‘Ons Huis: de toekomst van het buurthuis’ onderzoek
The community center has known various guises and names since the first Community Center opened in Amsterdam at the end of the 19th century. The socio-cultural association Ons Huis was founded by Hélène Mercier, a campaigner for the emancipation of women and the less fortunate. The association wanted to emancipate the emerging working class. With lectures, lessons, clubs and also a reading room, it functioned as a place of relaxation and education. In Amsterdam-Noord, the Association opened the first community center in 1918 in Disteldorp. One of the first garden villages in the North of the city.
The design of community centers from the 19th and 20th centuries show how architects sought specific spatial solutions to combine diverse social functions. The buildings also responded to new forms of communal use and other social priorities. For example, the Transvaal community center by architect Pi de Bruijn reflects the then new views on urban renewal ('building for the neighborhood').
The community center has continued to adapt and is no less important now than in the early years. In addition to recreational and educational programs, it is also regularly a center for neighborhood protests and social action. Or a place where migrants and original local residents meet. And where - while society continues to individualize - practical efforts are being made to form a community. The physical public space of the community center remains an empathetic stage for meeting and exchange.
However, there have been significant cuts in funding in recent decades. As a result, the architecture of the community center has disappeared. Many Amsterdam community centers are now located in temporary shipping containers or buildings that were once designed for a completely different function. The newest community center in Amsterdam-Noord opened in June 2023 in the building of a former boxing gym: community center De Bol. This modern housing is a great contrast to Amsterdam's first community center on Rozenstraat. What would the community center of the future look like if new attention were paid to its architecture? What influence does the architecture have on the image of the community center?
Location: Verschillende locaties in Amsterdam Noord
Partners: Stimuleringsfonds, AFK, Gemeente Amsterdam
Installaties: Studio Locus, Buurthuis de Bol, de Modestraat, De Evenaar, Museum Amsterdam Noord
Printwerk: Wat Je Ziet
Pictures: Joke Schut
Copyright 2024 Studio Locus