When the 19th century building of the Amsterdam Cantonal Court was threatened to be demolished in order to build an eight-storey Bouweshotel in the late 1970s, Amsterdammers, including politician Hedy d'Ancona and artist Wim T. Schippers, launched the campaign "Bouw es wat anders" to prevent this from happening. The city council was persuaded, and a good destination for the building was found in art center De Balie in 1982.
As the 19th-century Amsterdam Court building faced demolition in the late 1970s to construct an eight-story Bouweshotel, Amsterdammers Hedy d'Ancona and Wim T. Schippers spearheaded a "Build Something Else" initiative to thwart this plan. The city council was convinced, and by 1982, a fitting site for the building had been found in De Balie art center.