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About

KAAN Architecten is an international architectural practice engaged in context-specific, timeless designs spanning a broad range of scales and typologies in both the private and public sectors.

Founded and led by Kees Kaan, Vincent Panhuysen, Dikkie Scipio, the office is based in Rotterdam, Netherlands, supported by satellite offices in Paris and São Paulo. Nearly forty years of experience and a diverse international team shape a dynamic, culturally rich work environment.

The firm’s approach centers on an architecture of dialogue, embracing an inclusive, relational understanding to the surrounding world, fostering meaningful connections within its growing complexity.


Among the most prominent completed projects are large-scale, complex structures such as the Netherlands Forensic Institute and the Courthouse Amsterdam; cultural landmarks including the the transformation of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp (KMSKA); and smaller, intimate buildings like Crematorium Sieseigem or the Loenen Pavilion.

Recently, KAAN Architecten completed the Education Centre for the University of Groningen and JUMP, a large-scale, versatile building in Aubervilliers, Paris.

Currently, the office is engaged in several high-profile projects across Europe. Among them are the new terminal at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, the refurbishment of the National Bank of Belgium in Brussels, a 155m tower in the city center of Rotterdam, a laboratory and office building at CERN in Geneva, the renovation of the Paul-Henri Spaak building at the European Parliament in Brussels.

Research and education are integral to the practice, with partners and team members actively engaging in teaching and academic exchange.

The office maintains close ties with TU Delft, where Kees Kaan has long been Professor of Architectural Design and initiator of the Complex Projects Chair, and where Vincent Panhuysen is Visiting Professor within the AE+T department. Since 2019, Dikkie Scipio has held the Chair of Architectural Design at the Münster University of Applied Sciences in Germany.

This collective engagement sustains a continuous dialogue between academia and practice, with many team members contributing to education and numerous graduates from TU Delft and other institutions becoming part of the office.

KAAN Architecten’s work is defined by an equilibrium of clarity and complexity—an architecture of dialogue that seeks coherence amid competing demands. Each project emerges from what the office calls the critical design space: the overlap of truth, agreement, and practice where multiple voices converge through a shared narrative. The resulting buildings are both rational and expressive—precise in geometry, rigorous in craft, and rooted in a civic sense of permanence.

The firm's work has garnered numerous international awards for architectural excellence and has been widely featured in various publications and exhibitions. In 2022, KAAN Architecten released its monographic publication, “Portraits”, presenting fifteen of its major built works as distinct yet related characters. Each project embodies its own identity through the nurturing process of building narratives.

This reflects the practice’s broader way of working, where strong narratives structure the design process, aligning many voices, preserving coherence, and guiding projects as they evolve.

Kees Kaan

Kees Kaan is an architect and professor of Architectural Design at TU Delft. Trained at the same university, he later initiated the Complex Projects Chair on large-scale architecture and urbanisation. He chaired the Architecture Department from 2019 to 2024 and serves as Principal Investigator at the Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions (AMS). He has led large, multifaceted commissions that demand clarity and coherence, qualities at the core of his method of building narratives that align people, processes and decisions through design and delivery. Practice and academia are tightly linked in his work, grounded in analytical precision and a belief in architecture’s cultural role. Beyond teaching and research, he lectures internationally and serves on juries and boards in the Netherlands and abroad. In 2024, he was inducted as a member of the Académie d’Architecture.

Vincent Panhuysen

Vincent Panhuysen is an architect and visiting professor at TU Delft. Trained in woodcraft, industrial design, and architecture, he combines conceptual clarity with technical precision, ensuring continuity from idea to construction. His design approach emphasises functionality, spatial quality, and calm organisation, creating architecture that is both direct and enduring. With a keen understanding of context and a rigorous sense of proportion, he translates ambitious programmes into clear, generous spaces that encourage openness and dialogue. Alongside his professional work, Panhuysen lectures internationally on design process and contextual sensitivity, sharing his experience in public and institutional projects and nurturing thoughtful collaboration between clients, consultants, users and stakeholders. In 2015, his guidance in the renovation of the Provinciehuis of North Brabant was recognised with the Commissarispenning, a medal of merit from the Commissioner of the King.

Dikkie Scipio

Dikkie Scipio is an architect and professor of Architectural Design at the Münster University of Applied Sciences. Trained in applied arts, industrial design, and architecture, she leads projects ranging from urban plans to interiors, with a particular focus on museums, heritage, and craftsmanship. Her work explores the intersection of expansion and preservation, where historical layers are reinterpreted through a contemporary lens. Deeply engaged with the concept of beauty and the expressive potential of materials, Scipio’s approach combines sensitivity with precision, creating architecture that honours both time and place. In addition to her professional practice, she writes, lectures internationally, and serves on several boards and juries. In 2023, she was named Woman Architect of the Year by the Prix des Femmes Architectes, recognising her influence on architectural culture and her contribution to public discourse.

