Newsletter 17

Fitting out of the Sandberg floor in the Fedlev building will continue up until the start of the new academic year. Renovation of the third and fourth floors of the Benthem & Crouwel building (see image) will take place from September through December. The Sandberg Instituut will relocate during the Christmas holidays. Lessons will begin here after the Christmas holidays.

The Fedlev building – shown here below when it was used for the first time during the Study Day in April – will be officially opened at the jubilee exhibition that will mark the 50th anniversary of the Rietveld Academie and the 28th anniversary of the Sandberg Instituut. The exhibition will run from 2 to 18 November. During the opening, VAV students Ebba and Liza will be showing the film that they made during the construction process.

Since the CadCam workshop and library have been relocated to the Fedlev building, these areas in the Rietveld building have now become vacant. This area will now be used for the Jewellery department’s new workspace (see image). The old Wood workshop in the Rietveld building will become the department room for Fine Arts. The Metal workshop will also be enlarged.

One of the first things to be hung up in the new building were the evacuation maps and safety attributes, such as fire extinguishers. Strategically placed notice boards contain details about the floor on which they are found and provide information about a number of matters:

1. the exact location of the map
2. primary and secondary escape routes
3. what to do in the event of a fire, accident or emergency
4. the internal emergency number (+31 20 5711699)
5. the meeting place in the event of an emergency

At the beginning of June, the Wood workshop, CadCam workshop, library, Computer workshop and assembly hall will all be used for the first time. Unfortunately, not all of the new furniture has been delivered. That’s why we are temporarily using the old furniture. The new furniture is expected to be delivered between now and the end of the summer holidays.

The outdoor area is still under construction, but one thing that is certain is that the tree will remain. We will try to add as much greenery as possible to the outdoor space.

The original garden was designed by Mien Ruys, a Dutch garden architect who often worked together with Gerrit Rietveld. The gardens have a natural relationship with the architecture, which creates a smooth transition between the inside and outside. Known for her modernist design, Mien Ruys was famous for her planting schemes and plans for small gardens, with which she was able to inspire the general public. Her best-known and most influential design is the washed gravel paving stone, which can still be found today in nearly every garden in the Netherlands. The original idea that this type of paving stone would make for a smoother transition to nature is barely reflected in the minimalist outdated gardens.

The new garden follows the contour of the original. There are large washed gravel paving stones in the garden. A new form of production makes it possible to create different series of unique paving stones with a varying irregular surface area; plants are able to grow on top of and between these paving stones. In certain locations the paving stones have been removed and stacked up next to the space that has been freed up. These stacks of stones with varying heights will provide seating between the greenery.