A former shipyard on the northern banks of the IJ and larger than 10 football fields, the NDSM wharf is now a center for underground culture in Amsterdam. This huge area contains the NDSM hall, a hangar-like structure 20,000 sq. meters in area and 20 meters in height, and two historic ship slipways(Hellingen) housing workshops and artists’ studios.
The NDSM wharf offers facilities for a number of artistic disciplines and small crafts. The wharf has also become a sanctuary for individual artists and craftspeople as well as for independent organizations, both established and less known, to cooperate, inspire and create.

Late 1999, a group of artists, theater people, skaters and architects calling themselves Kinetisch Noord approached the local council with a plan to redevelop the former shipyard. In June 2002, Kinetisch Noord presented its plan to turn the NDSM into the largest hotbed for artistic talent in the Netherlands. Working closely with tenants, Kinetisch Noord has built affordable studios and other working spaces. NDSM builds the basic units that the tenants then complete themselves, giving everyone a say in the costs, quality and design of their own spaces.
The wharf also offers ample opportunities for exhibitions, try-outs, large and small performances, festival, parties and so on.
The NDSM tenants are working on a number of projects on the site, some of which are complete:

1. Dazzleville, painted temporary workshops covering some 900 sq. meters iin the outdoor area.
2. The Oostvleugel (East Wing), theater studios and performance areas to the east of the NDSM hall covering 2,250 sq. meters.
3. Kunststad (Art City), more than 7,000 sq. meters of stacked workshops and free lots in the NDSM hall.
4. Section 4, a youth area covering more than 4,000 sq. meters with a skate park, a boulder/cave, music studios, multi-functional project spaces and a hip-hop school.
5. The Noordstrook, 6,000 sq. meters of artists’ studios, artists’ homes, cafés and restaurants and experimental programming and exhibition areas.
6. De Houten Kop pavilion, a café and performance area made from recycled materials and straw.
7. Hellingen (slipways) X and Y, 2,500 sq. meters of traditional studios and an underground canteen for those working at the wharf.
8. Renewable energy, a heat pump, a windmill attached to a crane, prayer and gas station ‘God and Gas’ for spirituality and mobility (the gas station pumps vegetable oil) and mobile gardens and a mobile library.

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The NDSM hall, 100 by 200 meters, houses Section 4, the Kunststad, the Vrije Kavelstrook, the Oostvleugel and the Noordstrook. In total there are 10,000 sq. meters of workshops, a 2,000-sq. meter skate park, 4,200 sq. meters devoted to other youth activities and 6,000 sq. meters of exhibition and theater space.
Kunststad (Art City) is a complex of artists’ studios and workshops on one or two levels, connected by a network of long broad streets and narrower side streets. Kinetisch Noord builds the main bodies of these spaces, which are then finished by the resident artists. Each block has electricity, water and sewerage connections. The work spaces vary from 50 to 150 sq. meters, with heights of 3.20 m, 6 m and even more.
Oostvleugel (East Wing) comprises 12 studios with a mezzanine completed in December 2004. It houses mainly travelling theater groups, set builders and artists who produce large pieces. The south corner is occupied by the Internationale Theaterwerkplaats, a multifunctional area of 450 sq. meters with a mezzanine, changing rooms and a bar.
The Vrije Kavelstrook (Free Lot Strip) on the south side of the hall contains llots where tenants can design and construct their own buildings.
Section 4, on the west side, is earmarked for youth-oriented projects and initiatives, such as a floating skate park that stands seven meters high. The space under the skate park is used for a variety of other activities, such as puppet shows, a hip-hop school, an internet café and chill-out areas.
Noordstrook (North Strip) is 6,000 sq. meters (with a former shipyard workshop attic space yet to be adapted) that is suitable for theater performances, exhibitions and surprise projects. Future plans include festivals and parties for the Noordstrook.

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The wharf houses two enormous ramps, ramp X and ramp Y. Under the ramps are a number of spaces that artists have turned into workshops. These artists include sculptors, painters, a photographer, set builders and a coppersmith.
A canteen for users of the NDSM facilities is situated at the top of ramp Y. The roof of ramp Y, with its amazing views of the IJ and the city, offers excellent possibilities for open air performances.

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The spacious, rough character of the NDSM wharf lends itself wonderfully to all manner of outdoor events, such as festival and exhibitions, including the annual Over het IJ Festival.
Apart from the slipways, the outdoor area contains the Noorderlicht, a café-restaurant of outstanding architecture built on a mound at the waterside, Dazzleville, a temporary building of portacabins with studios and offices, and Kraan 7 (Crane 7), a truncated crane that will be the site of something very special.
Applications for activities in the outdoor area must be submitted three months in advance to
Kinetisch Noord
020 3305480
iinfo@ndsm.nl

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