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Awards

2026
Shortlist EU Mies Award 2026 – Museum Paleis Het Loo
2025
Winner Schreudersprijs – Museum Paleis Het Loo
Shortlist Frame Awards 2025 (Cultural Space of the Year) – Eco-Museum and Orla Piratininga Park
Nomination Architectenweb Awards (School Building of the Year) – Education Centre University of Groningen
Nomination Groninger Architectuurprijs – Education Centre University of Groningen
Nomination BNA Award, Identity and Iconic Value – Netherlands American Cemetery Visitor Center
2024
Winner Prix Versailles Museums 2024 – Museum Paleis Het Loo
Shortlist Rotterdam Architectuurprijs 2024 – The Lobby, Crystal House
Nomination ArchDaily Building of the Year (Offices) – iCampus
Nomination Dezeen Awards 202, Cultural project – Netherlands American Cemetery Visitor Center
Special commendation European Museum of the year 2024 (EMYA) – Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp
2023
Winner Cultural Building of the Year (Public vote), Archello Awards 2023 – Museum Paleis Het Loo
Winner Hugo Häring Preis, Neckar-Alb district – Geo- and Environmental Centre (GUZ)
Finalist World Green Infrastructure Award – Parque Orla Piratininga (POP)
Nomination Dezeen Awards 2023, Architecture Heritage project – Museum Paleis Het Loo
2022
Winner International Architecture Awards 2022 – Courthouse Amsterdam
Nomination Simon Prize 2022 – Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp
Nomination DAM Preis – GUZ Tübingen
Nomination ArchDaily Building of the Year (Offices) – De Walvis
Nomination ArchDaily Building of the Year (Housing) – Ilot13
2021
Winner Macael Award – Loenen Pavilion
Winner ABB LEAF Awards (Best Arts & Culture Building Project) – Utopia
Finalist ARC2021 Award – Courthouse Amsterdam
Nomination EU Mies Award 2021 – CMA, Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp, Courthouse Amsterdam
Nomination Architectenweb Awards (Office Building of the Year) – De Walvis
Shortlist Frame Awards 2021 (Governmental Interior of the Year) – Crematorium Siesegem
2020
Winner Prix d’architectures 2020 – CMA Hauts-de-France
Winner S.ARCH 2020 Completed – CMA Hauts-De-France
Shortlist Dezeen Awards 2020, Civic and cultural interior – Crematorium Siesegem
Shortlist S.ARCH 2020, Conceptual design – Amsterdam Airport Schiphol Terminal
2019
Winner Beste Bibliotheek van Vlaanderen en Brussel 2019/2020 – Utopia
Winner ADC Awards (Higher Education – ISMO
Winner The PLAN Award (Public space – Completed projects) – Crematorium Siesegem
Nomination EU Mies Award 2019 – Utopia
Nomination EU Mies Award 2019 – ISMO
Nomination Abe Bonnema Architectuurprijs 2019 – CUBE
Nomination Schoolgebouw van het Jaar 2019 Architectenweb Awards – CUBE
2018
Winner International Architecture Awards – Amsterdam Airport Schiphol Terminal
Winner Marmomac Stone Award – Supreme Court of the Netherlands
Winner Frame Awards (Governmental Interior of the Year – Public’s Choice) – B30
Nomination Oscar Niemeyer Award – Campus UAM Piracicaba
Nomination NRP Gulden Feniks (Renovatie) – B30

