Jan Jaap Kuiper

In 2024, the iconic Rietveld Schröder House in Utrecht will celebrate its 100th anniversary. Gerrit Rietveld designed and built the house in close collaboration with his secret lover and creative partner Truus Schröder. Rietveld himself did not build his houses for eternity; he thought a life cycle of 50 years was sufficient. But the current owners of houses designed by Rietveld think differently about this. They pull out all the stops to renovate and preserve their Rietveld houses.

‘De Verrekijker’ primary school in Katwijk provides education for some 150 children from the local reception centre for refugees. The inspired teachers’ ultimate challenge is to offer these children a safe haven and make their school days as ordinary as possible. At first glance, De Verrekijker looks like a normal Dutch primary school. However, the boys and girls are children of rejected asylum seekers. Headmaster Toon and the teachers do all they can to give them the best education. Yet each morning they worry if any pupil has been forced to leave the country. After a series of deportations it becomes increasingly difficult to provide the children with a safe haven. The situation escalates when a group of Syrian boys fleeing war arrive at the school.