Huis Vrederiks

Huis Vrederiks was squatted in early January this year and has a living space, as well as a social space. The social space was an initiative of a collective called Begane Grond. At the time, all of the members of the collective already had stable housing (some squats, some other), so they wanted to use their position of stability to give something back to the city: a free space. 

When they found their current house on Frederiksplein, located right next to The School of Life, they realised how enormous the building was – they felt it would be a shame to not use it for housing as well, and thus they invited people to also live there. The downstairs space is the designated social space, while the living space is upstairs. Naturally, the social space is also shared with the people who live upstairs. The social space encompasses different activities, ranging from bike repair workshops and ping pong tournaments to patchwork crafting and tea ceremonies. 

Jackie, one of the Begane Grond members, explains that one of the reasons the collective wanted to squat a new building for the new social space is that it can be at times difficult to organise in your living space. “A lot of people say squatting is basically a full-time job, especially in the beginning,” Cleo, who lives at Huis Vrederiks, points out. They found it virtually impossible to build and organise at the same time at their previous squat. 

Cleo thinks that Begane Grond relieved much pressure that normally comes with squatting. Both Jackie and Cleo agree that a squats’ first priority is to function as housing, but it is still important to organise. However, with the challenges some squats come with – whether that is lack of stability, lack of electricity, the possibility of eviction that could happen at any time – organising can become deprioritised in the minds of the squatters. Huis Vrederiks tackles this challenge as there is a group who primarily takes care of the social space, and a group who primarily takes care of making the space livable, working on electricity, water, and building walls. 

Even though squatting usually comes hand-in-hand with horizontality, Cleo noticed that a lot of hierarchies emerge unwantedly, where the people who open the house are put – either by themselves, or by people who join later on – on top. But that is certainly not the case at Huis Vrederiks, as this slight division of living and organising responsibilities allows everyone to focus on making their thing work. 

“I hope the neighbours dare to come by,” Jackie smirks. The collective wants to make the space accessible and inviting to committed squatters, as well as those new to the squatting scene. Jackie mentioned that the curious neighbours attended some of the events at the squat early on, but the spark of interest slowly died over time. She feels that many people may be reluctant to come to the space due to the attacks the house struggled against in its beginning. Stones were thrown at the windows – by what one can only assume to be violent right wing extremists – which reminds of another instance of regular brick attacks last autumn at the sadly evicted Dyke Dungeon. This opens up a greater discussion about the rise of violence against squatters and left wing activists.

One of their concerns about the alternative scene in Amsterdam is that it is mainly nightlife oriented, and they wanted to create a space for more daytime activities.

As more and more free spaces are unfortunately disappearing, Begane Grond does not want to sit around and wait for things to happen. Instead, they wanted to initiate a new space. One of their concerns about the alternative scene in Amsterdam is that it is mainly nightlife oriented, and they wanted to create a space for more daytime activities, such as cafe days. “We just wanted a space when people can always come to hang out, but it’s super cold here,” Jackie laughs. 

Because there is a risk of eviction, Begane Grond plans their activities on a short term basis: open assembly every Tuesday at 20:00 (Frederiksplein 52), where everybody is welcome to come by and suggest an event. And if you decide to join, wear an extra layer – it is indeed cold.