Newsletter 2

Who will end up where? The pieces of the puzzle are coming together.

All educational departments were asked to indicate where they would like to be located when the new building is ready. This question yielded some unexpected answers. These responses were elucidated further through conversations with representatives of the various parts of the organization during the Do-It-Youself-week.

A building layout has been mapped out taking the wishes of the departments into account as much as possible. The layout contains surprising elements, the result of the unexpected answers coming from some of the departments. There will be a relatively large amount of relocations, when compared to the current situation.

The proposed layout has recently been discussed with all of the Academy’s departments. Overall the responses were positive. The feasibility of some departments (or department locations?) still needs to be examined.

The building layout will be shown for the first time during a presentation in the gym, on Thursday the 3rd of April, from 16.30.

The presentation is for all employees (teachers and staff) of the Gerrit Rietveld Academy and the Sandberg Institute. Students are also welcome. During the presentation the new layout of the buildings will be shown.

Additionally, the interior of the new building and how we will move through it in the future will be shown. At the end information will be presented about the planning and the progress of the project, and the people involved in guiding this process, and in particular the external advisors, will be introduced and will be available for questions.

At the beginning of January the first round of DIY-pitches took place. The aim of these pitches is to allow designers and artists who are in some way related to the Rietveld Academy, contribute to the design.

The first successful pitch was by Jan Konings. After his pitch he was asked to make a design for the new outer stairs and patio that will connect the existing balcony to the new building.

Konings formerly designed outer stairs for the second Maasvlakte. Click here for more information on that project.

Soon a newspaper will come out looking back on the DIY-week in detail. All highlights together, including interviews and photos.

The design team will enter an intensive period in which the Concept Design is worked out in more detail until the Final Design. The input of the draughtsmen and facilities of a professional architecture office will be necessary here. Rob Hootsman, one of the architects who works on the new building with Studio FedLev, has become a partner at the Architekten Cie and has decided to merge his office with that one. For this reason the design team is currently working at the office of the Architekten Cie at the Keizersgracht. The shack on the site of the Rietveld Academy is still used for the meetings on Mondays and Thursdays.