Amsterdam Orphanage

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form
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The aftermath of WWII in Holland gave rise to tremendous opportunities for architects. But with reconstruction came a
sense of placelessness, and the destruction of the pre-existing social fabric of the city. "The material slum has gone", van
Eyck declared, " but what has replaced it? Just mile upon mile of organized nowhere, and nobody feeling he is some-
van

body living somewhere" (Lefaivre, 1999). It is into this context that Aldo van Eyck entered as a young architect.

The form of Aldo van Eyck's Amsterdam Orphanage is a rooted in the creation of a strong social fabric and a
sense of place, and the merging of classical and contemporary typologies. It is a response to program and access to
daylight. This paper will explore the form of van Eyck's orphanage from the vantage point of the architect and through
the lens of the class readings completed to date. Additionally, alternative uses for the building will be proposed based
on its form.

Van Eyck was a humanist whose aim was to create an architecture of community and a sense of place. The
creation of community was of exceptional importance in this project, as the residents had little or no connection to
family outside of the institution.
Eyck

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organized nowhere: organized nowhere: organized nowhere:
post war Amsterdam single family dwellings standard orphanage
Van Eyck carefully conceived of a series of meeting places connected to one another by a network of pathways. "The whole
scheme of the orphanage was interwoven around a number of centres defined from the beginning as points of interaction and
exchange between various areas of the facility." He called this creation of networks and nodes inbetweening. This was accom-
plished through carefully studied circulation patterns. It was to be "an architecture not only of 'product' but of 'process' and
'mobility' to use the terms of the time" (Lefaivre, 1999). In this sense, the plan of the building was its most important dimension.

In the reading Postmodernism, or The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism, Jameson says that "disalienation ... involves the
practical reconquest of a sense of place, and the construction or reconstruction of an articulated ensemble which can be
retained in memory and which the individual subject can map and remap along moments of mobile, alternative trajectories. Van
Eyck seems to believe the same, and has implemented this notion into the design of his orphanage. He says that space becomes
a place "through the combination of memory and anticipation. Places remembered and places anticipated dovetail in the tem-
poral space of the present. Memory and anticipation, in fact, constitute the real perspective of space; give it depth." (Lefaivre,
1999)

In the design of his orphanage, van Eyck connected contemporary architecture of the time with the classical canon as a
device for ordering space..."it could be analyzed in terms of metopes, stylobates. The classical rules of composition -- taxis, tripar-
tition, symmetry" (ibid). The project also reflected the rigorous minimalism of the avant-garde movement. To this van Eyck added
non-Western design elements, borrowed from the Dogon people of Mali (ibid). In reference to the orphanage, Lefaivre reflects
that "as opposed to the post-modernist buildings that were to appear fifteen years in the future, the result was not a historicist
pastiche but a totally new innovative fusion where mutually exclusive (typologies) came to be reconciled in a newly defined,
harmonious ...whole" (ibid). Jameson cites historicity and nostalgia as key culprits in the creation of social fragmentation, but
"there are no nostalgic or Utopian visions in the use of geometrical patterns by van Eyck in his Orphanage. It does not cite or
arouse concrete images either of past or future worlds. There is history, but in the form of knowledge and rules extracted from
precedents, and future in the form of normative structures of space... there is history, but no historicism." (Lefaivre, 1999)

+ +
minimalism classicism dogon

nodes & circulation

The program of an orphanage includes sleeping spaces for children of different sexes and ages, quarters for staff, a nursery,
an infirmary, cooking and dining areas, administration and of course indoor and outdoor play spaces. Van Eyck created two
wings of sleeping areas for the children. To the east, he placed children under the ages of 10 in co-ed rooms. The youngest
would sleep in the nursery. As the children aged, they would step up through the bedroom system, increasing their distance
from the nursery. After the age of ten, they would be split into male and female dormitories, but would still reside next to
one another. Administration and staff residences were kept to the north.

