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Inside Amsterdam's plans to build a five-storey ‘erotic prison' in an affluent suburb
The red-light district is one of Amsterdam's oldest neighbourhoods and is as classically Dutch as you can get – canals, cobblestone and cafes.
The district, De Wallen, is also where many of the around 25,000 sex workers in the Netherlands work.
On top of being known for window prostitution and sex shops, Amsterdammers see it as being infamous for two other things as well: bachelor parties and rowdy British tourists hoping for a boozy weekend.
But the mayor of Amsterdam Femke Halsema had an idea to change this – by building a mega-brothel in an affluent suburb two miles away, Zuid.
The five-storey 'Erotic Centre', designed by firm Moke Architecten, will contain 100 prostitution rooms, two bars and a strip club.
Architect Gianni Cito said of the multi-million euro multiplex: 'Offering prostitution in a different location is not enough.
'Visitors come for a broader experience: A boutique, a drink or a bite to eat, a cinema, it all contributes to an atmosphere in which people feel comfortable, even if they do not visit a prostitute.'
The Erotic Centre also contains accommodation for anyone working in the two CD holder-shaped towers, as well as offices and medical and mental health facilities.
Halsema has said the new centre on Europaboulevard would be safer, offer more security to workers and encourage more people to work legally.
A consultation period will begin from Thursday to July 23, with locals, sex workers, bartenders and entrepreneurs urged to share their opinions.
Officials will plan on how to finance it by the end of 2025 – it will not be funded by the city – and decide on building the centre by the end of 2026.
Sex workers have long opposed the site, dubbing it an 'erotic prison' and a 'sterile building' with none of the 'charm' of the red-light district.
In an open letter in 2022, sex workers said they would lose their independence and face more stigma as they're 'hidden away'.
The letter said: 'Sex workers have been part of this neighbourhood for as long as people can remember and make its history rich, unique and beautiful.'
Having their livelihoods crammed into the centre would also mean that if the building went bust, their jobs would be on the line.
Karin, who works for the Prostitution Information Centre, told the TV network BNNVARA last year: 'The nuisance is not caused by the sex workers and the clients, but by the party tourists.'
Sabrina Sanchez, a sex worker, told AFP: 'We really don't agree with their solutions that they are offering, that they are imposing. They're not even negotiating with the sex workers' organisations.'
Sex worker Michelle said: 'If you're already inside, that's fine, but you also have to go out with your earnings.'
Huub Nelis, chairman of MBO College Zuid trade school, told DutchNews that the Erotic Centre could bring crime to the area.
He said: 'Our students don't just walk around up to 5pm but also in the evening. There will be parents who will say, my child won't go there, and that's the only education [for their chosen career] in Amsterdam.
'For the erotic pleasure of the one, some children will not be able to get their education.'
At a council meeting in March, officials clashed over what impact building the erotic centre would have on Zudi, a well-known business district.
Halsema said that De Wallen has more international businesses in the area than Zudi.
She added: 'So you could say that the establishment of an erotic centre could have a positive effect on the business climate in the Zuidas.'
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The mayor stressed that the plans for the build – which so far are backed by the parties PvdA, GroenLinks and D66 – are not 'irreversible'.
She said: 'The council chose this route years ago, which I am working out very neatly. But it is always possible that the council will say at some point: don't do it after all. '
Halsema and the city council have spent years cracking down on noise and substance abuse riddling the red-light district by banning tours, making bars close earlier and limiting what times sex workers can work.
Officials also had a simple message to British men in 2023 as part of a campaign to decrease nuisance: 'Stay away.'
Around 10million people visit Amsterdam every year, with around half visiting the red-light district.
Sex work is legal in the Netherlands, but it is not allowed everywhere or without a permit – it cannot be practised in a hotel or on the street.
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