About us
Who are we?
The core of Stadswandelkantoor: Bert Franssen and Ruud van Soest, architectural journalists and architectural historians. Graduated as sociologist and research psychologist and worked as such for a long time. Research was and is the core of our work.
Later on we switched to journalism and via the national heritage organisation Heemschut soon to architecture journalism. Architectural history and contemporary urban planning. Research remains the basis of everything we do, it is our way of life.
We're not just...
Stadswandelkantoor is a real network organisation. We work together with housing corporations, the municipality, architectural institutions, and with a group of fantastic tour guides. All with an academic background, many have published about Amsterdam. As experienced guides we understand that a study trip, excursion or just a visit to Amsterdam should be fun too. So we don't tell a 'dry' story, we move light-footed through the cities. But at the end of the day you will have learned something. Expert and fun.
What do we do?
Guided tours, of course. Through the fascinating architecture, history and urban planning of cities. For a family from the Veluwe that also wants to see sinful Amsterdam, for students and students, for companies, groups of friends, families. Educational, active and sociable: we talk about life in the city.
Very often we also show professionals around: city councils, housing corporations, architects, planners. Amsterdam is an adventurous and resourceful city for urban planners.
We show your guests around. For the city council, for example, the alderwoman for culture of Copenhagen, journalists from the Netherlands and abroad. The municipality of Vienna came to us on its own. Companies treat their guests to an interesting trip through Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam or Leiden.
And what else?
Lectures. For architects and students of universities at home and abroad. Or a lecture series for branches of the Amsterdam Public Library (OBA). But also just a relaxing lecture at a housewarming party on the Zuidas.
Documentation and research. This is how we described for the Van Eesteren Museum their Outdoor Museum in Slotermeer and the modernist urban design by Cornelis van Eesteren.
Talk to me! and Talk back! Stadswandelkantoor started digital with an innovation subsidy from Digitale Pioniers. We built pretty much the first app for guided tours - in 2004, the word didn't exist yet. Editorial formula: image and text and stood in front of a building, press a button and architects themselves told us why they had designed it this way.
We supervise study tours. Examples: project developers of the vast King's Cross area in London we visited the new urban development in Amsterdam, a large South Korean housing corporation we showed and explained Amsterdam's social housing.
Exhibitions for the Eastern Docklands Information Centre: The near-realities of the Eastern Docklands and The Battle of the Java Bridge.
What do others say about us?
You can read it here
