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Guiding Architects, tour: Zuidas Business District (Fig. 1)
Guiding Architects, tour: Zuidas Business District (Fig. 2)
Guiding Architects, tour: Zuidas Business District (Fig. 3)
Guiding Architects, tour: Zuidas Business District (Fig. 4)
Guiding Architects, tour: Zuidas Business District (Fig. 5)
Guiding Architects, tour: Zuidas Business District (Fig. 6)
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Zuidas Business District: Anneke Bokern (Thumbnail)
Anneke Bokern
Almere, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht

Anneke Bokern is an architecture journalist and writer based in Amsterdam. Born in Frankfurt, Germany, she studied History of Art and Architecture in Berlin. She moved to the Netherlands in 2000 and has been writing about architecture and urban development for German and international publications including Bauwelt, Baumeister, Topos and DETAIL ever since. She is also the author of several books on Dutch architecture.

Her passion for Dutch building culture led her to found architour in 2004 and co-found the Guiding Architects Network, making her one of the pioneers of professionally guided architecture tours in the Netherlands.

She develops programmes, curates tours, and leads groups in English, German, and Dutch, and continues to write and publish on Dutch architecture.

anneke-bokern.com

Zuidas Business District: Paul Vlok (Thumbnail)
Paul Vlok
Almere, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht

Paul is an experienced architect and lecturer. Born in Utrecht, the Netherlands, he graduated from TU Delft with an honours degree in Architecture in 1995.

In the years that followed, Paul worked for several Dutch architecture firms, contributing to projects in urban extensions and renewal areas. His work has consistently focused on housing and urban planning.

Since 2018, Paul has been a partner at architour. He develops and organises programmes and leads tours in English, Dutch and German. He also teaches at the Amsterdam Academy of Architecture.

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Tour in Amsterdam:
Zuidas Business District

Zuidas is a business district in the South of Amsterdam. Located to both sides of the A10 ringroad, the area will act as the missing link between the housing areas to the north and south of the motorway.

Besides office and residential highrises, the spatial programme of Zuidas also includes Zuid station, the future stop for highspeed trains to London and Paris. The first part of Zuidas to be realized was a high-density office district with projects by internationally renowned architects.

Around the corner lies Gershwin, the latest area to be realized. It features a.o. the latest starchitecture stunt by MVRDV: the Valley, a mixed-use highrise complex with mirrored outside and quarry-style inside.

On this tour, you’ll hear about the development and mobility concepts of Zuidas, the iconic architecture, but also about the various approaches to sustainabilty.

  • Duration: 3 hours

  • Transport: walking

  • Services: experienced local architect as guide

  • Languages: Dutch, English, German or French

  • Group size: max. 25 participants per guide



  • Visit of the Zuidas information centre with city model (upon appointment)

  • Train station Zuid and Mahlerplein with underground bike parking

  • Mahler 4 – office and residential highrises on a public plinth
    Projects by a.o. UNStudio, Toyo Ito, Rafael Viñoly, Erick van Egeraat

  • Stepstone (LEVS, 2024) – Highrise with student studios and prefab concrete construction

  • Gershwin – residential buildings, from upmarket to social rental

  • Terraced residential highrise The George (2020)

  • The Valley: highrise complex with interior canyon, green terraces and public plinth (MVRDV, 2021)

  • Hotel Van der Valk (Wiel Arets, 2021) and Nhow Hotel (OMA, 2020)

  • Mixed-use building Crossover (TeamV, 2024)

architour is led by Anneke Bokern and Paul Vlok.

We currently have a team of 18 guides, based in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht and Eindhoven.

Get in touch!
Guiding Architects
Guiding Architects, tour: Zuidas Business District (Fig. 7)
Guiding Architects, tour: Zuidas Business District (Fig. 8)
Guiding Architects, tour: Zuidas Business District (Fig. 9)
Guiding Architects, tour: Zuidas Business District (Fig. 10)
Guiding Architects, tour: Zuidas Business District (Fig. 11)
Guiding Architects, tour: Zuidas Business District (Fig. 12)
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