Fig. 792 (p. 952) - The Amsterdam Orphanage was designed by Aldo van Eyck as an example of his ‘Twin Phenomena’, where space became a place and time was transferred to an occasion. The problem of dualism in space was clearly stated by Aldo van Eyck in his contribution to ‘A Miracle of Moderation’ (1968). He made the principle of twinness – gemelliparite – an essential part of his architectural approach (initially inspired by the Dogon cosmology from Mali (Africa).
His ‘Twin Phenomena’ points to the exchangeability of Large and Small Space. The adagium ‘the city is a big house and the house is a small city’ was brought into practice in the building (between 1960 – 1961) of the Burgerweeshuis (Children’s Home/Orphanage) in Amsterdam. The modular building with individual hipped roofs became soon known as the ‘Kafferdorp’ (Cafir Village), indicating that the population understood its African-inspired roots.
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Fig. 792 (p. 952) - First-floor plan of the Amsterdam Orphanage. Fig. 11.1 in: COLEMAN, Nathaniel (2005). Utopias and Architecture. Routledge, Abingdon, Oxon. ISBN 0-415-70084-1
Docill 85; 10428
STRAUVEN, Francis(1994). Aldo van Eyck. Relativiteit en verbeelding. Meulenhoff, Amsterdam. ISB 90 290 8095 7
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