After the handover of the MVRDV-designed Valley from developer Edge to investor RJB Group in November of 2021, Sapiens has cleared the final hurdles to open at the building in 2023. The museum, debate centre, and “workshop of the Anthropocene” has secured the required funding and in February signed the lease for a space in the plinth level of the building in Amsterdam Zuidas. Sapiens now counts among its members the Inholland University of Applied Sciences, Naturalis Biodiversity Center, and the VU University of Amsterdam, who work alongside EDGE, RJB Group, and MVRDV to make the initiative a reality.

At Sapiens, young people in particular will work on concrete projects and initiatives to tackle the enormous questions raised by the climate and biodiversity crisis. Sapiens aims to accelerate solutions for issues such as climate, biodiversity, poverty reduction, mobility, urban environment, governance, financing new cities, other buildings, transport, food, clean drinking water, clean oceans and financing instruments.

Participants of Sapiens from Inholland University of Applied Sciences, Naturalis Biodiversity Center, and the VU University of Amsterdam. Image © Marcel Steinbach

 

The projects developed at Sapiens will be supported by advice from seasoned experts, but young people will be placed in the lead. This applies to the projects, but also to the organisation itself, which will be given shape between now and the Sapiens’ opening in 2023.

"We want to help everyone, and especially young people who are concerned about the livability on our planet for future generations, by making their concerns visible, sharing knowledge, and thinking along what solutions we can find together for a sustainable future," says Naturalis Biodiversity Center general director Edwin van Huis.

Sapiens will occupy a space in the plinth of the mixed-use building, with an entrance located in the grotto, the large interior space at the heart of the building, which is lit by two great skylights that double as water-filled ponds on the publicly accessible valley levels above.

Read more about the design of Valley here.

More information about Sapiens is available at their website.