of transparency and is fitted with a double-glazed climate façade. The inner façade boasts timber elements that can turn; the outer façade consists of motorized glazed louvers.

All existing elements are incorporated in the redeveloped structure. The four former stairwells, for example, again form the points of access to the building but are now joined by a panorama lift and new stairs. The two footbridges that run along full length of the building on the side overlooking the water act as escape routes. Located in the heart of the old concrete structure, just under the office floor, are the archive spaces.

text in collaboration with OTH / Ontwerpgroep Trude Hooykaas
photo's Rob Hoekstra and Christiaan de Bruijne