Singel 410, Amsterdam As part of my Amsterdam project, I searched for a typical, standard kind of canal house as well. So that would mean a 17th century one (from the golden age), but not a huge mansion, but rather a small, simple shop. After some research, I found the perfect house in Singel 410. The house has some typical 17th century features, but also contains some remodellings from the 18th and 19th century, like most houses in Amsterdam have. It is also very small, built on a corner and decorated with a typical Amsterdam top gable. The original Singel 410 is a typical Amsterdam canal house. It was built in 1647, and although it was remodelled on many points in later era's, most of the significant 17th century lay-out and details were still intact. The building has a so-called raised neck-gable. This type may be considered as a transitional stage between the stepped gable and the neck-gable proper, a typical 17th century model. Beside the two big steps, there are two smaller steps at each side, also filled up croll stones, just like the two bigger steps. The top gable is still intact, but the facade underneath was renovated in the 18th century; the bigger windowsin the centre with two smaller on each side were replaced by two big windows on each floor. The lower front was renovated in the 19th century, although it must have been this big in the 17th century already. The high front was a way to obtain as much daylight as possible in the shop, which is situated right behind it. Further to the back, the ground floor is devided in two smaller ones; from the upper one you'll have a good watch over the shop, which makes it just the right spot for the shop owner's office. At the alley side of the building is also a small shop front, this one has a display bay, most-likely this was added in the 19th century as well. Typical for Amsterdam houses that were built before 1850 is that the floors get lower to the top. The top floors were mainly in use to store goods. Another significant detail is preserved at the alley side. Here you can see the girders sticking through the wall. These girder ends support the wall above it, which leans a bit more to the alley. This is an old way to prevent rain getting inside the building. The LEGO-model For the model I could use a drawing from the 1978 canal guide showing the building in detail. Interior As I built the exterior, I didn't have the plans to do the interior as well. As most of the inside is not visible, I mainly focus on the outside, when making these houses. After seeing other models made by collegue model builders, I decided to give it a try as well. Singel 410 seemed most appropriate for the remodelling, although the upper floors were rather small. For the shop interior I choose the version with a high room in the front, which is devided at the back with a small office upstairs. This wasn't easy as, although it was pretty high, it was still low to split up so a minifig could stand on both floors. So I decided to raise it just a bit more, so I could split up the ground floor in two on a proper way. In the front I made room for a small café. Because of the height, I could make a small shelve above the bar. On the ceiling I added a small stucco ornament. The upper floors were hard to do; due to, again, the lack of height. I didn't want to make it any higher, as it would have a negative affect on the exterior. As I wanted to do some more experiments on interiors, I decided to make a seperate, bigger, one. Info Location: Singel 410, Amsterdam Year of construction: 1647, remodelled in the 18th and 19th century Model Height: 33 cm (1.08 feet) Construction time: 5/6 months Date: 2003/04 (exterior) 2005 (interior) Copyright © 2001/08, Patrick Bosman Webdesign/photography: Patrick Bosman The content of this website may only be used after permission from the author.