ABOUT LAB-44
A 1918 laboratory on the Hembrug site, a place for makers and eaters since 2017.
FROM LAB TO MEETING PLACE
Since 2017, LAB-44 has been the living room of the Hembrug site (Hembrugterrein): restaurant, bar, terrace and event venue in one. A place where locals from the Zaan region and Amsterdammers meet, with the Hempont ferry just across the water.
FROM POISON GAS TO FLAVOUR
This laboratory was built in 1918 for the weapons and munitions factory. Chemical warfare agents were developed here, including mustard gas. Later, ammunition was inspected here and the building served as a carpentry workshop and warehouse. After a thorough restoration, the lofty roof structure, the large windows and the original brickwork are back in all their glory. Where people once experimented with gas, we now experiment with flavour.
FOR MAKERS AND EATERS
Makers work in the outer ring of the building. HOOP brewery experiments with new beers here, and our workshop kitchen is all about cooking and learning. In the middle, everyone comes together to eat, have drinks and celebrate. So the building is still a laboratory, only now it's all about flavour.
