Berlage’s Beurs

Concept and method

Abstract

The Amsterdam Stock Exchange, designed by Berlage between 1896 and 1903, after a competition project between 1884 and 1885, was the central building and a major turning point in the work of the Dutch architect. The topic discussed in this article focuses on the decision to base the project on a rigorous modular system, which was carried out in 1898, significantly modifying the previous state of the project. With this premise, the reasons that motivated this change are investigated, paying special attention to the cultural influences and the urban context in which it was designed. The core part is, however, the analysis of the modular system on which, through a thorough work of observation, its novelty and importance are revealed, beyond the triangle pattern reflected in the drawings of its elevations. In an almost crystalline form, the entire building in its threedimensionality turned out to be an exact framework that took as its starting point a laborious work of fitting the modulation of its plan. Above it, the system of proportions based on the Egyptian triangle found multiple resonances not only in the elevations but also in its main spaces.