Description of the research group

The area of the University Quarter-UQ (Binnengasthuisterrein) will be subject to major change in the coming years: construction, renovation and redevelopment will take place, both in the UvA buildings and in the outdoor area. The cultural history located in the area is an important starting point in the area development. Knowledge gained is made accessible to a wide audience as much as possible in the context of visibility and support. In this way, the University of Amsterdam puts the future University Quarter on the map with respect for the past. In addition to the formal planning and decision-making processes that are related to the hard side of area development, there is a need to connect the qualities and people that are specific to the area. By respecting the past and the present, the transformation that the area has undergone, we will understand new phases that the future will bring. Visualizing (3D modeling, GIS, Applications) the transformation is an attractive method to make people part of the area, because it reveals important qualities that are no longer or not yet visible at the moment. In visualizing the architectural history of the UQ (main phases and detailed timeline), we can infer a couple of major changes to the buildings and the area, providing the basis for the proposal we intend to admit.

We concentrated on the actual buildings (so not their predecessors) and looked at the larger developments in the area to pinpoint historical moments that tell a good story about the history of the UQ. For the ‘Oudemanhuispoort’ (OMHP), significant moments are in 1603, the first phase of the building as detailed by Berckenrode in 1628, and the complete renovation of the façade by Pieter Rensdorp, finished around 1750. In 1879 the OMHP is occupied by the University of Amsterdam, and is gradually expanded by adding adjacent houses. In 1913 the general renovation of the UQ finished, featuring the 2nd Surgical Clinic & the Sisterhouse as well as the Clinical Hospital. This is not their completion date, but it is a moment in which all buildings making up the Binnengasthuis area are present. Therefore, 1913 is a good date to reconstruct the expanded, now university complex, of OMHP, the 2nd Surgical Clinic & the Sisterhouse as well as the Clinical Hospital. In between 1913 and the late ‘90s, the houses added to OMHP were either demolished and new buildings were constructed (De Schaats) or renovated (Slijkstraat), and both the 2nd Surgical Clinic & the Sisterhouse as well as the Clinical Hospital saw some changes, i.e. addition of the ‘pyramid’ to BG5. By visualizing the state of the buildings in 2020, we will visualize these developments. To contextualize these developments and the moments chosen in time, which are based on the UK as a whole, it is important to show the general development of the area. Therefore, for every proposed reconstruction moment, all the other buildings present in the area will be visualized as grey, simplified, level of detail 1 (LOD1) buildings. This will show the general development of the area, and the spatial relationship between the buildings reconstructed in high detail. In order to visualize the larger historical process from the Monastery area to UQ, the 1544 phase will be visualized in LOD1 to provide peek at the area before the construction of the OMHP.

The central research question is: How do we map and model the enormously large and complex development of the area from the past, present and future, in which we give an interpretation to the identity of the area? The intention is to visualize the entire University Quarter "from monastery to quarter", with extensions to the Doelenstraat, the Vlooienburg area (already finished for the Diaspora and Identity project), the Kloveniersburgwal, including the Bushuis, Oost-Indisch huis and eventually the Nieuwmarkt with the Waag. The scope for this can be all UvA buildings and connecting outdoor space or even wider to the full outline of the UQ and this part of the center of Amsterdam. In the latter case, we are dependent on partnerships with third parties (such as the municipality of Amsterdam and NWO). Collaboration with CREATE and the Amsterdam Time Project is foreseen. This is the reason to start up as a Network group. 

Envisaged results

The UQ is seen as a virtual research lab that offers opportunities for a diverse range of research projects, from graduate theses to large international research grants with PhD projects and research assistants. Facilitating education, research, valorisation and meeting between partners and users. For this purpose, the ways in which the visualization is used (exhibition, website, app) must be open source as much as possible. In addition to user-friendliness, it is therefore important that extensions are possible in collaboration with others. The 4DRL works, within the possibilities of image rights and delivery conditions, in principle and in principle completely open source, and can deliver 3D and GIS files. The intention is to eventually visualize the entire University Quarter "from monastery to quarter". The scope for this can be the UvA buildings and connecting outdoor space or even wider to the full outline of the UQ. That is why there is a 3-phase setup; 1. the building that is already being realized (2nd Surgical Clinic) with funding of AUP, 2. OMHP and BG5, for which an application has been rewarded by funding by HO, and 3. an extension to be determined for which a broader consortium is being sought, and this briefing plus the products of phase 1 and 2 form the basis for it. Phase 1-2 will be processed with the end products available in the beginning of 2022. Phase 3 will be finalized before the delivery of the construction project of UQ, end of 2024. 

Societal relevance

The aim from HO is to create support and visibility for the development of the University Quarter, the buildings and activities of the UvA and in particular the Faculty of Humanities in the UQ. In consultation with all parties, it is discussed whether the visibility can also be made measurable by indicating how many models, documentation, webinars, publications, blog posts, tweets, for example about the visualizations, have been done within a certain period. All products will be available for the public and the City of Amsterdam.  

Research Group Type: Network group 
Duration: 2021-2025 

Group Coordinator(s)

Members of the research group  

Prof. Julia Noordegraaf, FGW UvA 
Prof. Lex Bosman, FGW UvA 
Prof. Wim Hupperetz, FGW UvA 
Prof. Irene Zwiep, FGW UvA 
Dr. Patricia Lulof, FGW UvA 
Dr. Margo Keizer, FGW UvA 
Drs Brenda Baars, HO UvA 
Drs Jitte Waagen, FGW UvA 
Drs Tijm Lanjouw, FGW UvA 

Institutional or professional partners  

• Allard Pierson 
• 4D Research Lab 
• Huisvestingsontwikkeling UvA (HO)