Exhibitions & Publications

2023
Unausgesprochenes Wissen/Unspoken Knowledge/Le (savoir) non-dit, ETH Zurich (CH)
The New Together – PLATFORM Architecture Festival, Venice (IT)
Reflections – Renewing Paleis Het Loo, Rotterdam: nai010 publishers
The Courthouse: Architecture for the Public Good, Rotterdam: nai010 publishers
2022
The Making Of – Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp (BE)
The Auto Drives Architecture, Bilbao (ES)
L'Architecture Manifeste, Rennes (FR)
Bridging Time – The renovation of the KMSKA, Rotterdam: nai010 publishers
PORTRAITS 15 Buildings – KAAN Architecten, Zurich: Park Books
2019
Shenzhen Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism\Architecture, "Eyes of the City", Shenzhen (CN)
Dedalo Minosse Prize Exhibition – Basilica Palladiana, Vicenza (IT)
2018
2A Continental Architectural Awards Exhibition – IAAC, Barcelona (ES)
Model Agency – ARCAM, Amsterdam (NL)
A look into aviation terminals of the future – The Base, Schiphol (NL)
2017
Dedalo Minosse Prize Exhibition – Palazzo Chiericati, Vicenza (IT)
Daglicht Architectuur – Borneo Architecture Centre, Amsterdam (NL)
2016
One Mould – Galería Tiro al Blanc, Guadalajara (MX)
Where modern justice lives – United Kingdom Supreme Court, London (UK)
Procesos – Bienal Internacional de Arquitectura de Argentina, Córdoba (AR)
Are we human? – Istanbul Design Biennial, Istanbul (TR)
EU Prize for Contemporary Architecture, Mies van der Rohe Award – Wroclaw Architecture Centre, Wroclaw (PL) /
Architektur Zentrum Wien, Vienna (AT) / DAM, Frankfurt (DE) / La Triennale di Milano, Milan (IT)
2015
EU Prize for Contemporary Architecture, Mies van der Rohe Award – MUHBA Oliva Artes Centre, Barcelona (ES) /
BOZAR, Brussels (BE) / Wroclaw Architecture Centre, Wroclaw (PL)
Belgian Architecture – VAI Flemish Architecture Institute, Antwerp (BE)
2014
PLANTA Collateral Event, 14th International Architecture Exhibition – la Biennale di Venezia, Venice (IT)
City as a Vision: tribute to Michel Ragon – Frac Centre: Les Turbulences, Orléans (FR)
Philippe Rotthier Prize, CIVA – Fondation pour l’Architecture, Brussels (BE)
Paris-Saclay, le Futur en Chantier(s) – La Maison de l’Architecture en Île de France, Paris (FR)

People

  • Darta Adamsone

  • Bridggit Agyeman

  • Ekin Arin

  • Allard Assies

  • Pooja Bahve

  • Bas Barendse

    Bas Barendse

    ASSOCIATE ARCHITECT

    Bas Barendse is an Associate Architect at KAAN Architecten, focusing on projects of varying scale from pavilions and educational buildings to public-private collaborations and urban redevelopment initiatives. He guides projects through all phases, safeguarding architectural quality while coordinating multidisciplinary teams. He finds as much spirit and inspiration in organising clear, high-quality and functional building layouts as in the perfection one can find in the details of a project, and this pursuit of coherence drives his work. His portfolio includes Utopia library and education building in Aalst, the Visitor Center of the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten, the Supreme Court of the Netherlands in The Hague, and the laboratory campus for TNO Ypenburg. Bas joined Claus en Kaan Architecten in 2013 and holds a Master's degree in Architecture from TU Delft.

  • Victor Beley

  • Eline Blom

  • Diana Boogaart

  • Sjoerd Boomars

  • Dennis Bruijn

  • Timo Cardol

    Timo Cardol

    ASSOCIATE ARCHITECT

    Timo Cardol is an Associate Architect at KAAN Architecten, where he manages complex projects in both the public and private sectors, encompassing large-scale developments and intricate renovations. His portfolio includes major public works such as Amsterdam Airport Schiphol Terminal, the National Bank of Belgium in Brussels and the CUBE Education Center at Tilburg University, as well as smaller-scale redevelopments like De Walvis and De Bijenkorf in Amsterdam. Timo combines technical insight with a strong conceptual approach, guiding multidisciplinary teams from concept to construction. Educated at TU Delft, he graduated from the Chair of Materialisation and later returned as a design tutor. Timo began his career at Claus en Kaan Architecten as an intern in 2010 and has since taken on responsibility for complex assignments as project manager.

  • Francesca Celli

  • Alice Colombo

  • Javier Cuartero

  • Luuk Dietz

  • Vittorio Domanda

  • Eli Dorsman

  • Stijn Drolenga

  • Maartje Eggink

  • Maria Finagina

  • Raluca Firicel

  • Isabella Flore

  • Pepijn Francissen

  • Christiaan Frankin

  • Maria Luiza Furtuna

  • Marylène Gallon

    Marylène Gallon

    ASSOCIATE ARCHITECT

    Marylène Gallon is an Associate Architect at KAAN Architecten and Director of the Paris office. Since its opening, she has ensured that all French projects align with the practice’s vision, guiding teams from concept to delivery. With around 20 years of experience, Marylène brings cultural and technical expertise in French housing, public infrastructure, mixed-use developments and urban projects, with a focus on contextual quality, low-tech sustainability, social relevance and user experience. Her portfolio includes the Nancy Courthouse, JUMP in Aubervilliers, CMA Lille, RUBIX, Saint-Jacques-de-la-Lande housing, and the Austerlitz Station and south district development in Paris. Marylène joined Claus en Kaan Architecten in 2004 and holds a Diplôme d’Architecte DPLG from ENSAB – École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture de Bretagne.

