21st Century Bordello By Concrete

Breaking with tradition and giving everyone a chance to look inside a brothel is Concrete’s exhibition: 21st Century Bordello.

In past years, the working girls of Amsterdam’s red light district have made room for a classier clientele of artists and designers. The empty windows now provide them with workspace, a showroom and living quarters. Together with Amsterdam’s Historical Museum, Concrete presents the brothel of the future.

Concrete drew inspiration from topics discussed by brothel owners, punters and prostitutes. How to help the brothel to survive, the wishes of punters, and innovation in brothel windows are all important factors in the design.

The 21st century brothel is presented as a vacant window, inviting visitors to take a look inside. Round shapes dominate the room, referring to a woman’s curves and breaking with the old-fashioned, starkly tiled brothel windows. Above the makeshift brothel is the residence and workspace of fashion photographers Petrovsky and Ramone.

The exhibition runs until August 29.

hoerengracht.ahm.nl | Posted by Cassandra Pizzey | Photos courtesy of Ewout Huibers

New Simplicity at the Brompton Design District

Network by Studio Aisslinger

Comments

This is grotesque. The Dutch authorities are shutting down Amsterdam's window brothels because legalised prostitution didn't achieve what it sent out to do, make prostitutes safer. Prostitution is a massive human rights violation, and a bunch of artists think they're being 'edgy' by building a brothel.

Sarah | jun 17 2010 @ 17:56:21 cet

When are people going to realise that women are actually human beings not some sex toy that you can dress up and put in a window. Stop catering for perverts just so that you can make money. They need to go and get some help not visit prostitutes.

Louise | jun 17 2010 @ 18:50:40 cet

This is actually pretty sickening

ceci | jun 18 2010 @ 11:30:39 cet

How to help brothels survive? The wishes of punters? Innovation in brothel windows? How facile and superficial. If a brothel doesn't survive it is because the john's demand no longer exists and it went out of business, women have decided that their bodies are not objects to be violated or it's been made illegal and pimps have been put off- all these options are a GOOD thing. Brothels are not. The wishes of johns? Who gives a sh*t about a bunch of blokes who don't have the social skills to get intimate any other way or the good sense to appreciate intimacy as a gift not an innate right. Innovation in brothel windows? Eh? Is this Ideal Home Exhibition or what?

G | jun 18 2010 @ 00:20:56 cet

Another example of claiming prostitution is 'good for women.' Help brothels survive? No way - women are not for purchase by males. Criminalise the Johns, pimps, male brothel owners and male big businesses who make huge sums of money by sexually exploiting and sexually enslaving women. No man ever died from lack of sexual contact with a female. Women are not men's sexual service stations. Sweden has criminalised the Johns and successfully 'flushed them in to the Baltic.' Let's do the same in Europe - criminalise the Johns and provide expert support and assistance to women and girls who want to exit prostitution. But of course that would mean curbing pseudo male sexual entitlement to women and girls which is why the pro-prostitution industry and its apologists use propaganda such as this, claiming prostitution is 'glamourous work.' Prostitution is male sexual violence against women and girls - end this shameful male sexual practice.

Hecuba | jun 18 2010 @ 13:19:56 cet

Why should there even be brothels in the 21st century? We should be moving on from this crass exploitation of human beings

sandra | jun 18 2010 @ 21:33:42 cet

I grew up in Nevada, where in certain counties Prostitution was legal and kept clean, off the streets so to say. By the way, I believe there are also Male prostitutes working at these industries. I feel Nevada kept it out of the sewers and much less parochial in attitude. Puritans are always looking to control what other people are doing!

blueskyidaho | jun 19 2010 @ 15:36:04 cet

This is truly disgusting. Prostitution is sexual slavery and violence against women. Sweden, Norway and Iceland have successfully implemented a law that recognised prostituion as violence against women, and have criminalised the punters in order to tackle demand which fuels this hideous trade. And many other countries are following in their footsteps. There is nothing atrtistic about dressing up these holes of sexual slavery to give the punters what they want. We should be looking to eradicate this 'industry' of torture, not glam it up. Utterly disgusting.

Charlie | jun 19 2010 @ 18:07:17 cet

Sex for compensation was always there and always will be. So make sure to avoid exploitation on the long run (prostitution trap). Exploitation is made easy by denying human rights to sex workers (stigma). Decriminalize sex work and empower sex worker unions: saafe.

Sexworker | jun 21 2010 @ 10:59:45 cet

I'm a sex worker and I feel slave and discriminated...from the women and femminist that think I'm a slave abused and without self control of my choise! Sex and money give me a beautiful life.

pia | jun 25 2010 @ 19:05:38 cet