On 1 January 2003 the well-known restaurant RumRunners, situated on the Prinsengracht in the Amsterdam quarter Jordaan, between the Westerchurch and the Anne-Frankhouse, closed doors. In March 2003 we started with new plans, had an awarded pitch and after eight months of construction café-restaurant WERCK opened doors in June 2004.
Transforming the 200-year-old monumental hall with a deck, a new function for the glass house at the Westermarket, opening up a closed building and opening up the closed terrace in between the hall and the Westerchurch are the main ingredients for the new place to be.
- An entrance terrace with a double-sided connection to the public space creating easy-access
- An inviting transparent lobby with the main entrance from the terrace
- A wooden deck as a structuring element in the monumental hall, defining an intimate biergarten, the restaurant, a tribune and a lounge on top with a roof terrace
- A glass house kitchen creating openness to the Westermarket
The wooden deck with the steps is the unique design element which belongs to the restaurant Werck.
The stair is a functional connection between the upper level and the rest of the restaurant in a smooth way. During the day the stair is the coffee and reading floor, early in the evening it is waiting floor and late in the evening the whole stair is converted into a dance floor.
It also invites a verity of other events to function such as football viewing, a movie-night, a perfect stage for a fashion show or a lecture.
Awarded pitch 2003, Constructed 2004
WERCK lunchroom-restaurant-club
Rebuilding, extension and interior design Prinsengracht Amsterdam NL
Client: Rumbo BV
Collaborating Architect: urbanoffice, Madir Shah
Collaboration design furniture, bars and terrace-furniture: Madir Shah
Collaboration design chandeliers: Madir Shah and Yvon Visser
Design wallprint: Arjan Groot, thecoverup/020
Plan 510 M2, 2362 M3,
Main terrace 217 M2, roof terrace 121 M2
Main terrace, entrance
entrance, coffee-bar, lobby, wardrobe, toilets, staircase
biergarten, catwalk, restaurant, bar, kitchen, storage,
staircase floor- dance floor – tribune, upper dinner lounge, bar, upper terrace