National Holocaust Museum
Amsterdam
Architects: Office WinHov // Project scope: 2,500 m² GFA // Completion: 2024 // Awards: BNA Award for Best Building 2025, Amsterdam Architecture Prize 2025
On Sunday 10 March 2024, King Willem-Alexander, in the presence of Prime Minister Rutte, State Secretary Gräper for Culture and Media, and State Secretary Van Ooijen for Health, Welfare and Sport, opened the National Holocaust Museum. It is a museum with a unique history. The Holocaust actually took place here.
The museum in Amsterdam comprises the renovated Hollandsche Schouwburg memorial and the converted Hervormde Kweekschool. ABT provided comprehensive consultancy services, from design through to construction, in the fields of building physics, building services, fire safety, structural engineering and geotechnical engineering.
Persecution of Jews in the Netherlands
The National Holocaust Museum tells the story of the persecution of Jews in the Netherlands. Between 1940 and 1945, on the orders of the German occupiers, Jews in the Netherlands – as well as Roma and Sinti, for example – were systematically discriminated against, persecuted, deported and murdered. Around 102,000 Jews living in the Netherlands were killed in the Holocaust. Through 2,500 objects, rediscovered photographs and films, audio recordings, documents and installations, the museum illustrates the history of the Holocaust in the Netherlands and in the concentration and extermination camps across Europe. The museum also explores the daily lives of Jews prior to the Second World War, the liberation from the perspective of Dutch Jews, and how the Holocaust is addressed in Dutch remembrance culture.
Hollandsche Schouwburg and the Hervormde Kweekschool
The museum comprises two historic buildings in Amsterdam: the Hollandsche Schouwburg as a memorial site and the former Hervormde Kweekschool as a museum; both situated on either side of Plantage Middenlaan. The Hollandsche Schouwburg was built in 1892 and, during the Second World War, was the place where Jewish Amsterdammers were gathered before being transported to transit and extermination camps. In the theatre, children were separated from their parents and taken to the crèche across the street. From the crèche, carers carried hundreds of them over the boundary wall into the garden of the teacher training college. When the tram came to a halt and blocked the view from the theatre, the children were smuggled away to hiding places.
From the 1960s onwards, the former theatre was used as a memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. The auditorium and stage were subsequently demolished. In their place, a courtyard with a memorial spire was created. In 2016, the temporary National Holocaust Museum, then in the process of being established, opened in the former teacher training college. Until early 2020, the public was able to get a first glimpse there of the new, permanent National Holocaust Museum, which is now open
Architecture of the National Holocaust Museum
The renovation and transformation of the buildings was carried out by the architectural firm Office Winhov and ABT. Architect Uri Gilad deliberately chose not to create a dark atmosphere, but rather one of light.
Uri: “Our aim was to make it tangible that Jews were taken away from this very spot in broad daylight.” In the new museum, no tunnel has been created between the buildings. Visitors now follow the same route as the Jewish children did back then, with the tram stop in the middle.
Structures
Michiel IJskes, structural engineer at ABT: “The façade of the former teacher training college has been completely transformed. With the help of Buro Vekemans, the glass façade on the front right has been fitted with a new, white façade featuring so-called Brazilian, openwork brickwork. The façade of the upper floors of the former school has been adapted and fitted with a new roof in the old outline. This looks more like how the former Reformed teacher training college was originally built in 1888.” ABT also carried out investigations into the foundations and floors of the teacher training college. The foundations were found to be in good condition and the floors have been reinforced to withstand the weight of museum visitors.
Installation of thermal energy storage system
Renovation also involves making the building more sustainable. To this end, a thermal energy storage system has been installed. Installing it was quite a challenge, as the unit had to be transported to the enclosed courtyard of the teacher training college. Following very precise calculations by ABT, Bouwbedrijf M.J. de Nijs en Zonen managed to manoeuvre the heavy-duty crane truck through a specially constructed passageway into the fragile historic building.
Installations
New exhibition spaces and an auditorium have also been built in the former teacher training college. Kitty Huijbers, building physics consultant at ABT: “As there was little space for a technical room for this new and the existing building, we fitted it in efficiently between the exhibition space and the auditorium. We can still access it for maintenance or emergencies, but it is certainly different from the norm.”
The building services in the building are arranged vertically due to the lack of space and the desire to retain the clear height of three storeys. Kitty: “We have reintroduced the chimneys, which used to be present in the building, to accommodate the modern pipework. Partial double walls have been constructed to facilitate air distribution within the spaces.”
In collaboration with Urban Scouts (Wijngaarde & Partners), Office WinHov, Bouwbedrijf De Nijs, Klomp B.V., Elektropartners B.V., Meelis & Partners, Huygen, Adviesbureau Vekemans
Scope of services: Building physics, building services engineering, fire protection, structural engineering, geotechnical engineering, safety engineering
Photos © Sander Koning
