Domus IN 201903

The cultural free-haven ADM (Amsterdamse

Droggdok Maatschappij), one of the last

largest Amsterdam-based self-organised

communities with about 100 people of all ages

and nationalities, was evicted on 7 January 2019.

The terrain, located in a neglected shipyard

from the Amsterdam Drydock Company, was

first squatted in 1987, and later again in 1997.

Over the years, it gave rise to a social

organisation and its ever-growing spatial

arrangement of biodiverse habitats, with

dozens of self-built structures that served as

working and living areas, hosted permaculture

practices and a myriad of cultural events.

Although the Dutch squatting ban came

into effect in 2010, the practice of squatting,

popularised since the 1960s, continued in the

Netherlands, albeit on a limited scale. In the

case of ADM, the community has been fighting in

the tribunals to prevent eviction since 2015.

Despite the efforts of their seven lawyers, and

all the individuals and organisations who

supported their struggle through more than

20 court cases, the last sentence of summer

2018 led to their eviction. The right to property

has, this time, prevailed over human rights,

environmental protection, and even the series

of investigations of corruption associated

with the property’s owners. The city has,

nevertheless, assigned a new terrain (de

slibvelden) in Amsterdam North to the

residents, where a majority have moved.

With the ADM eviction, Amsterdam also

loses one of the architectures that epitomised

With the ADM eviction,

Amsterdam also loses

one of the architectures

that epitomised the once

radical and visionary

housing projects that

the city seemed able

to realise