Rainbow Facade, Amsterdam Zuidoost — Bijlmer Arena

26 May 2025 · Amsterdam Bijlmer Arena

Seven colour bands — orange, brown, teal, green, olive, yellow, navy — divide the facade into vertical columns that run from ground to roofline, each one a distinct claim on the sky above it. Shot from low with a fisheye, the building compresses into something closer to a graphic poster than a piece of commercial architecture. The colour-banded cladding of this Bijlmer Arena mixed-use block does serious decorative work: it turns a gym and office complex into a landmark you can read from across the car park. The deep blue of a Dutch summer sky above it isn't incidental — it's the eighth panel.