Architecture specialist Bernard Hulsman: ‘You could easily pass it by, but it is a masterpiece’ Aldo van Eyck (1918-1999) was one of the most important Dutch architects.

His sensational Burgerweeshuis from 1960 is internationally regarded as one of the architectural highlights of the last century. It is a labyrinth of pavilions covered with 328 domes, ingeniously grouped around patios. At a time when mass production, rationality and functionalism were the norm in architecture, attention to the human dimension was central to him. By allowing the private and the collective to merge, in which ‘a house became like a city’, he created a safe place where the individual child could live and play. After a professional restoration, the head office and regional office of BPD North-West are now located here, in which the impressive BPD Art collection consisting of (inter)national contemporary art is housed in a harmonious way. Space plays a leading role in the collection, collected since 1976. A selection of the names: Sol Lewitt, Esther Tielemans, Günter Förg, Linda Arts, Michael Jacklin, Daan van Golden. ARTTRA only offers a guided tour of the BPD for groups with a maximum of 15 people through the building and partly along the art collection on the permitted dates and times below. Address IJsbaanpad 1, in Amsterdam South.

Group Duration: 1.5 hours Language: Dutch, German, English  

Participants: maximum 15 per guide

Cost per guide per group: € 175,- ex VAT Dates (other dates are unfortunately not allowed)

Saturday 25 June, 30 July, 27 August, 24 September, 29 October, 26 November and 17 December 2022

Two time slots  only for groups per day

12.00-13.30 with a Dutch-speaking guide

13.00-14.30 with an English-speaking guide