Access to daylight was of great importance to van Eyck. In order to allow for maximum solar exposure, he stepped the
children's dormitories across the southern face of the building. Van Eyck used a variety of window types and light wells,
including sky lights, high slits in the walls, walls built of glass cubes, and large windows. This spread out floor plan also
allowed for a blurring between indoors and outdoors, as open fields surrounded each indoor space.

The form of the orphanage could be reconsidered, based on van Eyck's design criteria (place, inbetweening, program, and
daylight). It would be difficult to build the project into a multi-story building as this would reduce social interaction and
daylight, but the floor plan could have been made more circular, increasing the social interaction in the centre of the proj-
ect, while maintaining high levels of light and a variety of secondary meeting places. While the north-facing rooms would
receive less light than those facing south, light wells and skylights would help to reduce this impact.

The form of van Eyck's orphanage is a function of the creation of inbetween places, the synergy of classical and contempo-
rary typologies of the time, the satisfaction of the program and optimum exposure to daylight. Class readings provided a
wider context for the formal design decisions made by van Eyck, and speculation allowed for the reconsideration of the
space.

program
N solar exposure
=
Body
ydoB
=

Van Eyck's orphanage references the human body of the growing

child with great consideration. He has taken into consideration the
physical size of the body, the gender of the children, and the activities
of interest that accompany age and gender. Additionally, the orphan-
age is intended to promote health and wellbeing for its occupants.
This paper will examine the orphanage through the lens of body, and
draw from course readings.

In her essay titled Architecture from Without: Body, Logic and Sex,
Agrest speaks of the exclusion and replacement of the female in
architecture through the history of architecture. To accomplish this,
she references the treatises of Vitruvius, Alberti, Filarere, and Di Gior- TIME
gio Martini, and finds that they refer to man's body as the basis for
architectural design. Van Eyck is similarly guilty of likening the archi-
tectural body to that of a man. When speaking of the coexistence of
open and closed in the design of the orphanage, Strauven sees this as
person size
a "striking example of Van Eyck’s view that architecture should, just
like man, breathe in and out."(2007). Strauven goes on to talk about
van Eyck's use of anthropomorphism in the orphanage project, and
then reiterates the earlier point by denoting "van Eyck’s intention to
conceive building ‘in the image of man’"(ibid). According to Strauven,
van Eyck uses an "archaic form language" in which he references the
symmetry of the human body, and "the binary appeal of the human
face". He argues that these are inherent in the "elementary, purely
geometric forms" that exist throughout the project. (2007)

It is evident through his work, however, that the use of the word man
is synonymous with the word human. This is apparent in van Eyck's toilet size
desire to physically represent the child in architecture, and his depic-
tion of genderless abstract human form. "Van Eyck was concerned
with the visual importance of the child in architecture"(pgr, 84). In his
orphanage, this was expressed by integrating new types of play
objects into the project, mainly made of concrete and metal. Some of
these objects included sand pits, somersault and climbing frames,
and concrete play tables. Van Eyck's somersault frames were often
constructed for children of different heights. Bars were placed at 80,
90 and 100cm.
sink size
 boys and girls sleep in separate bedrooms as they age

Also, in recognition of the fundamental differences between children and adolescents of different ages and sexes, living spaces were
designed to allow their occupants to partake in age and gender appropriate activities. For example, young children had a living room
that facilitated the creation of tents, forts, and allowed for the throwing of a ball inside. Females aged 10-14 had a pancake kitchen
where they could experiment with cooking. They also had a puppet theatre to act-out stories, and a series of chairs that could be
variously arranged. The space for young ladies 14-20 included a variety of nooks for privacy, and low coffee tables for socializing.
Young men had a workshop. Additionally, furniture height and level of privacy throughout the building reflected the body and
activities of its users. "the rooms had to be differentiated according to age, in the first place by the choice of appropriate dimensions.
The height of the windows, for instance, had to be such that a child sitting on a stool could easily look outside and be able to see
people passing outside the window." Similarly, dimensions of the toilets and sinks related to the physical proportions of the children.
Younger children had shared bedrooms on the ground floor, while young adults had their own bedrooms on the upper story. This
choice to divide occupants into age and sex underscores the importance of the human body in both program and proportion.
(Strauven, 1998)

