Institute for Sound and Vision

Neutelings Riedijk architecten

Hilversum, Media Parkboulevard 1

1999-2006

Neutelings – Riedijk architects

When we passed Hilversum a few months ago, I wanted to visit this museum. This building was designed by Neutelings and Riedijk architects, the architects of the MAS. I have a map on my computer where I indicate what I still want to visit. This way I see immediately when we go somewhere that we can visit even more … The building was interesting, the facade and the atrium, but the exhibition itself was a bit disappointing. Mainly because it is very focused on children and the construction is also somewhat chaotic. I don’t know if these two have anything to do with each other? If you pass by, I would recommend you pop in and have something to eat or drink in the auditorium. The exhibition was not worth the time. Also be careful because the underground parking is charged.

Institute for sound and vision

Facade

The building is surrounded by colored glass panels. These are abstracted historical film and television images. Among other things, the burning Twin Towers can be seen. 768 archive images are distributed over 2244 glass panels throughout the entire building. Jaap Drupsteen‘s design is comparable to stained glass windows. To be able to clean them, the panels can be turned. At the offices there are transparent panels between them so that employees have enough daylight.

Building

The building measures 54 meters by 54 meters and has a height of 26 meters. The public atrium is located between the office section and the Sound and Vision Experience. The depots or storage sites are underground, as the literal foundation of the organization. The office part is lined with photos of exceptional people from the film, television and radio world, a kind of Wall of Fame. The stair-shaped Experience is covered with silver-colored plates, based on a sequin dress by Paco Rabanne. This also contains the largest metal truss in Europe in 2006: 54 meters by 8 meters. This supports the part of the Experience.

The water in the pond in the garden mainly serves as extinguishing water for the archives. The building also has nicknames: the candy box and the glass container. 

Depot

The depots are 16 meters and 5 storeys underground. At the entrance this can be seen through a kind of canyon. The shape of this is inspired by a necropolis, where the dead are buried in walls. The audiovisual material is also dead, until it is brought to life in machines. This is comparable to the city of the dead in the MAS, the spiral that runs upwards. Because different materials are stored, different climate zones have been created. The temperature ranges from 12 to 19 degrees and has a different humidity. Only color films (now in The Hague) and nitrate films (due to fire safety in a bunker in Scheveningen) are not in these depots.