Tomorrow February 11th, 2016 (h 12.45) Kees Kaan will open the new academic semester of Complex Projects chair. ...

Kees Kaan lecture for Fruits of Study

Kees Kaan has been invited to present his university projects in a lecture at the Faculty of ...

Complex Projects TU Delft

Chair Introduction – spring 2015

Last February 12th, 2015 Kees Kaan and Mitesh Dixit opened the new academic year of Complex Projects chair. ...

Complex Projects TU Delft

Chair Introduction – autumn 2014

Kees Kaan and Olindo Caso will give a general introduction of the new academic year of Complex ...

Complex Projects TU Delft

Cruz y Ortiz visiting professors for ‘Anatomy of a Landmark’

From September 2014, the ‘Anatomy of a Landmark’ studio, part of Kees Kaan’s Complex Projects Chair, will ...

Articles

Complex Projects: Design or Planning?

The new book "New Urban Configurations" featuring an article by Kees Kaan has been released. ...

Complex Projects TU Delft

Chair Opening Lecture – spring 2014

Kees Kaan will give the Complex Projects (spring ’14) chair opening lecture about “Ambitions and Fascinations”. Tuesday, ...

Complex Projects TU Delft

Light | Structure | Emergence – Mark P.Sarkisian (SOM, San Francisco – US)

Mark P.Sarkisian (partner of Seismic and Structural Engineering at SOM - Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, San Francisco) ...

Complex Projects TU Delft

Chair Introduction – autumn 2013

Kees Kaan, Mitesh Dixit, Roberto Cavallo and Aldo Trim will give a general introduction of the new ...

Complex Projects TU Delft

Vertical Cities Asia – Seoul 2012 winning projects

The two Delft teams run by Complex Projects won the first shared prize with “The Open Ended City” and the “Life Time City”.

The annual chosen city was Seoul and the students were called to design a one square kilometer of land for 100.000 people basing the concept on density, sustainability and quality of life.

The head of judging panel said: “We wanted to distinguish a thoughtful process oriented approach, a comprehensive consideration of a variety of dimensions that contribute to city building with a clear vision towards the future, even with a relatively open formalization. Results and form really matters, but the jury wanted to highlight the attention paid to process and programs in the proposals”.

Winning teams are “The Open Ended city” (Stef Bogaerds, Claudio Saccucci, Samuel Liew, Erjen Prins, Jan Maarten Mulder); “Life Time City” (Laura Dinkla, Katerina Salonikidi, Maria Stamati, Johnny Tascon, Qiu Ye). Professors are: Mitesh Dixit, Henco Bekkering.

Complex Projects TU Delft

AMS 2050: Urban makeover on display

Nearly two year long collaboration between the Chair of Complex Projects, Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions and the municipality of Amsterdam, culminated yesterday in a launch of the AMSTERDAM 2050 book at We Make The City festival.

Introduction of the book by Kees Kaan, as the Head of the Chair, was followed by a panel discussion with city representatives and a guided tour of the AMS Mid-City models.

Complex Projects teamed up for almost two years with Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions and the municipality of Amsterdam, to focus on the theme AMSTERDAM 2050. The book is a systematization of the work of more than 80 graduate students and 6 tutors with the input from researchers and invited critics on a case study on 9 different locations in Amsterdam.

The research-through-design process of documenting and analysing the present urban conditions of the City of Amsterdam and investigating various trends directing future urban development resulted in design solutions and visualisations of the predicted development of these locations.

By using Amsterdam as a living laboratory, graduate students, researchers and teachers of the architectural design chair of Complex Projects at the Department of Architecture at TU Delft Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment have been interested in seeing how ‘growth’ and rapid ‘changes’ – growth of numbers of inhabitants and tourists, and change of energy, mobility, health and leisure concepts – will affect the City of Amsterdam on a time horizon 2050.

How can innovations be introduced to the domain of architecture and urban design? The creative exploration presented in this publication aims to understand today’s structure of the City, to explore possible future scenarios and to speculate on new architectural typologies new technology and ways of living may construct.

Get your copy of the book here.

Lectures

Kees Kaan to speak at INDESEM 2019 lecture series

On Monday, 13 May 2019, Kees Kaan will give a public lecture and participate in a discussion at INDESEM 2019, taking place at 17.40 h in the Orange Hall of the TU Delft Faculty of Architecture and Built Environment.