In the Medical Body in Modern Architecture, Colomina says that "not only did modern architects emphasize health and exercise, their
architecture was understood that way. The buildings became unconsciously identified with the healthy body." Each group of children
had their own bedrooms, a shared living room, kitchen and outdoor play area. The building in all aspects aspired to health. It
accessed plenty of fresh air, an abundance of light and incorporated a plethora of outdoor spaces for exercise and social gatherings.
(Strauven, 1998)
Merleau-Ponty speaks of the body as "a grouping of lived-through meanings which moves towards equilibrium"..."sometimes a new
cluster of meanings is formed; our former movements are integrated into a fresh motor entity". Van Eyck's design of differential living
areas and play areas can be seen to facilitate skill building and kinaesthetic articulation. As noted above, each living area for children of
different ages and sexes nurtured a different set of activities, allowing for the creation of fresh motor activities, and meaning creation.
Outdoor play areas allowed children to acquire and express multiple kinaesthetic understandings of play. He goes on to say that
"memory and anticipation... constitute the real perspective of space; give it depth." The orphanage was designed with a collection of
inbetween places. In a sense, these guide movement through the project, informing where the body will repose, play and travel.

If the orphanage were to be likened to the human body, it could be said that the main court is the heart of the project -- acting as the
main outdoor gathering space and as a threshold for interactions between the world of the interior and the exterior. The administrative
area would be the brain, and the living quarters the extremities. Circulation paths like veins connect them to one another, allowing
people to flow through the building freely. The relationship between inside and outside can also speak of attitudes within the institu-
tion of emotional expression. While there are windows facing outwards, the widest windows face interior courtyards, keeping the focus
of residents within the building, and protecting them somewhat from the exterior world. This carries with it a sense of emotional open-
ness within the community, but to a lesser extent with the exterior community.

concrete boundry of sandpit

digging in sand
sitting

skipping

running around
 If the orphanage were to be likened to the human body, it could be said that the main court is the heart of the project -- acting as the main outdoor
gathering space and as a threshold for interactions between the world of the interior and the exterior. The administrative area would be the brain, and
the living quarters the extremities. Circulation paths like veins connect them to one another, allowing people to flow through the building freely. The
relationship between inside and outside can also speak of attitudes within the institution of emotional expression. While there are windows facing
outwards, the widest windows face interior courtyards, keeping the focus of residents within the building, and protecting them somewhat from the
exterior world. This carries with it a sense of emotional openness within the community, but to a lesser extent with the exterior community.

Van Eyck used the evolving body of child to inform formal and programmatic decisions throughout his orphanage. While the nature of the living
quarters may be apparent from the interior, it is nearly invisible from the exterior. Only in the quarters of the older children is there a second story. It
would therefore be interesting to adopt the logic of proportional body growth, and apply it in earnest to the existing layout of the building. Average
physical dimensions of the growing child would dictate all aspects of the space, from ceiling height to room and furniture size. The personal space of
children would be proportionate, and as they grew, the world would grow around them.

Person Size Existing Living Area Size

Person Size Proportional Living Area Size

 Technique
euqinhceT
There are many aspects of van Eyck's technique that can be identified and borrowed by others for
reapplication. This section will reiterate van Eyck's techniques that have been identified in the form
and body portion of this paper, as well as relate his orphanage project to concepts of technique that
have arisen in class readings. Finally, the combination of van Eyck's and Otto's techniques will be
explored.

Van Eyck's humanist approach is evident in his wide application of daylighting into interior spaces, his
well considered creation of inbetween spaces, the abundant access to fresh air, and the limited creation
of social hierarchy in section. In addition, van Eyck legitimizes the child through architecture, creating
spaces that are responsive to their physical and mental states, and creates opportunities for kinaesthetic
learning. He employs a clear formal technique that combines classicism, minimalism and Dogon tribal
typologies.

+ minimalism
+ +
classicism dogon

N
 +
N

+ The logic that can be extracted from van Eyck’s

+
orphanage includes: access to southern expo-
sure in bedrooms, access to fresh air in most
rooms, a high proportion of outdoor to indoor
spaces, views to courtyard and exterior from
most spaces, the composition of spaces as a
series of interrelated nodes, and the repeated
use of primitive geometries.

