Renovation contractor in Amsterdam-West Renovating Amsterdam-West, block by block

Three waves of building in West

The first wave came in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. Under the Kalff plan, the Kinkerbuurt, the Staatsliedenbuurt, the Spaarndammerbuurt and the streets around the Overtoom were built up, much of it as fast, speculative revolutiebouw. Quality was often poor: in January 1899 nine houses under construction in the Jan Pieter Heijestraat collapsed, and collapses like these led the city to set up a building inspectorate. Better housing followed the Housing Act of 1901 - the first woningwet homes in the Netherlands stand in the Van Beuningenstraat in the Staatsliedenbuurt.

The second wave was the Amsterdam School. In the Spaarndammerbuurt, Michel de Klerk designed three housing blocks around 1920; the best known, Het Schip, has been a national monument since 1974. Between 1920 and 1940 Plan West filled De Baarsjes, with a masterplan by Berlage, the Mercatorplein he designed himself, and blocks in the Admiralenbuurt and around the square in the same expressive brick.

The third wave was Bos en Lommer: closed blocks near the Admiraal de Ruijterweg in the 1920s and 1930s, then, from the late 1930s, the first open rows (strokenbouw), tried out in Landlust. Most homes there are in four-storey buildings, and the neighbourhood was complete by the end of the 1950s.

What that means for your renovation

• Nineteenth-century buildings: revolutiebouw was often put up with wet or cheap timber that is prone to rot. When we open a floor for a new bathroom, we check the beams and their supports before anything is waterproofed or tiled.
• Stacked flats: in West's walk-up buildings, flats sit directly above each other. With a VvE, its rules for floors, sound insulation and working hours come first, and a new floor needs a sound-insulating build-up - see our soundproofing timeline.
• Amsterdam School and Plan West: the brickwork and the window patterns are part of the design, so new frames are best matched to the original divisions.
• Bos en Lommer: after 2007 a lot was invested in the housing here, so some flats have already been renovated once. We look at what earlier work left behind before we plan the new layout.

What we do in West

• Kitchens for compact rooms: bespoke, or IKEA kitchens with premium fronts and stone worktops - see our kitchens.
• Bathrooms with walk-in showers and underfloor heating, on a checked and waterproofed floor.
• Complete renovations of apartments over one or two floors, with one site manager from start to handover.
• Sound-insulating floors, stairs and built-in cabinetry.
• Windows and doors that respect the façade.

Permits and street rules in West

Internal renovation usually needs no permit. An extension, a dormer or a change to the façade does: you apply through the national Omgevingsloket, and we prepare the drawings and the application. The Admiralenbuurt has been a municipal protected cityscape (beschermd stadsgezicht) since December 2022, and buildings such as Het Schip are national monuments: there, changes to façades, windows and roofs need approval, and in a monument interior work can too.

Amsterdam's local bylaw (APV) allows materials on the street only briefly while the work is in progress; a container or other longer use of the street needs permission from the city, which we arrange.

Planning a renovation in Oud-West, De Baarsjes, Bos en Lommer or around the Westerpark? Ask for a free visit - we reply within one working day. For a first figure, use our online calculator or read what a kitchen costs in 2026.