INDESEM, International Design Seminar, is a biennial event with lectures, excursions, debates and a workshop, all organised around a specific theme. This year’s theme, Beyond the Echo Chamber, focuses on how to position yourself as an architect in our rapidly changing, (digitally) connected society. Adhering to the seminar theme, Kaan will give his insight on the scope of an architect’s work and how it transforms with each project. After the lecture he will engage in a discussion with moderator Salomon Frausto and architect Alun Jones (Dow Jones Architects).

For more information follow the link or check out the programme in the PDF below.

PDF

Articles

“The Profession of the Architect” – a column by Dikkie Scipio

Oscillating somewhere between art, engineering and entrepreneurship, architectural profession has always been difficult to categorise. Even within the institutions that provide architectural education, there is a systematic difference in opinion and, consequently, the focus of the curriculum.

In her latest column for Fleur Groenendijk Foundation, Dikkie Scipio explains the workings of the architecture education system in The Netherlands and how in 2015 it brought about the BEP (Professional Traineeship approved by the Register of Architects). This marked a tectonic shift in acquiring the title of ‘the architect’, impacting the career trajectories of architecture school graduates.

Promoting young architects has been a sole focus for Scipio, who is in her fifth year of serving as a board member of Fleur Groenendijk Foundation. In an interview earlier this year, she explained that aside from graduating with top marks, the success of every young architect relies heavily on being recognised and embraced by potential customers or employers. To that effect, with initiatives like De Meester, she seeks to highlight the work of recent graduates that shows social and contextual relevance, craftsmanship, and a clear vision.

Read the entire column here (English, Dutch).

Articles, Complex Projects TU Delft

‘Stations as Nodes’ book is out now!

Led and coordinated by the Chair of Complex Projects, Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment TU Delft and the Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions, ‘Stations as Nodes’ explores the role of stations in future metropolitan areas from both French and Dutch perspective.

Summarizing the activities currently running at AMS Institute, Delft University of Technology and University of Paris-Est, the book presents Stations of the Future initiatives and the Integrated Mobility Challenges in Future Metropolitan Areas summer school, accompanied by a curated reportage of the Amsterdam Sloterdijk station area by Sebastian van Damme.

The book also features contributions by invited experts on specific aspects and problems of conception, management and development of stations. Included as a ‘project from practice’ is Kees Kaan’s essay about the Amsterdam Airport Schiphol Terminal designed by KAAN Architecten. Other Dutch contributions include Benthem Crouwel Architects and UN Studio.

Find more information about the book here, or visit BK Books to download the e-book copy.

PDF

Articles

‘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.

Articles

Dikkie Scipio on creating a platform for young architects

‘Young people with fresh new ideas are the lifeblood of our office’ claims KAAN Architecten founding partner Dikkie Scipio in her latest interview for the Fleur Groenendijk Foundation where she serves as a board member. Right at the heels of announcing the new De Meester winner for 2018, this rings true more than ever.

Graduating with top marks aside, the success of every young architect relies heavily on being recognized and embraced by potential customers or employers, explains Scipio. This is why De Meester award was created – to give young graduates a platform to present themselves to larger audiences and make a debut within the professional sphere. Along with a jury of industry professionals, she seeks to highlight the work of recent graduates that shows social and contextual relevance, craftsmanship, and a clear vision.

Same rules apply within the office, where combination of experienced and young architects meet in a dialogue that is essential for the design process. In her own words: ‘This is the start of the dialogue that you hope will lead to something better, something that you could not have thought of beforehand.’

Read the full interview here. (Dutch only)

Lectures

‘Making Architecture’ – lecture by Kees Kaan at TU Eindhoven

This Thursday, 13 December, Kees Kaan will participate in the lecture series ‘Making Architecture’ at TU Eindhoven together with Jeroen van Schooten (Team V Architectuur). In a double lecture format, the speakers will elaborate on a number of projects that show how the process of making – from concept to building, unfolds within their offices.

The event will take place in the Filmzaal of the Zwarte Doos at the TU Eindhoven at 19.30. The lecture series is organized by AnArchi, Study Association for Architecture, and Juliette Bekkering of The Chair of Architectural Design and Engineering (ADE) at the TU Eindhoven. Find out more here.

Articles

‘Thank the crisis’ – column by Dikkie Scipio

Dikkie Scipio’s new quarterly column for Fleur Groenendijk foundation has been published.

