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Forest House living heritage

In Forest House, history meets the modern world. Visitors get a taste of a historic piece of Amsterdam by walking through an open enclosure, in which animals move about freely all around them.

The 2011 renovation restored original details of Forest House, such as the cast-iron structures and conservatory.

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A progressive design

Forest House was designed by B.J. Ouëndag in 1908, and was one of the first ARTIS buildings to feature a lot of cast iron. The industrial revolution enabled the combination of cast-iron frames with thicker glass, making it possible to build innovative structures such as the canopy of Forest House. This progressive design ensured that an ideal environment could be maintained, in which plants and animals from warmer climates could survive the winter.

From classic enclosure to modern experience

The original interior of Forest House consisted of a visitor path flanked on both sides by enclosures accommodating a variety of primate species. Orangutans and other great apes lived in the middle section, and white-handed gibbons outside. After extensive renovations in 2010-2011, Forest House is now a walk-through enclosure in which the animals move freely throughout the building. Visitors can experience small primates, sloths and birds up close in a jungle-like environment – a unique blend of history and innovation.

From past to present

built in
1908
designed by
B.J. Ouëndag
formerly inhabited by
different species of primates
now home to
emperor tamarins, sloths, porcupines, pygmy marmosets, sakis and various bird species

The first Forest House at ARTIS

The first Forest House at ARTIS, designed by architect F. Markelbach, opened in 1851. Several species of primates lived there, arriving on ships from the Dutch East Indies. Captains received a membership in exchange for their donations. This building can be seen in the oldest known photograph of ARTIS, taken around 1853-1855.

Mafuka

In 1911, a young chimpanzee named Mafuka came to live in Forest House. ARTIS staff at the time realised that Mafuka was not a ‘normal chimpanzee’. This was later confirmed when Mafuka turned out to be a bonobo, a species not recognised by Western science until 1929.