Discussion
This building made Van Eyck's reputation world wide. It became the icon of the structuralist - Team 10 revision of modernism. It was however not universally admired with some people finding it more expressive of the idea of humanism than its actuality. Sharp described it thus "A cult building in the 1960s, Van Eyck's orphanage brought to the surface an idiosyncratic interpretation of modern architectural ideas enriched by pattern and forms and by balancing repetitive pavilions. Constructed in reinforced concrete panels and glass bricks, it has undoubtedly worn badly. It now houses the Berlage Institute."-Sharp, D.,. Twentieth Century Architecture: a Visual History. p240.
Norwich was kinder: "Van Eyck's reputation as an original designer was enhanced by the low-profile brick-built orphanage on a site in the Amsterdam suburbs. It has had an influence on school buildings throughout the world." Norwich, J. J., [ed]. Great Architecture of the World. p235.
Kultermann kinder still: "The most important personality in Holland is Aldo van Eyck...whose orphanage in Amsterdam (1958-1960) became known all over the world, due to the exemplary concept of this building. A home for 125 children of all ages was created here, articulating a revolutionary synthesis in the consideration of the individual and the group, inner and outer space, extended and small areas...Aldo van Eyck re-adopted a previously formulated concept of L. B. Alberti, when realizing the house for children in Amsterdam...the analogy of city and house: a small world within a large , a large world within a small one, a house as a city, a city as a house, a home for children-to create that was my goal." -Udo Kultermann. Architecture in the 20th Century. p138.
The architect had this to say: "The building was conceived as a configuration of intermediary places clearly defined. This does not imply continual transition or endless postponement with respect to place and occasion. On the contrary, it implies a break away from the contemporary concept (call it sickness) of spatial continuity and the tendency to erase every articulation between spaces, i.e., between outside and inside, between one space and another. Instead, I tried to articulate the transition by means of defined in-between places which induce simultaneous awareness of what is signified on either ." Kultermann, U., Architecture in the 20th Century. p138.
Sources on Amsterdam Orphanage
Herman Hertzberger. Aldo Van Eyck: Hubertus House. Amsterdam: Stichting Wonen, 1982. NA1153.E95H47 1982.
John Julius Norwich, ed. Great Architecture of the World. London: Mitchell Beazley Publishers, 1975. ISBN 0-394-49887-9. NA200.G76.
Maarten Kloos, ed. Amsterdam, An Architectural Lesson. Amsterdam: Thoth Publishing House, 1988. ISBN 90-6868-014-5. NA1148.A47 1988.
Udo Kultermann. Architecture in the 20th Century. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1993. ISBN 0-442-00942-9. LC 92-26734. NA680.K7913 1993.
Dennis Sharp. Twentieth Century Architecture: a Visual History. New York: Facts on File, 1990. ISBN 0-8160-2438-3. NA680.S517.