KAAN Architecten expands its leadership towards the future

KAAN Architecten announces an expanded leadership structure that reflects the firm’s ongoing growth and long-term vision, building on a lineage that began in Amsterdam in 1987 with Claus en Kaan Architecten. In 2002, a Rotterdam partnership was established by Kees Kaan, Dikkie Scipio, and Vincent Panhuysen, which evolved into the independent practice KAAN Architecten in 2014. Their collaborative and analytical design approach has shaped the firm’s identity, rooted in quality, pragmatism, and the Dutch building traditions of sustainability and welfare. The close relationship between practice and academia has further strengthened the firm’s ability to address the growing complexities of today's built environment.

Collaboration has always been at the heart of KAAN Architecten’s practice. The development of our leadership structure signifies a natural progression in recognising the collective effort that shapes the office and in preparing it for the next generation of work.

From December 2025, four Associate Partners – Renata Gilio, Marco Lanna, Antony Laurijsen and Hrvoje Šmidihen– will join the Founding Partners in steering the firm into its next chapter. As Associate Partners, they will focus on the overall direction of the office, guiding its strategic development, managing teams and resources, and cultivating key internal and external relationships. In this role, they will work closely with the Founding Partners to ensure continuity of the firm’s vision and culture.

They will be supported by a group of Associate Architects – Bas Barendse, Timo Cardol, Marylène Gallon, and Lisa Goes– who will ensure that the architectural quality of each commission is consistently achieved. Their role is centred on translating the shared ambitions of the office into concrete, built results.

Together, this team offers complementary expertise, diverse perspectives, and a shared commitment to excellence. Their appointment strengthens the firm's continuity while supporting its future ambitions. Each of these individuals is already deeply involved in the daily work of KAAN Architecten, and this formalisation recognises their significant contributions to the practice.

Located near the EPFL Innovation Park on the southern side of the campus in Lausanne, Switzerland, the Advanced Science Building has obtained its building permit, with construction set to start in spring 2026 and continue until 2030.

Designed by KAAN Architecten and CELNIKIER & GRABLI ARCHITECTES to accommodate 26 research groups and more than 500 users, the building responds to EPFL’s infrastructure demands for cutting-edge fundamental physics, quantum computing, and materials science research, while supporting a collaborative working environment. Its spaces are developed to meet the exacting requirements of ultra-sensitive research, with architectural and technical systems creating carefully controlled conditions and shielding the environment from disturbance.

KAAN Architecten and De Zwarte Hond have won the tender for Area 19 at TU/e. The commission includes the design of a new research and education building and the urban development of a new campus area. The project will be developed in the coming years within the framework set by TU/e.

The proposal builds on the original masterplan by Sam van Embden from the 1960s, retaining the orthogonal structure and characteristic bridges. The ambition is to develop Area 19 as an open ensemble around a central hall, with green spaces strengthening the connection to the surrounding campus and the Dommel valley.
Area 19 will accommodate three faculties of TU/e, including an advanced laboratory, offices, a large lecture hall and two smaller halls. Interaction is a key principle in the design at both the campus and building levels. Through targeted spatial interventions, knowledge exchange and collaboration between researchers, students and staff will be encouraged.
Sustainability is a key principle. A compact layout and a modular, adaptable structure with timber elements will allow the building to evolve over time and support interdisciplinary use.

Client: Eindhoven University of Technology
Design team: KAAN Architecten and De Zwarte Hond
Collaborators: Adviesbureau Lüning, B3, Alba Concepts, IDEFIX landscape architecture and Marjan van Aubel

At the Port of Antwerp-Bruges, construction of the Antwerp Coordination Center by KAAN Architecten continues steadily, gradually revealing its character. As the façade emerges, the rhythm and energy of the design come to life.
As the envelope takes shape, the design's modular logic becomes increasingly legible. Loggias and terraces capture the light and embrace sweeping views over the Zandvliet and Berendrecht locks. Transparent and translucent glass create subtle plays of openness and reflection, while double-height spaces enhance the tower’s vertical expression. A striking landmark for 24/7 port operations, designed with precision and built with craftsmanship.
Explore more here. Photography by Sebastian van Damme.