+
proportion of outdoor
spaces to interior spaces

+ +

use of primitive geometries dispersed heirarchy of interrelated spaces access to courtyard and exterior
to allow for inbetweening views, light and ventalation
In the article entitled Coevolution, Kelly makes the case that increased interdependence is good for
species and society. The emergent behaviour that results is of general benefit for all involved. Van Eyck's
emphasis on the intermingling of orphans and staff within the orphanage increases the opportunities for
emergent behaviour, thereby strengthening the community.

Kuhn, in his article Mechanization, Instrumentality and Science, talks about the process of creating new
paradigms and new knowledge. In essence, new knowledge seems to come through mastering old
knowledge, and through the recognition of anomalies when they appear. In a sense, van Eyck's
orphanage is something of a social experiment that satisfies the programmatic requirements specified
by the client, and embodies his humanist approach through the techniques outlined above. As an architect,
he may not have mastered the modern techniques of the time, but he was sufficiently familiar with
them to react against them and create an architecture that was as much a response to the built
environment around him, as it was the proposal of a new way of organizing space and social
relationships.

In Architecture and the Crisis of Modern Science, Perez-Gomez laments the demise of architecture
during Modernism-- the loss of art and poetry in building design, and its effective replacement with
concerns pertaining completely to building and cost efficiency. He points out that the crisis began with
the disappearance of classical geometry, and its replacement with non-Euclidian geometries. Van Eyck's
project, however, retains a partial logic of classicism, and focuses on the experience of the occupant as a
primary concern. He solves programmatic problems poetically, and integrates geometry and Dogon
typology into the overall form of the building with artistry.

modernism van Eyck’s humanism

In The Structure of Vagueness, Spuybroek exemplifies the work of Frei Otto's "non-standard
architecture". He refers at length to Otto's experiments with intertwined wet strings that allowed for
the creation of efficient structure that embodied movement and complexity. Van Eyck's process of
designing the orphanage was focused on the organization of space in plan. His colourful diagrams show
the shifting of program in two dimensions. It would be interesting to combine Otto's non-standard
architecture with van Eyck's emphasis on inbetween spaces, daylighting and human proportion, in order
to produce an architecture that embodies movement and efficient structure in addition to some of van
Eyck's techniques. This would, however, result in the loss of classicism and Dogon influence in the
orphanage design.

Rules could be made to connect van Eyck's predefined inbetween spaces with strings. More strings
would occur along trajectories of high circulation. The length of the strings would increase from east to
west in the building, as this is the direction in which children progress as they grow. In this way, the
height of the spaces would reflect the size of the occupant. Gaps between strings could be rationalized
to become glazing later in the design process.
 References
secnerefeR

Agrest, D. (1993). Architecture from Without: Body, Logic and Sex. pp173-195.

Colomina, B. (1997). The Medical Body in Modern Architecture. Anybody, MIT Press, pp228-239.

Jameson (F), Postmodernism, or The Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism

Kelly, K. (1994). Coevolution, in Out of Control: The New Biology of Machines, Social Systems and the Economic World, 69-90.

Kuhn, T. (1996) The Nature and Necessity of Scientific Revolutions. In: the Structure of Scientific Revolutions.

Lefaivre, L, et al (1999). Aldo van Eyck Humanist Rebel: Inbetweening in a Postwar World010 publishers, Rotterdam

Merleau-Ponty, M. (1968). The Synthesis of One's Own Body. Phenomenology of Perception. pp 148-153.

Perez-Gomez, A. Architecture and the Crisis of Modern Science

Strauven, F. (1998). Aldo van Eyck, The Shape of Relativity. Architectura & Natura Press, Amsterdam.

Strauven, F. (2007). Aldo van Eyck – Shaping the New Reality From the In-between to the Aesthetics of Number. Study Centre, Mellon Lectures.

Spuybroek, L. (2004). The Structure of Vagueness. NOX Machining Architecture.352-359