Interventions in the Academie van Bouwkunst

HOH Architecten have been commissioned by the Academie van Bouwkunst in Amsterdam to design a series of interventions that optimise the layout of the school, as well as represent the values that the school has in their programme.

Firstly, a new graphic featuring the logo of the Academy is placed on the sliding door, forming a new whole with the monumental opening of the historic building. The address of the building (213) and the logo of the faculty are in direct play with the sliding door, creating a dynamic and recognisable entrance to the building.

Secondly, a new piece of furniture adorns the hallways of the Academy and offers space for storage of models, as well as working desks, interweaving stories of adaptive re-use in the fabric of the building. Sustainability and circularity are important themes in the education of the Academy translated into their ambition: (R)evolution Planet – Building towards a sustainable future. The furniture itself also promotes these topics. The protagonists of the design are reused doors from the building of Reinwardt Academy, the heritage faculty of the same University of the Arts. After an internal renovation, these doors became redundant. Re-using the doors that were found within a 100m radius from the building, this piece is a reminder of how re-thinking our use of existing material can make its way across different project scales. Coincidentally, the first door that was harvested is painted with the letters ‘NOOD DEUR’ (EMERGENCY DOOR), linking the project to the necessity of the transition that we have to make towards a more sustainable way of building and designing.

Lastly, a storage cabinet was designed under the staircase that leads up into the building, to include the fire extinguisher. The piece is built out of reflective material, blending with the interior of the space whilst elegantly hiding the necessary equipment for the building.

Alongside our renovation project De Huisjes, those interventions seek to improve and showcase the architectural quality that the faculty seeks to teach to students, as well as embody the values of sustainability encompassed by the curriculum.