The development of Aan het IJ in Amsterdam continues to progress. Following the completion of The Stack, the construction of The Dock is now in full swing, and it marks the next phase in the transformation of this new neighbourhood north of Amsterdam’s city centre.
The area is conceived as a park-like grid with evenly distributed buildings, flowing streets and minimal hierarchy. Its structure integrates traces of the former industrial site with the Van der Pekbuurt across the canal, forming a composed urban fabric that contrasts with the intensity of the inner city.
The Dock is located between Docklandsweg and the Buiksloter Canal and conceived as a monolithic natural stone volume with recessed facades and generous balconies overlooking the water. The project comprises 172 apartments and a commercial plinth along the street, with completion expected by the end of this year.

The design for the University Library at the Lagoa do Sino Campus in São Paulo creates a new centre for academic life, bringing together a public square, library, auditorium, and administrative areas. A sequence of solid volumes and open-air spaces supports daily circulation, study, and informal social interaction.

Rammed earth defines the building’s identity and environmental strategy. Its mass ensures stable indoor temperatures and a calm acoustic environment with minimal mechanical support. Using soil sourced directly from the site reinforces the project’s relationship with its landscape while reducing the carbon footprint of construction.
A modular timber structure complements the earthen walls with precision and lighter spans. The roof is raised above the main volumes, creating a continuous ventilated gap that improves airflow and contributes to thermal comfort throughout the day. Timber window frames maintain material coherence, while concrete is used only in a surrounding high beam where necessary for structural stability.

Renata Gilio: “The UFSCAR library reflects our belief that architecture should grow from its context—using local resources, responding to climate, and supporting the communities it serves. As our first rammed-earth project, it required us to relearn how to design with a material that demands a different pace, precision, and sensitivity.”

Discover the project here.

On Friday, 14 November, Kees Kaan delivered a lecture in Brussels titled “Architecture of dialogue” during the Lunch with an Architect event. He showcased the work of KAAN Architecten and reflected on how each commission begins with attentive listening and is shaped by its specific context, identity, and character. During the lecture, he referred to the words of Pierre Chabard: “It does not settle for being an architecture for architects, addressing only an elite of connoisseurs and making sense only within the bounds of its own field. Far from any kind of defensive posturing, it engages with reality in order to transform it from within, to unravel it, to solve the problems that run through it, to be part of its inherent tensions,” to further articulate the idea of an architecture of dialogue that is present in the practice of KAAN Architecten.

The event, organised by the team behind Lunch with an Architect, took place in the Flagey building, the former national radio and television headquarters and a landmark example of Belgian Streamline Moderne and Art Deco architecture. It was a pleasure to connect and exchange with many representatives of Belgium’s real estate and architecture world. Special thanks to Kathleen Iweins, Nathalie Zalcman, and Flagey for making this encounter possible and for providing a setting where meaningful dialogue on architecture can take place.

Situated on one of The Hague’s most lively locations along Prinses Beatrixlaan, Monarch IV marks a new chapter for the national government. The building is designed as an office that looks forward, supporting governmental aims in sustainability, adaptability, and a healthy work environment. Timber construction is not just a technical choice but also an act of future-oriented building. The urban plinth, the tower, and the crown together create a distinctive and dignified presence within the skyline of the Central Innovation District.

Building on the inspiring concept design by Fokke van Dijk of the Rijksvastgoedbedrijf (Government Real Estate Agency), which defines a clear spatial and architectural framework, the project is being developed not only to meet complex requirements related to climate, flexibility, and integration, but will also become a place where collaboration, meetings, and focused work naturally come together. With a planned height of 72 metres and an approximate gross floor area of 17,500 square metres, Monarch IV is designed as a flexible, sustainable government hub and a timber landmark that exemplifies circular and future-ready construction.

Consortium Lignum Rex unites KAAN Architecten, DVP, DVP Smart Concepts, ISIS Bouwadvies B.V., Pieters, Alba Concepts. Linkwood, LBP|SIGHT, and De Vries en Verburg Bouw. Within this consortium, KAAN Architecten is responsible for the architectural design of Monarch IV. Consortium Lignum Rex values the trust that the Government Real Estate Agency has placed in it and looks forward to further developing this distinguished project together.