  • Eva Garibaldi

  • Michael Geensen

  • Renata Gilio

    Renata Gilio

    ASSOCIATE PARTNER

    Renata Gilio is an Associate Partner at KAAN Architecten, with over 20 years of international experience. As a General Director, she is responsible for overseeing the strategic and organisational development of the practice. Renata specialises in urban and architectural projects, with expertise in contextual analysis, large-scale planning and coordination with governmental stakeholders. Her portfolio includes civic and judicial projects, such as the Chambre de Métiers et de l’Artisanat Hauts-de-France and the Institut des Sciences Moléculaires d’Orsay - ISMO, as well as all Brazilian commissions. She also co-authored the ImpaKt methodology, contributing to the office’s approach to large-scale urban development. Renata holds a Master’s degree in Architecture from the École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture de Grenoble and a degree in Architecture and Urban Planning from the University of São Paulo.

  • Lisa Goes

    Lisa Goes

    ASSOCIATE ARCHITECT

    Lisa Goes is an Associate Architect at KAAN Architecten, where she works on complex projects from concept to completion. With a natural sensitivity to scale, context, material and use, she translates these into spaces that are clear in design and carefully executed. Her open attitude supports shared design decisions within teams and with clients and contractors, a dialogue she considers essential to achieving good results. As project and design manager she has contributed to the Education Centre at the Healthy Ageing Campus Groningen, The Dock apartment complex in Amsterdam and the Amsterdam Courthouse. Lisa joined KAAN Architecten in 2016 and holds a Master’s degree in Architecture, with distinction, from TU Delft.

  • Martin Grech

  • Narine Gyulhasyan

  • Thomas Hagemeijer

  • Maruli Heijman

  • Walter Hoogerwerf

  • Aleksandar Hrib

  • Alejandra Huesca

  • Sophie Ize

  • Aida Jalili

  • Houry Jamkoijan

  • Takuma Johnson

  • Kees Kaan

    Kees Kaan

    FOUNDING PARTNER

    Kees Kaan is an architect and professor of Architectural Design at TU Delft. Trained at the same university, he later initiated the Complex Projects Chair on large-scale architecture and urbanisation. He chaired the Architecture Department from 2019 to 2024 and serves as Principal Investigator at the Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions (AMS). He has led large, multifaceted commissions that demand clarity and coherence, qualities at the core of his method of building narratives that align people, processes and decisions through design and delivery. Practice and academia are tightly linked in his work, grounded in analytical precision and a belief in architecture’s cultural role. Beyond teaching and research, he lectures internationally and serves on juries and boards in the Netherlands and abroad. In 2024, he was inducted as a member of the Académie d’Architecture.

  • Jan Teunis ten Kate

  • Femke Kirstenmaker

  • William Kosta

  • Bo Kuiper

  • Marco Lanna

    Marco Lanna

    ASSOCIATE PARTNER

    Marco Lanna is an Associate Partner at KAAN Architecten, focusing on design development and architectural coordination. Combining strong analytical skills with design sensibility, he plays a key role in refining the office’s design approach and has, through design lead and coordination roles on multiple projects, contributed to the development of its methodology. Marco’s portfolio includes the Amsterdam Courthouse, South Terminal at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, Nancy Courthouse, the Advanced Science Building at EPFL and Building 140 at CERN. In addition to his project work, he co-authored the ImpaKt methodology, formalising core principles of the practice’s design process. Marco joined KAAN Architecten in 2010 and holds a PhD in Architecture and Urbanism from the University of Rome.

  • Antony Laurijsen

    Antony Laurijsen

    ASSOCIATE PARTNER

    Antony Laurijsen is an Associate Partner at KAAN Architecten, where he guides projects from concept to completion with a focus on materiality, detailing and future-proof architectural quality. His work bridges design ambition and technical feasibility, ensuring clarity and coherence throughout complex processes. Antony has led and contributed to numerous projects for the practice, including the renovation and expansion of Museum Paleis Het Loo, Terminal South at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, the New Amsterdam Courthouse and The Dock in Overhoeks. His projects reflect a balance of precision, sustainability and spatial quality, aiming for adaptable buildings that endure over time. Antony holds a Master’s degree in Architecture, Building and Planning, with distinction, from Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e).

