Programme and buildings
The UvA has carried out programmatic research into the question of where the University Quarter’s required functions would best come into their own. The Programme of Requirements of users (faculty, dean, students, researchers) plays a role in this, but so does the suitability of the available buildings (spaces and design), their location in the area, and the possibilities and costs of any modifications to the buildings. This study led to the elaboration of the desired distribution of functions.
- The new University Library will bring together the open humanities book collection in a single location. The library offers a wide variety of study places (over 1,000), lecture rooms and event rooms. There will be workspaces for about 100 library staff.
- Building BG5 will be the educational heart of the University Quarter. It will host a large number of lecture rooms, varying from small tutorial rooms to larger lecture rooms. On the ground floor there will be room for students and staff to meet. It will include the central provision of food and drink, linked to the renovated atrium and the exhibition space of the Faculty of Humanities. Some of the faculty’s staff will also be working here.
- The Oudemanhuispoort will house a large number of departments of the Faculty of Humanities as well as several large lecture rooms, smaller tutorial rooms and a central logistical node. Over 1,300 study places for UvA students will be distributed across the University Library, BG5 and the Oudemanhuispoort.
- The BG3 building will be the faculty’s central building, right in the middle of the area. The Education Desks, the Board with the staff office and part of the staff of the Faculty of Humanities will be in this central location.
- The University Theatre will be the ‘theatre of science’, presenting the curriculum and research of the Faculty of Humanities as well as a cultural programme consisting of lectures and meetings for both the academic community and the city.
- The Gasthuiskerk, one of the oldest buildings in the area, will have a wide range of uses as offices and for representation.
- The Allard Pierson manages and presents the heritage collections of the UvA. Its internationally renowned collections in the fields of archaeology, the history of books, cartography, graphic design, Jewish cultural history, zoology and the performing arts make it one of Europe’s foremost heritage collections. As such, the Allard Pierson is a link between the world of the UvA and society. The building includes the museum and the museum cafeteria, lecture rooms, period rooms and the research room.
- The Faculty of Humanities will continue to use buildings BG1 and BG2 for teaching and research.
Chapter 2 of the Strategic Master Plan goes into more detail on the city’s plans (pp. 10-18) in connection with the UvA’s programme for the University Quarter (pp. 20-27), and how these reinforce each other.
