(Hemkade approx.). From The Hague (schutsgieterij) and Delft (pyrotechnical department) the weapon and ammunition factory 'Artillerie Inrichtingen' (A.I.) was established in 1895 along the North Sea Canal to be assured of a munitions factory within the Defense Line of Amsterdam. Under the guidance of engineer G.J. Blaauw started with the construction of a pattern factory, which was expanded shortly afterwards with a firework shop and a workshop for portable weapons. After the factory became a state-owned company in 1912, the complex underwent a strong expansion. The company, acquired by Eurometaal in 1973, had to close the gates in 2002.
Important buildings are the neo-Renaissance style office of the ammunition factory (building 41, 1896-'97), an ammunition warehouse (building 43, circa 1897), an industrial warehouse with expressionist details (building 269, 1928), the prestressed concrete halls with curved shed roofs (building 419, 1952) and the elongated pattern factory on the canal (building 429, 1957) with test shooting range in the basement. On the northern part of the site are several buildings from the construction sites transferred from Delft in 1924. These buildings, partly made up of expressionist details and partly of timber-framed buildings, date back to 1928.
