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31/10 2018

B30 featured in the Grote Nederlandse Kunstkalender 2019

Every year the Grote Nederlandse Kunstkalender provides a cross section of the current art scene, and the newest issue will feature the work by KAAN Architecten. This year’s edition will be presented during a launch party on Friday, 2 November at Het Industriegebouw. 

Marked under the date 13 June 2019 of the new calendar is B30 – a historical building in Bezuidenhoutseweg 30 in The Hague, now transformed into a contemporary and state-of-the-art working environment. The original building acts a vital and sustainable component of the total design brought to life by use of rich materials and clear layouts. 

As such, the renovation process relied heavily on the expertise of the craftsmen who supplied their skills during the construction. In their honor, under the photograph by Karin Borghouts, the calendar also features a short ‘Ode to the Craft’ by KAAN Architecten founding partner Dikkie Scipio:

Ode to the Craft

This is an ode to the craftsmanship of
the carpenters, the painters, the plasterers and the tilers,
of the natural stone workers, the bricklayers and concrete makers,
from road workers, metalworkers, parquet layers and glass-workers,
from the mosaic layers, the furniture makers, upholsterers and carpet weavers.
This is an ode to the creators without whom we were left empty-handed.
This is an ode to the craft.

-Dikkie Scipio

Find more information on the calendar here.

26/10 2018

Construction starts on Zalmhaven in Rotterdam

On 25 October, 2018 construction started on De Zalmhaven residential complex on a site adjacent to the former eponymous port in the center of Rotterdam.

De Zalmhaven is developed by AM & Amvest and consists of approximately 450 high-quality apartments located inside two mid-rise towers (by KAAN Architecten) and a skyscraper (by Dam & Partners). The project is expected to be completed by 2021.

Combining both urban and local scales, the new complex feels stately and formal yet also extremely transparent. The two mid-rise towers designed by KAAN Architecten are each 70 metres tall, sprouting from a solid plinth with clearly marked entrances. The footprint of each tower is a split and shifted square, creating more corners and an interesting range of apartments in differing sizes, all with corner windows offering astounding views. The plinth includes family houses with rooftop gardens and has a direct relationship with the surroundings at ground level.

Explore the full design here.

 

22/10 2018

KAAN Architecten to design Margraten Visitor Center

KAAN Architecten was appointed by the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) to design the Visitor Center at Netherlands American Cemetery (NEAC) in Margraten after a competitive contracting process.

The new visitor center will be a product of an integrated design process dedicated to creating an effective and efficient facility with the attention to the landscape. KAAN Architecten will take the lead on the design and collaborate with the landscape architecture firm Karres+Brands. Furthermore, the design process will be supported by DGMR, Pieters Bouwtechniek, HP Engineers and B3 Bouwadviseurs.

The Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial is the only American military cemetery in the Netherlands. Situated in the Limburg region, close to Maastricht and the Belgian border, it represents a significant site within the Dutch territory. The cemetery honors and protects the burials of 8,301 American military dead with another 1,722 names inscribed on the Tablets of the Missing, and provides an opportunity for families of the soldiers, local inhabitants and others affected by the war to commemorate those buried in the cemetery, and to learn about the dynamics leading to the liberation of Europe. For this reason, ABMC plans to enhance the understanding of the NEAC by constructing a visitor center with interpretative exhibits at the cemetery which will complement the site in both style and dignity.

16/10 2018

Meet the nominees of De Meester!

Organized by the Fleur Groenendijk Foundation in collaboration with Rotterdam Academy of Architecture and Urban Design and under the guidance of Dikkie Scipio, the De Meester award serves to highlight and promote work of young architecture graduates in the Netherlands.

In less than two weeks, this years nominees will present their projects in front of the jury in order to win the title of De Meester. Led by chairman Dikkie Scipio, the jury is comprised of the journalist and author Tracy Metz, architect Bjarne Mastenbroek, urban planner Karen van Vliet, and Rotterdam Festivals director Johan Moerman. All nominated projects address topical issues of urban life while questioning the disciplines of architecture and urban planning.

The graduation project of Nina van Osta focuses on elderly people with physical or mental disabilities which are often marginalized by the community and forced to live in less than adequate conditions. The project offers an alternative in the form of a pleasant and safe living environment where the elderly can lead their lives as independently and actively as possible and where care facilities, activities and social relations are within reach.

On the other hand, nominee Jurian Voets forms an alternative to the ‘Living Vision 2030’, in which the municipality of Rotterdam actively encourages gentrification without showing a vision of suitable urban housing for existing and future residents. This alternative is the ‘intense city’, the city where living together and meeting are central, where high density and diversity of people lead to more variety, a rich level of amenities and a healthy local economy.

Finally, nominee Bram van Ooijen responds to the refugee crisis as an urban problem of the twenty first century. Based on this, Bram formulates a strategy on the basis of which the refugee camp can develop from the state of exception into an inclusive urban district. The project investigates the possible future for a Palestinian refugee settlement, which in 2017 was still dependent on international aid.

Interested to know more? Join the De Meester 2018 event and award ceremony on 31 October 2018, at Garage Rotterdam, for an evening of dynamic discussions and new ideas. Register to attend the event here.

09/10 2018

Opening of the Crematorium Siesegem

A grand opening was held on 6 September, 2018 at the recently completed crematorium in Aalst, Belgium.

Just three months after completing the Utopia Library and Academy for performing arts in Aalst, KAAN Architecten added another landmark to their Belgian opus right at the edge of the same city. Recently finished Crematorium Siesegem was opened in a lavish ceremony with several hundred visitors.

Former Westlede director Kris Coenegrachts and the mayor of Aalst, Christoph D’Haese gave inaugural speeches, while KAAN Architecten founding partner Vincent Panhuysen presented the design.

Visitors participated in a guided tour, where they explored the building and the landscape, as well as learned about the cremation process and ceremony. See the atmosphere from the opening event in a photo reportage by Sebastian van Damme.

Full release of the project is set for November. In the meantime, find out more about the design here.

 

08/10 2018

A crematorium in a park

Recently opened Crematorium Siesegem by KAAN Architecten is set in a vast cultivated landscape outside Aalst, Belgium designed by Erik Dhont.

In order to disengage from the surrounding commercial estates, the site was transformed with physical and visual barriers. Trees and shrubs line the perimeter while the crematorium is situated in the middle, with a footprint of 74 by 74 meters. The surrounding greenery is envisioned as an extension of the crematorium space and is an important part of the funeral ceremony.

Upon arrival, undulating hills emerge from the ground among the parking areas, while a dynamic landscape spreads to the east articulated by natural flora development on the sloping topography. The hills for scattering the ashes and the urn garden rise along the northern facade, bringing the landscape into the ceremonial proceedings. This cohesive relationship between the building and the nature is essential, and will only become stronger when the final form of the new landscape expresses its full potential after a few seasons.

The goal was to design a building capable of internalizing the landscape so that its tranquility could console visitors and provide strength. This is also why interior spaces are strategically oriented within the landscape to create enclosed patios blurring the distinction between interior and exterior.

Full release of the project is set for November. In the meantime, find out more about the design here. Photographs courtesy of Jean Pierre Gabriel.