Where in Zuidas
The main building was designed by architect and furniture designer Gerrit Rietveld between 1950 and 1963 and completed in 1966. It is the largest building he ever designed. There was a long period of preparation between commission and completion, during which important developments took place in Rietveld’s design style. Rietveld did not live to see the building completed, passing away while construction was still in progress.
The Academy moved into the building in 1967. When the school became part of the higher professional education system in 1968 and was awarded the status of an Academy for Fine Arts and Design, its name was changed to the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in honour of the architect. Much of the building was renovated in 2004.
The Benthem Crouwel building
This second building was designed by Benthem Crouwel Architects and was built in 2003 as an expansion of the Rietveld Academie. Studios can be found on the north side of this building, and offices in the south wing. The reception is on the ground floor. The south and east façades of the building are clad with 16,000 cast glass elements.
The FedLev building
The third Rietveld Academie building brings the existing buildings and the grounds between them together as a single entity. The FedLev building has been fully in use since January 2019.
Linked to the Academie, the design team was the result of a DIY competition held by the Academie. The pavilion-like building unites the three buildings, creating a new campus in a natural way. It is home to workshops, a film studio, theory rooms and artist studios and is characterised by a scenic spatiality. It is a continuous space with overlapping floors connected by stairs, generous use of glass and minimal corridors and stairwells. The outdoor space is part of the teaching landscape: the roof of the low-rise building is used as a roof terrace with facilities for construction, the ground floor façade can be folded open, the outdoor space can be incorporated into the assembly hall and the workbenches can be rolled outside. The architecture is defined by transparency, light, spatial movement and eye-catching visual links in the interior and with the surroundings. The result creates the perfect conditions for enabling interdisciplinarity, cross-fertilisation and exchange within the Academie.
At a glance
- Completed: 2019
- Start of construction: 1950
- Size: 3,250 sq. m. of workshops, film studio, library, teaching and presentation space
- Commissioned by: Stichting Gerrit Rietveld Academie
- Architect: Paulien Bremmer-Fedlev, Hootsmans architectuurbureau
- Contractor: Bouwbedrijf M.J. de Nijs en Zonen
Source: www.gebouwdin.amsterdam.nl