Buildings route

Walking route locations

• 1. Main building

  
  The Main Building - once one of Amsterdam's largest buildings - was officially opened in 1973 by Queen Juliana and Mayor Ivo Samkalden. The style in which the building was made is called Brutalism, although the style choice of the building was chosen for economic reasons rather than ideological ones. The exterior of the Main Building was inspired by the Ruhr-Universität Bochum campus.

  The Main Building has undergone many changes both on the outside and inside. For instance, in early 2000, the front facade was replaced with glass, giving the entrance a more open look. On the inside of the building, fixed workstations have been replaced by flexi-places in open spaces to achieve better use of space, among other things.

  Besides teaching and office spaces, the Main Building also accommodates a restaurant, a church hall, the university library, a bookstore, spaces for student councils and rooms for academic ceremonies. This makes the Main Building the heart of campus life.

• 2. Initium

  The Initium was inaugurated in January 2011. The name Initium: Latin for 'the beginning', has a double meaning. On the one hand, the building is the beginning of the campus for visitors coming from Uilenstede and Buitenveldert. On the other hand, Initium refers to a - for 2011 - new concept of working and studying in which flexible workplaces form the basis.

  The Initium was built in a record time of 9 months for a period of use of 10 to 15 years.

  The Initium houses the Faculty of Law, the Netherlands Study Centre for Crime and Law Enforcement and Taalcentrum VU.

• 3. W&N building

  Although the W&N building did not officially open until 1966, the first lectures were given as early as 1964 - even before the heating did! This is iconic for the time when the W&N was inaugurated. After all, after the Second World War, the VU was struggling with a lack of space that the S&N was supposed to provide a solution for. Nevertheless, increasing student numbers in the 1960s once again created a lack of space. An expansion of the building in the form of the two red floors followed ten years after its opening. Ironically, to this day, the use of space is an important issue within the VU community.

  The W&N building is an iconic VU building. First of all, the building contains possibly one of the longest corridors in the Netherlands (250 metres!). Secondly, the W&N building is home to several student bars. In addition, the building is used by the Science faculty and debate centre 3D.

  In 2025, a large part of W&N building will be demolished and sports fields will be built.

• 4. VU StartHub

  Since October 2022, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam officially has its own hub for startups. This pavilion has room for 25 startups with a connection to VU Amsterdam, for example as students or alumni. With friendly rents and the guidance of 70 VU alumni, it is the ideal place to work on the future for academics.

  Want to know more? Then check out: https://vu-ondernemend.nl/en/vu-starthub/

• 5. MF building

  The MF building was opened in 1967, bringing together all the 'VU doctors' scattered throughout Amsterdam in this building and hospital. Since then, the building has gone through many changes in both use and design.

  The MF building is now used by the Faculty of Medicine, the Faculty of Behavioural and Human Movement Sciences and the Human Performance Lab. In addition, the building is an important meeting location.

• 6. Botanical Garden Zuidas

  In 1967, the Hortus Botanicus was set up for the purpose of education and research at VU Amsterdam. The Botanical Garden Zuidas can be divided into an outdoor area: including a Chinese garden, and a greenhouse complex: with the most extensive cacti and succulents collection in the Netherlands.

  Besides admiring the beautiful plant collection, the Botanical Garden Zuidas also offers the opportunity to buy plants, drink coffee, hold meetings and hold public activities.

• 7. Transitorium

  In terms of architectural style, the concrete Transitorium shares many similarities with the Main Building, but in terms of use it differs considerably. Whereas the Main Building is the heart of the campus, the Transitorium contains the more tucked-away parts of academia. As such, the building is not publicly accessible.

  The building houses the Human Resources Management, Campus Facilities Organisation and Finance departments, among others, making it a true service building. In the past, on the other hand, the building was also used by the hospital and by various faculties for teaching.

  In the summer of 2023, the departments FCO Logistic Centre and Emergency Response have moved to Transitorium. You can now visit the departments through the entrance at Van der Boechorststraat 3.

  Transitorium means 'passage house' in Latin and this meaning is both true and false in the present. Indeed, the Transitorium has had many different functions in its history, but at the same time it is a location that a large part of the VU community never visits.

• 8. New University building

  The New University Building (NU Building) opened in 2021, making it one of the newest additions to the VU campus. The building is characterised by multifunctionality of education, research and culture. For example, the building has a large number of teaching rooms that are transformed into film or theatre halls at the end of the afternoon. In addition, the building has many study workplaces and meeting rooms, but also a bar and an art gallery. The NU building is therefore not only a building for students and staff, but just as much a building for culture lovers.

  During construction, the future was taken into account by using sustainable building materials and smart methods to heat and cool the building. In addition, the building's peat roof contributes to Amsterdam's biodiversity. Finally, the building is unique in the way space has been handled. Thanks to small holes in the walls, it is possible to leave the middle of the building open without sound reverberating through the building.

  Besides education and research, the NU building houses: the Griffioen, Rialto, Art Science Gallery, Bar Boele and Grand Cafe LIVING (formerly The Basket).

• 9. OZW building

  The 'Rode pieper', or Care and Welfare Training Institute (OZW) building is an iconic building in form as in use. The transparent and circular building is easily recognisable on the outside due to its slightly different look compared to the rest of the VU campus. Nevertheless, the colourful interior and playful layout on the inside is just as much of a 'deviation' from the rest of the VU campus.

  Different from the rest of the VU campus, the OZW building is also different thanks to its use. Indeed, after its opening in 2006, it was not only used to teach students, but also HBOs and Mbos. Meanwhile, the MBO students and Inholland University of Applied Sciences have left again. From now on, the building will be used again by VU Amsterdam.

  Besides education, the building also houses the VU Sports Centre and courses run by the Griffioen.