Architecture in Amsterdam? Who knew?!

What happened? I must've blacked out. I could've sworn I was just in Amsterdam but all the sudden I find myself back in studio...and it's Thursday.

Let's go ahead and disregard all the reasons why I've wanted to go to Amsterdam since as long as I can remember and pretend that I'm a student of architecture. I didn't really know what to expect going into the whole experience. Pretty much everything I've heard about Amsterdam in the past is totally irrelevant to architecture. I was ready to learn a thing or two about the city and the urban fabric...something I could actually tell my parents about.

The development of the eastern docklands was a special point of interest for me. I'm familiar with the man-made islands in Dubai and it was interesting to see a similar construction in a different context. The housing in the docklands was interesting because of the restrictions placed on their dimensions. It was cool to see all the unique styles which were applied to a predetermined form. I'm working on the plans for my home on the canal. Hopefully there will be some real estate left for me. It'll be a shame to have to knock some of those cool houses down to make room for mine.

Other than the residential aspects of the city which we toured, I'd have to say that the most interesting work I saw was the interior passages of La Defense. "Passionate Businessman"? I don't know about all that nonsense...but it was cool, nonetheless. Here's a sweet video of how the panels changed colors.