At the Port of Antwerp-Bruges, construction of the Antwerp Coordination Centre is progressing steadily. Positioned centrally on the plateau between the 500-metre-long twinned Zandvliet lock (ZAS) and Berendrecht lock (BES), the building is already clearly recognisable as the new control tower. The generous structural frame and eight-storey volume are now visible, outlining the future control tower that will coordinate and supervise port traffic on a 24-hour basis.

The concrete structure and modular design are becoming vital elements of a functional and resilient working environment for vessel traffic services, pilots, and port operations. With completion expected in August 2026, the building is gradually establishing itself as both an essential part of the nautical chain and a landmark within the broader redevelopment of the surrounding landscape.

Vincent Panhuysen: “Even as the generous shell rises, it becomes clear how the building acts as a beacon within the impressive theatre of docks, bridges, containers and ships.”

Explore the video by Marcel Ijzerman.

We are honoured to share that Museum Loos has been nominated for the prestigious EUmies Awards 2026, recognising excellence in contemporary European architecture!

Seamlessly integrated into the existing site, the extension is placed underground and a new water feature is incorporated as part of the design, maintaining the baroque composition. The Bassecour is transformed into a space with a central fountain and glass surfaces adorned with natural stone and flowing water, reminiscent of the historic gardens, allowing daylight to filter through into the underground extension.

Museum Paleis Het Loo nomination at this link.
Congratulations to all the nominees!

During Dutch Design Week 2025, Matchbox in Strijp S, Eindhoven, will open its doors to the public. The nearly completed building can be explored with all senses: hear the contrast between timber and concrete spaces, smell and touch the different wood species applied throughout, and see the forests where the materials originate. Even the youngest visitors will discover new ways of engaging with timber.

With its serene and simple expression, KAAN Architecten’s design creates a clear contrast to the vibrancy of Boeri’s green “vertical forest” tower. Mainly built from wood, with only the windows and frames as exceptions, it evokes the practical, straightforward architecture of the former Philips industrial site.

Matchbox is the first building in Strijp S made almost entirely from bio-based materials. It stores more CO₂ than is released during construction, thereby turning the usual balance upside down and marking a crucial step towards sustainable building.

18–26 October 2025, daily 11:00–18:00 (free entry, no DDW wristband required)
Strijp S, Eindhoven, entrance via Leidingstraat

In collaboration with Trudo, ABT bv , Adviesbureau Lüning, and Stam + De Koning Bouw (werkmaatschappij VolkerWessels)
Thank you, Trudo, for making this possible!

The 14th São Paulo Architecture Biennale will take place from 18 September to 19 October at Ibirapuera Park in São Paulo.
Three of the KAAN Architecten's Brazilian projects that explore the relationship between architecture, landscape, and memory are being presented: the Eco-Museum and Orla Piratininga Park in Niterói, the Museum FAMA in Itu, and the Lagoa do Sino Library at UFSCAR in Buri.

These selected projects see architecture as a living process. How they adapt to changing territories, honour cultural legacies and spark social interaction. Architecture becomes a catalyst for environmental renewal, cultural conservation and community development. It goes beyond buildings to create spaces that strengthen connections between people and landscapes.

More info here.

On 11 September, SPOSPOTT Amsterdam celebrated the highest point, bringing together all the parties involved in the development. This moment marked the topping out of the Crystal Tower. At 108 metres high, Crystal is the tallest building in SPOT and KAAN Architecten’s highest building constructed to date. As a celebration highlight, a tree was planted to symbolise the future greenery that will enrich the complex.

The masterplan for SPOT Amsterdam is transforming a former office district into a lively mixed-use neighbourhood. It was designed by KAAN Architecten in 2016 and developed by COD | development pioneers and DUQER in close collaboration with the City of Amsterdam and landscapers Inside Outside. A plot-by-plot development approach enables organic growth and establishes a strong urban framework that guides future expansion. The masterplan balances dense housing with green spaces, workplaces, and amenities. As the first buildings are constructed and public spaces emerge, SPOT is becoming a benchmark for the transformation of Amstel III, introducing a layered, high-density neighbourhood that combines a metropolitan scale with a human, local atmosphere.

