After the introduction of the State post in 1752, the General Post Office was opened in Amsterdam in 1755. Situated at the Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal 182, this building was demolished in 1854 in order to accommodate the Royal Post Office. This building quickly became too small. So in 1894 a start was made with the construction of the first Post and Telegraph office in the Netherlands, designed by the State architect Cornelis Hendrik Peters (1874-1932). He was a pupil of the internationally famous architect Cuypers, creator of the Rijksmuseum and Amsterdam's Central Station. Where one hundred years previously the use of stylistic devices from the Gothic and Renaissance periods had had a certain moral meaning, this mixture is now valued as a romantic result of this period.
Originally only a part of the ground floor was accessible to the public. Entering under the imposing space which was surrounded by an attractive gallery and sandstone arcades on three floors, the public remained on the ground floor, where the counters and other public functions were located. The rest of the building was only accessible for Post Office personnel. By changing its function from Post Office to leisure and shopping center, the entire building, including the basement, was made accessible to the public. The approach is very simple. Take advantage of the existing structure, use what already exists as a basis and complete the building. The central hall remains the main moment, with on the left and the right, two new spaces two floors high, separated by the already existing gallery bridges. In this way the central element melts together to form one large roomy center, which can be surrounded by shops. By means of two extra spaces on the ground floor, the basement too comes into spacial contact with the rest of the building. A number of steel structural additions had to be carried out. The steel skeleton is covered in prefabricated cement elements, whereby a match is created with the existing structural elements, both in terms of size and colour. The exterior glass roofs above the spaces are considerably enlarged, so that more light can enter. Escalators to transport visitors leisurely to and from the varying floor heights naturally make use of the new spacial opportunities and form an integral part of an extensive circulation system throughout the entire building. Near the central entrance, in the heart of the building, are two lifts. New balustrades have been constructed along all the edges of the new spaces. It was not possible to retain the checkboard pattern of the black and white natural stone floor.
Walking on it was not a problem. But when viewed from high above it was almost impossible to estimate its depth. It began to dance like a Vasarely painting and it would certainly have awoken latent feelings of vertigo in the public. In the case of all the additions, and certainly with the awnings of the exterior, an attempt has been made to provide a certain sense of autonomy by constructing them in the same way as they have been composed. They are not intrusive in terms of colour or form, as is so often the case with steel additions to buildings built around the turn of the century, such as stations and factories.
The most important change to the facade is undoubtedly the main entrance. The almost inaccessible entrance to the Head Post Office would have made daily access to the leisure and shopping center almost impossible. A decision was taken to bridge the connection between the street level and the approximately 1.50 meters-higher main floor in the building. An easy stairway, escalator and lift have achieved all this. In this way the leisure and shopping center is also extremely accessible to the physically challenged.
By widening the narrow passages of both sides of the entrance, the basement facade on that side became a more important part of the whole. It also became possible to introduce two separate entrances on the basement level. Stairs were added at the ends of the narrow spaces, thereby creating a kind of lowered public pavement.
