Michel de Klerk's The Ship (Het Schip) - Amsterdam School Architecture

Michel de Klerk's The Ship (Het Schip) is featured as one of the first buildings on our guide to modern architecture in Amsterdam. Author Rixt Woudstra of the University of Amsterdam provides an overview of this iconic example of Amsterdam School architecture.

Photography by Loes van Duijvendijk.

Location: Oostzaanstraat 1-43, Oostzaanstraat 87-93, Hembrugstraat 257-305, Zaanstraat 209-239, Amsterdam

Undulating walls, brickwork in different colours, curving balconies, parabolic windows, animal sculptures, a twenty-eight metre high tower: the rich detailing of Michel de Klerk’s apartment block doesn’t immediately give away that it was designed for working-class families. In this corner of northwest Amsterdam, on a triangular plot next to the railway, De Klerk created a ‘workers’ palace’.

Widely considered as one of the masterpieces of Amsterdam School architecture, the project consisted of 102 high-quality apartments that included separate kitchens and toilets, following the housing law of 1901. The building, designed for housing association Eigen Haard (A Hearth of One’s Own), distinguishes itself through its organic shapes and creative use of materials. Horizontal bands of brickwork stretch across the façade, while roof tiles curl downward onto the sides.

Particularly striking are the windows, widely varying in shape, as are the abundantly decorated entrances. De Klerk, who himself came from a working-class background, even paid attention to small details like the typesetting of the house numbers. The building also contains a post office and a small community building in the courtyard. A pre-existing school building on the Oostzaanstraat was seamlessly integrated into the design. 

Today, the school building has been converted into a small museum about the Amsterdam School that organises daily visits to the post office and an apartment. The two housing blocks across the street, located on both sides of the park, are two earlier designs by De Klerk. Nearby, you can find the prize-winning Spaarndammerhart project (also featured on the map), a recently completed housing project that takes its inspiration from the Amsterdam School architecture in the area. 

Find The Ship and similar buildings on our Modern Amsterdam Map here.