The PC Hoofthuis is an educational building of the University of Amsterdam in central Amsterdam, Netherlands. Built between 1976 and 1983, it is considered one of the primary works of the Dutch architect

Theo Bosch Theo is a given name and a hypocorism. Greek origin Many names beginning with the root "Theo-" derive from the Ancient Greek word ''theos'' (''θεός''), which means god, for example: *Feminine names: Thea, Theodora, Theodosia, Theophania, ...

, completed in association with

Aldo Van Eyck Aldo van Eyck (; 16 March 1918 – 14 January 1999) was a Dutch architect. He was one of the most influential protagonists of the architectural movement Structuralism. Family He was born in Driebergen, Utrecht, a son of poet, critic, essayist ...

. It currently houses lecture halls for the Faculty of Humanities, much like the historic

Bungehuis The Bungehuis is a monumental office building on the Spuistraat, Amsterdam, built in 1934. In 1971 the building was rented by the University of Amsterdam, which used it to house the department of humanities and later purchased it. The building is ...

building down the street on the Spuistraat. It is named after the historian, poet and playwright Pieter Corneliszoon Hooft (1581-1647), because the former home In den Huypot of the Hooft family stood at this location.

History and Design

Until 1979, the site of the PC Hoofthuis was occupied by the former Twentsche Bank, built in 1874, which merged in 1964 with the

Algemene Bank Nederland Algemene Bank Nederland (ABN, "General Bank of the Netherlands") was a Dutch bank that was created in 1964 through the merger of the Netherlands Trading Society ( nl, Nederlandsche Handel-Maatschappij, NHM, est. 1824) with the (TB, est. 1861). I ...

. Van Eyck and Bosch worked on the building together until they dissolved their partnership under design disagreements in 1982; Bosch subsequently finished the building the next year alone. Among students, the building is popularly nicknamed “Het huis van de kobolden” (The home of the goblins). The building is controversial. Enthusiasts insist that it is open and accessible, while others have reputedly called it “the ugliest building on the street.” The interior is striking for its open original plan. Lecture rooms sit on either side of the corridors and are separated from the hallways by a glass wall, which makes them easy to see into. In fact, the glass partitions between the lecture halls and corridors did not exist originally, as the intention was that one could catch various fragments of lectures while walking down the corridors and decide whether one wanted to keep listening. This scheme was abandoned when it became apparent that the lectures would be disturbed by the noise in the corridors, which must have also made it more difficult for the audience to hear the lecture. Lecture halls are located on the first to the seventh floors and the offices of various departments are also located in the building. The first and second floors also contain a portion of the Arts Library, which a study center is located on the ground floor and the third floor contains a

canteen {{Primary sources, date=February 2007 Canteen is an Australian national support organisation for young people (aged 12–25) living with cancer; including cancer patients, their brothers and sisters, and young people with parents or primary carers ...

. In the basement is a

bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-powered assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist. Bic ...

storage and fitness center. As part of the University of Amsterdam protests in the fall of 2018, on 28 September the PC Hoofthuis was occupied by students.Archipedia
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External links

References

{{University of Amsterdam University of Amsterdam