In her latest column written as a board member of Fleur Groenendijk Foundation, Dikkie Scipio reflects on the implicit advantages for societies and economies that occur during troubling times. The essay elaborates on how unexpected debates and initiatives develop when different actors are brought together by extraordinary circumstances. At the same time, it also advocates keeping up that positive momentum even after the times of crisis have passed, in order to keep benefiting the larger community.

Read the full article here.

Complex Projects TU Delft

Kees Kaan at the AMS/TU Delft Summer School 2018

Continuing the collaboration with Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions, Kees Kaan will participate as a member of the Scientific Committee and a guest critic at the AMS/TU Delft Summer School 2018.

Amsterdam AMS Institute, Delft Deltas, Infrastructures & Mobility Initiative (DIMI), the University of Paris-Est and ARENA Architectural Research Network together with Delft University of Technology are organizing the interdisciplinary 2018 Summer School: Integrated Mobility Challenges in Future Metropolitan Areas. The workshop will use Amsterdam Sloterdijk station area as a case study, focusing on testing various sustainable approaches and strategies for dealing with a lack of space and growing number of users.

map by Maurits van Ardenne, edited by Joran Kuijper

Throughout the 7 day workshop (21-28 August) students, young professionals and researchers will be guided by an expert team of lecturers, guest critics and teachers. The Chair of Complex Projects together with the AMS Institute oversees coordinating and leading the Summer School, while Kees Kaan as the Head of the Chair, is a member of the Scientific Committee and a guest critic.

More information on the Summer School can be found here.

Complex Projects TU Delft

Complex Projects presents AMS MID-CITY Graduation show

After a yearlong studio, a graduation show of the Complex Projects AMS Mid-City was held on 12 July 2018 in the Orange Hall of the TU Delft Faculty of Architecture.

The itinerant exhibition already took place in Amsterdam’s ZuiderKerk earlier this June, and has arrived to TU Delft’s Faculty of Architecture just in time for graduation period. The Chair of Complex Projects teamed up with the Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions, the municipality of Amsterdam and KAAN Architecten to focus on the theme AMSTERDAM 2050.

Almost 80 students, comprising more than 50 graduates, exhibited group models as well as individual projects. Group models sized 2.1×2.1 meters, represented scaled down areas of Amsterdam like Zaanstad, Centraal, Amstel, City islands or Schiphol Corridor. Students reimagined what the specific sites would be in 2050, based on a critical analysis of current findings and practices in the city.

Some of the projects dealt with future mobility and connectivity in the city, ways of densifying the historic and UNESCO protected city center etc. Other imaginative ideas include an organ factory, a drone fighting arena where part of the students work as well as a zero polluting inner-city energy production. Aerial photos by Sebastian van Damme showcase the student interventions in their actual contextual relations.

Chair Introduction – spring 2016

Kees Kaan lecture for Fruits of Study

Chair Introduction – spring 2015

Chair Introduction – autumn 2014

Cruz y Ortiz visiting professors for ‘Anatomy of a Landmark’

Complex Projects: Design or Planning?

Chair Opening Lecture – spring 2014

Light | Structure | Emergence – Mark P.Sarkisian (SOM, San Francisco – US)

Chair Introduction – autumn 2013

Vertical Cities Asia – Seoul 2012 winning projects

AMS 2050: Urban makeover on display

Kees Kaan to speak at INDESEM 2019 lecture series

“The Profession of the Architect” – a column by Dikkie Scipio

‘Stations as Nodes’ book is out now!

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

Dikkie Scipio on creating a platform for young architects

‘Making Architecture’ – lecture by Kees Kaan at TU Eindhoven

‘Thank the crisis’ – column by Dikkie Scipio

Kees Kaan at the AMS/TU Delft Summer School 2018

Complex Projects presents AMS MID-CITY Graduation show

Paço Building

Supreme Court wins ARC16 Architecture Award

Loenen Pavilion

Dedalo Minosse International Prize awards Education Center Erasmus MC

Chambre de Métiers et de l’Artisanat Hauts-De-France

City Hall Park on show for “The City as a Vision” exhibition at Frac Centre

KAAN Architecten designs Library & Academy of Performing Arts in Aalst (be)

Planta

Open day at the Crematorium Aalst

CUBE – Education and Self Study Centre