The Community CentreThe Community Centre

In recent years a lot has happened in the area of ​​community centres. After restrictive measures caused spending cuts and closures, they are back on the rise. These buildings act as centres for educational and recreational activities for the neighbourhood, as well as being multi-purpose buildings with a multitude of functions such as libraries, learning environments, neighbourhood shops, workplaces, sports facilities, and areas for relaxation. With their resurgence, the typology and identity of these buildings is in the spotlight again, from the creativity of their designed spaces to their commissioning and sustainable financial models.

The State Archive at Het Nieuwe Instituut offers an opportunity to research and question the many unknown designs of community centres from a historical perspective. With their varied functions, these centres pop up in the State Archive under varying names - village halls, peoples' houses, neighbourhood centres, social centres, youth clubs, and club houses. They also vary over time, as can be seen from designs from the mid-19th century Ons Huis to community centres by OMA and Pi de Bruijn from the seventies and eighties. During this event various speakers will discuss the influence of these spaces on the atmosphere, the behaviour, and the image of community centres.

Architect Pi de Bruijn (co-founder of de Architekten Cie. and architect of the Transvaal community centre in Amsterdam (1973-1975) will speak about the design of collective spaces, and David ter Avest (city geographer and researcher on meeting places in the spatial and social domains) will discuss his 'Living rooms in Rotterdam' project (2015). Other participants include Leontien Leijdekkers (floor manager of BOOST Transvaal - a meeting place for newcomers, residents and organisations from Amsterdam). During the evening there are four intermezzi with the presentation of the highlights and characteristics of community centre designs from the State Archive. What do these archival documents mean for designing community centres today?

Pi de Bruijn completed his studies at the Faculty of Architecture at Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) in 1967. He then left to work at the Architects Department of the then London City Council in Southwark, London. On his return to Amsterdam, he worked for the Municipal Housing Department, until he established himself as an independent architect in 1978, as a partner in the Oyevaar Van Gool De Bruijn Architecten BNA bureau. In 1988 he founded de Architekten Cie. together with Frits van Dongen, Carel Weeber and Jan Dirk Peereboom Voller. Pi de Bruijn served as a university professor at the TU Delft from 1993 to 1998. Pi de Bruijn has a wealth of experience as an architect and urban planner in projects that are complex, long-term and sensitive.

Christoph Grafe (Bremen, 1964); architect, curator and writer; living and working in Amsterdam, London and Wuppertal. Professor of Architectural History and Theory at the University of Wuppertal. From 2011 to 2017 he served as the director of the Flanders Architecture Institute in Antwerp. Visiting professorships at University of Hasselt (Belgium) and Politecnico di Milano. His book_People's Palaces - Architecture, Culture and Democracy in Post-War Western Europe_ was published by Architectura & Natura in 2014. Editor of OASE and publisher/ editor of Eselsohren. Member of the editorial board of the Journal of Architecture (RIBA) and the advisory board of the Baukunstarchiv Nordrhein-Westfalen. Acted as interim city architect (with Bob van Reeth) in Antwerp in 2015.

Containing the collections of some of the most important architects and urban planners in the Netherlands, the State Archive for Dutch Architecture and Urban Planning provides an insight into the development of Dutch architecture and society over the past 130 years. Each item in the collection of four million drawings, sketches, models, professional and personal correspondence, photographs, posters and news clippings has a story to tell. But many of these stories have remained untold because nobody has yet uncovered them. For the series of evenings entitled Archive Explorations we have invited a range of people to go on a journey of discovery through the archive to uncover new perspectives.

Before the Thursday Night you can grab a bite to eat with the speakers and staff of Het Nieuwe Instituut. At 18:00 Het Nieuwe Café will serve a light vegetarian meal. Dinner vouchers are available for ¬ 7.70 up to a day before the particular Thursday Night event via the Tickets link.

Become a Member of Het Nieuwe Instituut and you'll support our mission to navigate the vast and evolving field of design. You'll also be inspired by our special program of Members' events, meeting up with other like-minded people as we invite you to reflect with us on design's changing role in technology, economics, culture and society.