Collection

The collection of Het Nieuwe Instituut contains drawings, photographs and models from the archives of Dutch architects and urban planners. The library collects and manages information about Dutch and international architecture, urban design, and related fields such as spatial planning, landscape architecture, interior architecture, art, digital culture and design.

Het Nieuwe Instituut manages 700 archives and collections of Dutch architects, urban planners, professional associations and educational institutions, comprising a total of some 4,000,000 documents. The collection is the largest in the Netherlands, after that of the Naturalis Biodiversity Center, and is one of the largest architecture related collections in the world. Besides museum quality drawings, these archives include sketches, preliminary designs, working drawings, business and personal correspondence, photographs, models, posters, press clippings and published articles. The collection offers insight into 130 years of development within Dutch architecture and urbanism.

Now on display

The Watercities Rotterdam exhibition features examples of buildings on water in the National Collection for Dutch Architecture and Urban Planning, from floating bike racks in Amsterdam to complete urban extensions.

➝ Read more about Water Cities

Latest news

Search the collection

The search portal gives the public direct online access to one of the world’s largest architecture collections. The State Archive for Dutch Architecture and Urban Planning contains 1.4 million drawings; 300,000 photographs; 2,500 models and 70,000 books and magazines, which together document the history of Dutch architecture and urbanism.

➝ To the Search Portal

Research Centre

The Research Centre is a space where research, meeting, inspiration, cooperation and exchanging knowledge are central. Drawing around 3000 (inter)national researchers per year, it is pre-eminently a place for the generation of new knowledge. Visitors can consult archive documents and read books and magazines about art, architecture, urban planning and design. In addition, there are often small thematic exhibitions featuring items from the (library) collection. Visitors are welcome to meet, catch up and work together.

➝ Visit the Research Centre