According to the NDSM website: A former shipyard on the northern banks of the IJ and larger than 10 football fields, the NDSM wharf is now a center for underground culture in Amsterdam. This huge area contains the NDSM hall, a hangar-like structure 20,000 sq. meters in area and 20 meters in height, and two historic ship slipways (Hellingen) housing workshops and artists’ studios.

If you wander around the surrounding area, you’ll notice that bohemians and anarchists alike have taken to alternative living quarters from broken down buses, to abandoned buildings and manholes.  Make sure to check out Noorderlicht, which is a really cozy cafe with delicious snacks housed in an old greenhouse.