citylikeyou — Volkskrant Buiding — Amsterdam by Simon Wald-Lasowski

A few years ago, the Volkskrant (one of the countries biggest newspaper) moved office to a new location. Their old headquarter now houses hundreds of artists and musician; along with dance studios, a bar/club with panorama over the city, a dreadlock ‘doctor’, a Russian cultural centre, a cyberpunk gallery and my photo studio on the 4th floor. It was a conscious choice by the founders to create a total melting pot. In the basement for example, 3 doors away from our music studio, you will find some cheerful weed smoking hiphop producers from the Bijlmer (the ‘ghetto’ of Amsterdam); an ex-yougoslavian hardcore drummer with a full analogue recording studio and a ballet school run by an obese woman in her 70’s. Ok, it might seem artificial, but it really is quite magical!

Website
volkskrantgebouw.nl

Address
Volkskrant Buiding, Volkskrant buiding, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Photographer Art Director

Current city: Amsterdam

simonwaldlasowski.com

Simon Wald-Lasowski (Paris, 1980) is a freelance photographer and art director. He makes colorful, fun, twisted work by use of bricolage, word play and ‘cliché bending’. Lighthearted at first sight, his images often reveal a certain depth on second inspection. His approach is always very personal, which blur the boundaries between autonomous and commissioned work. He lives in Amsterdam and graduated from the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in 2004 as a graphic designer. Occasionally he also works as a Wedding MC.

More Places in Amsterdam 85

Amsterdam / Street Art

At the end of tramline 7 and 14 there is a huge bridge on concrete pillars. These pillars are one of the few places in Amsterdam where it’s legal to spray graffiti. My work is very much influenced by graffiti, so I love to come here and see what’s going on. It’s a very dynamic place, so one day it can be awful and the next day amazing but it’s never boring.

Amsterdam / Cafe

Cosy place and simply the best coffee in town.

Amsterdam / Cinema

Just Indulge yourself with a glass of wine while watching a good movie. Really cute art deco movie theater in the Jordaan packed with film lovers. The rooms are not that big but the atmosphere is amazing.

Amsterdam / Gallery

Store without a home is a guerrilla gallery department store, make sure you check out “Leaf-it” I love these sticky leaves!

Amsterdam / Place

My studio is situated on top of a Fifties concrete modernist apartment building in the Rivierenbuurt in the south of Amsterdam. The best thing is that my building is just one floor higher then the rest of the houses in the neighborhood so I get a good view of the city and the ever changing Dutch skies. What makes my view really special is the view from the balcony on an inaccessible inner garden. The garden is made on the roof of a parking garage of an office building and nobody can go there since there are no stairs or entrance. Once a year the gardeners come with a tall ladder. They are the only ones that enter the garden ever. The nice thing is that still there is a winding path in the middle of the garden for only your eye to trace it.