On Keizersgracht stands a building that you don't just walk past. Felix Meritis, founded in 1788 by forty founding members who believed that merit makes you happy, is now more than 235 years later still exactly that: a place for people who are working on something. Scientists, artists, entrepreneurs, thinkers. The name is Latin, the institution is rooted in the Jordaan, and its ambitions extend beyond the canal.
After a four-year renovation, the building reopened in 2021. MATH Architects provided the architecture, i29 provided the interior. What they have done is clever: the historic shell remained completely intact, but inside, new installations and acoustic facilities are recognizably inserted as new. So you can see exactly what is old and what is new. That's a choice, and a good one. The building has 4,500 square meters and is in the UNESCO-classified canal district, although that says something about the location but not necessarily about what's inside.
A special feature of the renovation is the Husly Lounge. That was once the office space of the CPN, the Communist Party of the Netherlands, and has now been converted into a colorful garden room with a new overhead light. The name is a nod to the building's history; the result is simply a nice space to be in. A special Felix Meritis chair was also designed: stackable, comfortable and in keeping with its surroundings. Details like that tell you something about how seriously the whole thing has been thought through.
Felix Meritis wants to be a haven for multi-voiced stories, and that is not an empty promise: it is ingrained in the choices made there.
Felix Meritis is part of Amerpodia, a network of three culture houses that also includes the Rode Hoed and De Nieuwe Liefde. This gives it a position in a broader infrastructure of culture in the city. Please note that not all rooms are wheelchair accessible. Those who want to visit the building will find it on Keizersgracht, in the middle of one of the most beautiful parts of the city. But this is not about the facade. It is about what is thought, made and discussed inside.