Kraanspoor

The historic derrick track where the Kraanspoor now stands was slated for demolition in 1997 when architect Trude Hooykaas was cycling through the NDSM shipyard of Amsterdam, in search of new studio space for her expanding architecture firm. Where most would overlook the nondescript, concrete mass among the other shipyard relics, Hooykaas envisioned a modern, sustainable office building for her practice. In 2007, the three-story, 12,500-square-meter (134,549-sf) Kraanspoor (“craneway” in Dutch) was completed, the first new development in the emerging district of Amsterdam North.