The University Quarter of the UvA has a long, unique history. Not so long ago, right up until the 1980s, a hospital was housed there: the Binnengasthuis, which was the largest hospital in Amsterdam's city centre for four centuries.

However, the story of the area goes back much further. Over the centuries, it has also housed, among other things, a convent and an oudemannen- en vrouwenhuis (retirement home for poor men and women). In order to bring this rich history to life, the 4D Research Lab of the UvA mapped out the area in a unique way.

Bringing together all knowledge

Using historical sources, such as photos, construction drawings and maps, the researchers were able to work out very precisely what these buildings must have looked like over the centuries – from broad outlines to small details in masonry, facades and roofs. In addition, they focused on three buildings in the University Quarter: the Oudemanhuispoort, BG5 and the new University Library.

View the reconstructions and read the stories:

‘These reconstruction are more than just pictures showing what it used to look like: they bring together all our current building-historical and art-historical knowledge about these UvA buildings’, says Tijm Lanjouw of the 4D Research Lab. ‘Through their visual power, they show how much the built environment and our use of it have changed over the past centuries – and in the last 100 years alone.'

Walk through the surgical theatre

For example, you can see how the Oudemanhuispoort has transformed over the centuries from oudemannen- en vrouwenhuis  to the current UvA building. Apart from that, we can see what the BG5, which was originally built as a state-of-the-art hospital, looked like before the building was covered with the famous glass pyramid in 1988.

Another highlight: take a look what at the surgical theatre of the former Binnengasthuis would have looked like more than 120 years ago – when operations were still performed under the watchful eye of medical students. A nice detail is that the same space will soon be transformed into a modern lecture hall in the new University Library.

In addition to the past, the stories also focus on what the future of the building will look like, and how the long history of the buildings will continue to play an important role therein.

About the project

The University Quarter houses a unique concentration of humanities institutes of the UvA and the KNAW, and has been designated by the City of Amsterdam as one of the city's Innovation Districts. The area forms the home base for the Amsterdam Humanities Hub, in which UvA, KNAW and the municipality work together. In the future, the entire Faculty of Humanities of the UvA will be concentrated in the area.

The historical reconstructions of the University Quarter are the result of a collaboration between various parts of the UvA: the 4D Research Lab, the Real Estate Development department, the Faculty of Humanities and the University Library. The idea for the project came from Patricia Lulof and Lex Bosman of the 4D Research Lab.