IT STARTED WITH A DIME BY STUDIO WESSELS BOER

An architectural and public work of art in Amsterdam

With the holiday season coming (and a massive advent calendar in our office), it was hard to resist talking about this beautiful initiative by Studio Wessels Boer in Amsterdam. Indeed, when you look at “It Started With a Dime“, it’s hard not to be reminded of the small doors of an advent calendar hiding 24 tiny treasures. However, the goal here is a little different.

With this project, the Dutch studio, which is specialized in public art, evokes something more than an advent calendar. Through “It started With Dime”, Studio Wessels Boer gave life to what seemed to be an insignificant building but wasn’t. The Dime Houses were built around 1870 by idealistic workers who founded this social housing project by asking a dime a week for membership. The idea with these boxes and sculptures was to echo historical stories of the dime house and thus bring them back from the forgotten past.

But the side effect of this beautiful installation is that it actually brings the house out onto the street. It acts like a window into what’s going on inside and creates a link with the street and the passers-by. Plus, it replaces banal graffiti. The work of the Dutch studio reconnects a forgotten building to its local environment and brings life and warmth to the cold streets of Amsterdam.