In 2009 the biennial NAi-Ymere contest took the Henry Hudson Year as its theme. Four hundred years ago, in the name of the Dutch East India Company, the English explorer set foot on the island of Manhattan. He built the military post of Fort Amsterdam that ultimately grew into a global centre of great cultural diversity.

Can a new building on the post-industrial northern bank of the Amsterdam IJ have the same catalyzing effect as Fort Amsterdam had in its time? To answer this question the entrants in the Open Fort 400 contest envisioned their dreams of a design that would contribute significantly to the cultural and economic development of the North Amsterdam waterfront. Waterfront Visions presents in great detail the plans of the five contest nominees, an explanation of the context, and essays by Kate Orff and Merijn Oudenampsen.

In 2009 the biennial NAi-Ymere contest took the Henry Hudson Year as its theme. Four hundred years ago, in the name of the Dutch East India Company, the English explorer set foot on the island of Manhattan. He built the military post of Fort Amsterdam that ultimately grew into a global centre of great cultural diversity.

Can a new building on the post-industrial northern bank of the Amsterdam IJ have the same catalyzing effect as Fort Amsterdam had in its time? To answer this question the entrants in the Open Fort 400 contest envisioned their dreams of a design that would contribute significantly to the cultural and economic development of the North Amsterdam waterfront. Waterfront Visions presents in great detail the plans of the five contest nominees, an explanation of the context, and essays by Kate Orff and Merijn Oudenampsen.