Capital C

Capital C occupies Amsterdam’s former Diamantbeurs, a 1910 exchange building designed by architect Gerrit van Arkel. Its ground-floor trading hall once anchored the city’s diamond commerce, with offices and meeting rooms above. A basement barber shop, vault, and restaurant served the building’s earlier working life.

A fire in February 1956 destroyed part of the structure, while fireproof vaults protected the diamonds stored below. After later changes, including a 1990 rooftop addition, the building became a national monument in 2004. It now brings together creative companies, start-ups, freelancers, and media businesses through offices, co-working areas, meeting rooms, events, galleries, and a Grand Café. The former parking level contains an event space and lunch area, opening through a transparent façade onto a terrace beside public greenery.

Restored tile panels above the entrance show a winged staff of Mercury and a diamond-grinding wheel. The entrance tower carries a round copper-covered dome, while the roof supports the glass-and-steel High Light. Its gridshell structure creates a large open space, with no two components exactly alike. Art and design continue through the entrance hall, stairwells, meeting rooms, terrace, and parking garage.