Batavia Building

Detail, cylindrical form on facade like an elongated oriel bay window; The client for this office building was NV Batavia Arak Maatschappij, a trading company dealing arack (or arrack, a liquor) from Jakarta (formerly Batavia) in what was then the Dutch East Indies. The building has five floors, an attic and a basement on the back, which is adjacent to the Oudezijds Kolk canal. The building also had a warehouse area. It is reinforced concrete clad with brown brick in the style of the expressionist Amsterdam School. This was unusual for Slot, who normally worked in the Hilversum area in an art nouveau (Nieuwe Kunst) style. The client may have dictated the style. The sculptors of the monkey sculptures and reliefs of elephants on the richly decorated façade are unknown, possibly Jaap Kaas, Johan Altdorf and/or Jan Trapman. It originally had stained glass, which is only preserved on the canal-side facade. Since 2001, the building is designated as a Rijksmonument, under monument protection. Source: SPQA Amsterdam [website]; http://spqa-am.blogspot.com/ (accessed 6/2/2014