  • Christine Lie

  • Yinghao Lin

  • Julia Linde - van den Heuvel

  • Ricardo Marmorato

  • Sander Meert

  • Laura Mejia Munoz

  • Agata Mila

  • Andreja Milanovic

  • Jannik Niewiadomski

  • Damien Nuyts Roussel

  • Hannes Ochmann

  • Giovanni Pancotti

  • Vincent Panhuysen

    Vincent Panhuysen

    FOUNDING PARTNER

    Vincent Panhuysen is an architect and visiting professor at TU Delft. Trained in woodcraft, industrial design, and architecture, he combines conceptual clarity with technical precision, ensuring continuity from idea to construction. His design approach emphasises functionality, spatial quality, and calm organisation, creating architecture that is both direct and enduring. With a keen understanding of context and a rigorous sense of proportion, he translates ambitious programmes into clear, generous spaces that encourage openness and dialogue. Alongside his professional work, Panhuysen lectures internationally on design process and contextual sensitivity, sharing his experience in public and institutional projects and nurturing thoughtful collaboration between clients, consultants, users and stakeholders. In 2015, his guidance in the renovation of the Provinciehuis of North Brabant was recognised with the Commissarispenning, a medal of merit from the Commissioner of the King.

  • Marco Peixe

  • Natalia Poli

  • Camille Pollet

  • Ivan Potapenko

  • Agata Proniak

  • Elia Salcedo

  • Edwin Scharringa

  • Dikkie Scipio

    Dikkie Scipio

    FOUNDING PARTNER

    Dikkie Scipio is an architect and professor of Architectural Design at the Münster University of Applied Sciences. Trained in applied arts, industrial design, and architecture, she leads projects ranging from urban plans to interiors, with a particular focus on museums, heritage, and craftsmanship. Her work explores the intersection of expansion and preservation, where historical layers are reinterpreted through a contemporary lens. Deeply engaged with the concept of beauty and the expressive potential of materials, Scipio’s approach combines sensitivity with precision, creating architecture that honours both time and place. In addition to her professional practice, she writes, lectures internationally, and serves on several boards and juries. In 2023, she was named Woman Architect of the Year by the Prix des Femmes Architectes, recognising her influence on architectural culture and her contribution to public discourse.

  • Amir Shokouhi

  • Vitor Silva e Souza

  • Stefan Sinnige

  • Hrvoje Smidihen

    Hrvoje Smidihen

    ASSOCIATE PARTNER

    Hrvoje Smidihen is an Associate Partner at KAAN Architecten, where he focuses on large-scale, complex public and infrastructural projects. He plays a key role in the concept and competition phases, as well as in coordinating multidisciplinary design teams. He has contributed to the development of optioneering methodology within the office. After leading the winning team for the New Schiphol Terminal competition in 2017, he continued as architecture and functionality lead for the project. He is also the design manager for the renovation of the European Parliament’s SPAAK Building in Brussels. As a regular lecturer at TU Delft, Hrvoje leads the architecture graduation studio in the Chair of Complex Projects. He joined KAAN Architecten in 2015, following the completion of a Master’s degree in Architecture and Urban Planning, with distinction, from TU Delft.

  • Yagiz Soylev

  • Joeri Spijkers

  • Dario Sposini

  • Olga Surogina

  • Renata Tavares

  • Roel Teeken

  • Clémence Vallée

  • Jasper van Boxtel

  • Sebastian van Damme

  • Filipa van der Laan

  • Tom van Lint

  • Nicki van Loon

  • Wouter van Oekel

  • Inez van Oeveren

  • Jelmer van Zalingen

  • Goncalo Villanueva

  • Michalina Wawro

  • Magdalena Wierzbicka

  • Samara Zukoski

Rotterdam

Boompjes 255
3011 XZ Rotterdam
The Netherlands
T +31 10 206 0000

Paris

8 rue Saint-Merri
75004 Paris
France
T +33 1 81 69 55 55

São Paulo

Av.Angélica 2395 Loja 2
01227 200 Higienópolis
São Paulo, SP
Brazil

T +55 11 99331 19 32
contato@kaanarchitecten.com

General Inquiries

info@kaanarchitecten.com
T +31 10 206 0000

Media Inquiries

press@kaanarchitecten.com

Acquisition

bd@kaanarchitecten.com

Jobs

Thank you for your interest in working at KAAN Architecten. We are continuously searching for talented people to join our multidisciplinary team. Please feel free to send your application to jobs@kaanarchitecten.com.