Nederlands Architectuurinstituut
The Nederlands Architectuurinstituut (abbreviation: NAi ) in Rotterdam ( Netherlands ) was the largest architecture center in the world. It was the central place in the Netherlands for all aspects of architecture . Founded in 1988, it has resided since 1993 in a new building designed by Jo Coenen near Museum Park Rotterdam. In 2013 it went up in Het Nieuwe Instituut .
Assignments and collections
Archiving Dutch architecture was an important task. An imposing collection was housed in a 200 m long archive building, comprising 18 km of shelves with drawings and models of historical and contemporary architecture in the Netherlands.
The library was open to the public and had 35,000 books and 170 magazines. The focus was on the 19th and 20th centuries. The NAi published its own specialist publications, which presented the contents of the collections and exhibitions, and supported publications by Dutch architects.
A permanent exhibition showed the visitor the chronology of the Dutch architectural styles of the last centuries in a classic way using outstanding examples. Models, photos, plans and short texts explained this architectural history exhibition. A large number of temporary exhibitions were also organized. Contemporary themes and exhibitions that focused on specific architects attracted a particularly large number of visitors. But there were also smaller exhibitions that showed, for example, theses by students.
The Sonneveld house is a villa from 1933 in the style of the new building and is in the immediate vicinity of the former NAi. It is used as a demonstration object and serves as a 1: 1 model to show visitors how an architectural concept (“light, air and space”) is implemented in a building.
The adjacent museum park with the Boijmans Van Beuningen Museum , the Chabot Museum (1938, Neue Sachlichkeit ) and the Kunsthalle (1992) by Rem Koolhaas were also included in the guided tours, so that the discussion of architecture is not limited to the contents of the museum, but was placed in the context of the environment.
There was a special program for the approximately 1500 children and young people who attended the NAi every month. The groups were led through the house and were introduced to basic architectural concepts in a child-friendly manner. The tours were very casual, it wasn't so much about conveying content, the aim was rather to increase the children's sensitivity and offer them personal points of contact. After the tour, the children became active themselves in a workshop and made their own models .
In the forum of the NAi, a lecture hall, lectures, readings and symposia for experts and laypeople took place. The offer was rounded off by a café and a book shop.
The End
After a letter dated July 10, 2011 from State Secretary Halbe Zijlstra to Tweede Kamer , the NAI with Premsela ( Nederlands Instituut voor design en mode ) and Virtueel Platform (kennisinstituut voor e-cultuur) was decided to become Het Nieuwe Instituut from January 1, 2013 voor architectuur, design en e-cultuur to merge.
The director of the new organization is Guus Beumer .
Web links
- Old Museum website (Dutch, English)
- Nederlands Architectuurinstituut website (Dutch, English)
- Nederlands Architectuurinstituut as a 3D model in SketchUp's 3D warehouse
Coordinates: 51 ° 54 '52.4 " N , 4 ° 28' 16.8" E