Jet Bussemaker, Dutch Minister of Education, Culture and Science officially opened the EYE Collection Centre in Amsterdam-North. The cepezed-designed Depot Amsterdam, also referred to as Dam Depot, is the Netherlands’ first commercial storage for cultural collections newly built for this purpose.
Located near the EYE film museum building at the IJ river, Depot Amsterdam offers EYE film institute a new archive and atelier where its film collection can be stored, restored and digitised using the latest techniques. The approximately 5.800m2 complex has the perfect storage conditions for the film institute’s collections, which were previously spread out over several locations with insufficient facilities.
Arup designed the new centre’s building physics, acoustics and fire safety in close collaboration with the team partners. The building contains eleven depots of 300 m2 each, of which EYE is currently using eight. The various climate conditions in the several depots make the complex an extraordinary place. Using a 'box-in-a-box' building system, the temperature is adjustable per module, enabling conservation by freezing or drying films.
The design meets the very specific requirements of acoustic insulation of the cinema, the adjustable climate and lighting in the ateliers, where the sensitive film materials can be treated and restored. The fire strategy is set to secure the building from the flammable materials and the restoration chemicals.
A multifunctional room with 35 seats facilitates workshops on film conservation and specialist viewings of films from the collection, which includes 40,000 movies. The archive building will serve as a modern expert centre, in which the international audience of scientists and film makers can study the collection by appointment.