Cuyperspassage by Benthem Crouwel Architects, is the name of the 110 metres long new tunnel at Amsterdam Central Station that connects the city and the waters of the IJ-river. Moreover, its design makes a clear division between the two modes of travel: pedestrian path and cycleway.
Along the footpath wall there is a tile tableau designed by Irma Boom which design steps off from a restored work by the Rotterdam tile painter Cornelis Boumeester (1652-1733). His tile panel depicting the Warship Rotterdam and the Herring Fleet is in the collection of the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. The tableau fades away towards the IJ-river, the lines of the original work gradually dissolving. Its drawn lines and pixels visualize the transition in art from the old to the new.
The ceramic company, spent five years making the 46,000 wall tiles for the Cuyperspassage in Amsterdam, as well as 33,000 floor tiles, in the traditional Dutch tile size of 13 x 13 cm. The whole recalls old kitchens in Amsterdam canal houses, so that the tunnel is experienced as a safe place – as an urban room.
