Located in the city’s bustling De Pijp neighbourhood, Arie op de hoek is a spin on 20th-century ‘brown cafés’.

Key features 

Originally built in 1876, Arie’s corner address has been continuously populated by a bar or café since after WWII. Popular during that time were ‘brown cafés’, ground-floor hubs opened by tenants to supplement their low incomes. These meeting places earned their nickname from their heavily smoke-stained walls, an attribute that Arie nods to with darkened beech surfaces. It’s only one of the ways in which Studio Modijefsky utilized materials to set the (past) time and place. The palette also includes era-appropriate cladding such as aged copper, terrazzo and red marble, which was used to construct the obvious centrepiece of the space: the bar. 

Neon lighting and a glossy dark-blue tiled ceiling create contrasts with the heavier elements, imparting a contemporary mood. Guests can choose from the mix of high and low seating – and for those who want a less vibrant experience, the bar’s back space is intentionally more relaxed and monochrome.  

 Frame’s take

Studio Modijefsky’s intent with the project was to develop an ‘authentic atmosphere that is disappearing from the Dutch hospitality scene.’ After a year and a half of quite literally being barred from bars, we anticipate that this nostalgic mood will not go unwelcomed by patrons. In fact, Arie is the second bar of its kind to be completed by Studio Modijefsky – the other Amsterdam haunt, Bonnie, boasts a design similarly influenced by local heritage. These interiors are aimed not at literally interpreting spaces of yore but contemporizing cultural spaces for appreciation today. It’s all part of a larger strategy by Dutch hospitality group 3WO, the practice’s long-standing client: ‘Although each location has to feel new and different, we want them to last a long time as well,’ said cofounder Riad Farhat when we interviewed him for Frame 130. ‘That’s why we always build sustainably and make sure that we can easily adapt the interiors to a new zeitgeist.’