This article compares Venice and Amsterdam, called Venice of the North, from the perspective of their centuries-old inseparable relationships with water. It indicates the problem of the impact of historical conditions and various locations on similar spatial formations, functional solutions and esthetic effects. Attention is drawn to differences and similarities in the shape of the waterfronts as well as the development of the manners the inhabitants, tourists and merchandise move on water and on land. It shows how the creators of new residential buildings continue the local tradition of shaping a structure and preserve native features of an architectonic form but also creatively interpret these elements and create the 21st-century residentfriendly housing environment.

This article compares Venice and Amsterdam, called Venice of the North, from the perspective of their centuries-old inseparable relationships with water. It indicates the problem of the impact of historical conditions and various locations on similar spatial formations, functional solutions and esthetic effects. Attention is drawn to differences and similarities in the shape of the waterfronts as well as the development of the manners the inhabitants, tourists and merchandise move on water and on land. It shows how the creators of new residential buildings continue the local tradition of shaping a structure and preserve native features of an architectonic form but also creatively interpret these elements and create the 21st-century residentfriendly housing environment.