Streets, squares, parks, a museum and a museum house together form the Van Eesteren Museum in Amsterdam Slotermeer, where visitors are introduced to the heritage of Cornelis van Eesteren.
What makes the Van Eesteren Museum, which opened in October 2010, unique is that the entire Western Garden Cities are the actual museum. This open-air museum owes its existence to a group of involved local residents and volunteers. In 2007, the neighbourhoods on either side of Burgemeester De Vlugtlaan in Slotermeer were designated as areas where heritage should be preserved. The spatial plan of Cor van Eesteren and Jacoba Mulder is still tangible and largely unchanged.
In this neighbourhood, the Van Eesteren Pavilion (Burgemeester Noordzijde 31, 1064 GV Amsterdam), which opened in October 2017, forms the heart of the Van Eesteren Museum, where there is space for changing exhibitions and a permanent exhibition on Cornelis van Eesteren and the construction of Amsterdam Nieuw-West. The museum is the starting point for tours of the neighbourhood. In addition, lectures and debates are organised about heritage, the renewal of the Garden Cities and all related themes.
At number 27 in Freek Oxstraat, a house has been furnished according to the principles of the Stichting Goed Wonen (Good Living Foundation) from the 1950s. After the Second World War, idealistic architects, designers and manufacturers strived for a home layout in which every member of the family could develop to their full potential.
The museum is open on Fridays, Saturdays and the first Sunday of the month from 11 am to 5 pm. The museum house is open on the same days from 13.00-17.00. On these days, there are guided tours of the area and the museum house (from 1.30 p.m.) and of the outdoor museum (from 2 p.m.).
The Van Eesteren Museum is supported by Stadsdeel Amsterdam Nieuw-West, the EFL Foundation, the Stimuleringsfonds voor de Creatieve Industrie, De Alliantie and Stichting Doen, among others.
Van Eesteren Museum
Noordzijde 31
1064 GV Amsterdam
Tel: 020 447 1857
For more information, please visit http://vaneesterenmuseum.nl/nl/home/.
Photo above left: Sloterplas, by Iwan Daniëls
