Scheepvaarthuis

thumb|300px|Amsterdam Scheepvaarthuis (2011) The Shipping House () is a building on the western tip of the Waalseiland near Amsterdam harbour that is one of the top 100 Dutch heritage sites and generally regarded as the first true example of the Amsterdam School, a style characterised by "expressive dynamism, lavish ornamentation and colourful embellishments". It is situated on the Prins Hendrikkade and was erected on the spot where Cornelis Houtman's first trip to the East Indies had begun in 1595. The first part was built 1913 - 1916 (during World War I); the second part was built 1926 -1928. Originally, it was the headquarters of six leading Amsterdam shipping companies: the Netherlands Steamship Company (SMN), the Royal Packet Navigation Company (KPM), the Java-China-Japan Line (JCJL) and the Royal Dutch Steamboat Company (KNSM) with subsidiary New Rhine Navigation Company (NRM) and acquired in 1912 Royal West India Mail Service (KWIM).

== Design == thumb|Sculptures at main entrance A large group of artists participated in the extensive decoration of both the exterior and the interior of the building. The shipping companies housed inside were all involved in global trade, their combined lines "circumnavigated the earth in several directions" from Dutch hub points in the East and West Indies. As it was intended to serve as a practical, modern and functional office and also refer to the rich maritime tradition of the Netherlands, there are numerous maritime symbols incorporated into the design. For example, the outside of the building is covered in carving and relief sculptures that reflect the Dutch colonial empire, with the sculpted personifications of the oceans around the main entrance presented as "exotic mysterious women".