Competition design for the development of Rokin

In 1924, Amsterdam municipal council organised a competition for the redevelopment of Rokin street, in particular the section of the street between Spui and Dam that was to be filled in.

To counterbalance the dominance of primarily horizontal accents and bring the height of the buildings and the width of the new Rokin back into proportion, Van Eesteren designs a ‘tower house’ on the corner of Rokin and Spui. However, the competition programme had explicitly asked that existing developments be taken into account, so that the jury brushed Van Eesteren’s design aside in the first round.