01 2019
January 2019
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25/01 2019

The year in review at Paleis Het Loo

After a winning proposal for renovation and reconstruction of Paleis Het Loo, this January marks the anniversary of starting the construction of the project. Within the year, the groundwork began to make room for the new underground entrance of the museum.

To enable the underground connection to the former palace, the side wings of the building had to be supported by a temporary foundation of steel beams, which made them seemingly floating above ground. Simultaneously, the square in front of the palace is being excavated, to make room for the new entrance facilities and exhibition spaces.

On the inside, operations for removing asbestos are well under way. The interior is being carefully dismantled in order to preserve the original elements from the 1600s but remove the dangerous substance that was placed in the museum during the 1970s. Once the renovation and removal of asbestos are finished, all the pieces will be put back in place.

The completion of the project is set for 2021. Meanwhile, explore the design or watch the year recap video.

Photographs courtesy of Paleis Het Loo.

15/01 2019

‘Non-Super Dutch’ – WA magazine issue curated by Kees Kaan

In order to present the exciting new currents of Dutch architecture, Chinese magazine World Architecture (WA) has invited Kees Kaan to curate the issue aptly titled ‘Non-Super Dutch’.

In his opening statement, Kees Kaan elaborates on the contemporary developments in Dutch building culture: “The Netherlands has an ideal culture for conventional architecture. The cultural consensus here leaves no room for the unbridled creativity of a genius. Property development has been regulated in such a way that all parties involved or tangential to the process have a right to voice their interests or concerns.” By default, this has influenced the role of the architect within that process, making it a role of inspiration, storytelling, conception and management. “Architects have relinquished control as master builders and are not the sole authority on how to build, but are now professional advisors in teams of interested parties,” says Kaan.

Along with Kaan, a group of independent writers – such as Ruud Brouwers, Kirsten Hannema and Yang Zhang, have contributed to revising the iconic, yet outdated notion of ‘Super Dutch’. Moreover, the issue includes a project selection which is completely arbitrary, in order to showcase a diverse range programs and typologies in recent architectural production.

Read the full opening statement here.