Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ   CENTRE FOR MODERN MUSIC

Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ concert hall combines top performances, accommodating facilities & profound architecture against the impressive views of the IJ. The adjoining Bimhuis offers the best of Jazz - against the glorious backdrop of the IJ harbour & the dramatic cityscape.

Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ has its origins in Muziekcentrum De IJsbreker - a leading international centre for contemporary music for 25 years. The impressive new facilities with variable acoustics have been designed to hold a large concert hall and a small foyer in the impressive design on the IJ harbour.

The building
3XNielsen won the international architectural competition for the new Music Center in Amsterdam: Centre for Modern Music/Bimhuis in 1997.

The design consists of a 'plinth' with the shape of a huge set of stairs with two 'music-boxes'; the Bimhuis for jazz and improvised music, hovering over the plinth, and the heavy IJsbreker for modern music, cutting into the stairs.

Bimhuis
The Bimhuis seats app. 300, the IJsbreker seats app. 800. All elements are unified by a one-story roof sheaf. In the large scale the Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ has weight as an urban landmark facing the IJ, but in close-up the scheme is dissolved into individual elements.

Square to the Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ is a 'black box' on piles with in it the newly built Bimhuis for Jazz and improvisation. A comfortable hall with a spectacular view at the old city and a roomy café with a view at the IJ harbour.