Guided Tour of Aldo van Eyck's Burgerweeshuis: Landmark Architecture in Amsterdam

Explore Aldo van Eyck’s significant Burgerweeshuis building in Amsterdam, a mid-century architectural highlight known for its human-scale design and pavilion structure. This guided tour delves into the building's history, its innovative architecture, and the BPD Art Collection housed within. The tour is conducted in English.

This guided tour offers an in-depth exploration of the Burgerweeshuis, designed by architect Aldo van Eyck (1918-1999), a pivotal work in Dutch architectural history and an internationally recognized architectural highlight of the last century. Originally built in 1955 to house orphans, the building is characterized by its labyrinthine pavilions covered with 328 domes, ingeniously grouped around patios. Van Eyck's design prioritized the human scale, merging private and collective spaces under the motto 'a house like a city, a city like a house' to create a secure environment for children. The building, completed in 1960, served as a children's home until 1991 before undergoing restoration. Since 2018, it has housed the headquarters of area developer BPD Bouwfonds Gebiedsontwikkeling, which also maintains an impressive art collection within the building. The tour visits the first floor and, via stairs, the second floor, showcasing artworks from the BPD collection that connect with the building’s design principles such as structuralism, the indoor-outdoor relationship, human scale, and color.

Tickets for this guided tour must be purchased in advance via the website. The tour is conducted in English and lasts approximately 1.5 hours, starting at 13:00. Please note that only the first floor is accessible with a wheelchair and/or walker.