Other buildings designed by KAAN Architecten include Dusk and Coral, two mid-rise residential structures, and a low-rise office block. Together with buildings designed by KLUNDER ARCHITECTEN, ZZDP Architecten, Mei architects and planners, MoederscheimMoonen Architects, DOOR architecten, and Marc Koehler Associates, SPOT will deliver 1.100 new homes starting in September 2025.

This milestone would not have been possible without the dedication of our partners and collaborators: City of Amsterdam, COD | development pioneers, DUQER, SPOT Offices Amsterdam, DGMR, Pleijsier Bouw, Zonneveld ingenieurs b.v. I A Movares company, Valstar Simonis, BOAG

This summer marks five years since the opening of KAAN Architecten Paris office, a notable milestone in the firm’s expanding international presence. The Paris branch was founded to deepen connections with French institutions, clients and partners while upholding the multidisciplinary design philosophy of the Rotterdam headquarters. KAAN Architecten has established a presence in France since completing its first project in 2012 in Rennes, St. Jacques-de-la-Lande, a complex of 200 apartments. This was followed by projects such as Ilot 13B, Chambre de Métiers et de l’Artisanat Hauts-De-France and Danon in Lille, Bottière Chénaie in Nantes, and the Institut des Sciences Moléculaires in Orsay.

After founding KAAN Architecten Paris in 2020 to support and contribute to developments across France, the team has grown into a highly skilled and professional group working closely with the main office in Rotterdam to deliver context-specific architectural solutions. This collaborative dynamic has led to the successful completion of several projects throughout France, including the recently finished JUMP mixed-use complex in Aubervilliers, Paris. Also, numerous international studies and competitions have been running since 2004, such as the new Gare d’Austerlitz in Paris, the CHU hospital campus in Nantes, and the extension of the Musée de l’Armée at Les Invalides, the École Supérieure de Commerce de Paris, and the Musée Maritime de Saint-Malo. Current projects, including the new Courthouse of Nancy and the Advanced Science Building at EPFL in Lausanne, showcase the ongoing ambition and reach of the Paris office.

Marylène Gallon, director of the Paris office and a graduate of the École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture de Bretagne (2004), started her career at the Rotterdam office and has extensive expertise in large-scale housing, public buildings, and urban planning. She leads a skilled and dedicated team of six French-Italian architects with extensive experience on French projects. With her detailed understanding of urban, historical, and environmental contexts, Marylène has developed the French branch into a strong and collaborative team. Celebrating its fifth anniversary, it reflects not only on the projects realised but also on the solid foundations laid for future growth. The collaboration between the Paris and Rotterdam teams, now comprising around 100 professionals, emphasises KAAN Architecten’s enduring commitment to designing for the public good through expertise, research, and innovation.

It Happened Here: NetherlandsNow—Framing the Future symposium, explores the deeply embedded cultural connection between the Netherlands and New York. This symposium is part of Future 400 which celebrates the 400th anniversary of this relationship. The panel will focus on the future of the built environment, reflecting on innovation in architecture today.

July 7, 8:30–11:30 AM EDT (New York)- 2:30-5:30 PM CEST (Amsterdam)

With speakers: Francine Houben (Mecanoo), Winka Dubbeldam (Archi-Tectonics), Rijk Rietveld (Rietveld Architects), Florian Idenburg (SO – IL), Frans van Vuure (UN Studio), Erikjan Vermeulen (CONCRETE), Stefan Prins (Powerhouse Company),
Evert Klinkenberg (BETA), Matthijs Bouw (One Architecture), and more!

The event is hybrid, join in person or virtually.
More details and tickets here.

Last night, Park opened the doors of Park Hub to present 'Turning the Past into the Future', the new issue of IQD Magazine curated by the studio.

The evening began with an introduction by Roberta Busnelli, Chief Editor of IQD. It continued with a thought-provoking dialogue on adaptive reuse and the meaning of transformation — featuring Kees Kaan of KAAN Architecten in conversation with Filippo Pagliani, Michele Rossi, and Michele Versaci of Park.

Thank you to all who joined us and contributed to this collective reflection on how architecture can shape a future rooted in the intelligence of what already exists.

As part of the INDESEM week programme at the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment in Delft, Dikkie Scipio has shared her insights from her interdisciplinary practice and reflected on how we build with the past in mind. Drawing from her experience in complex public and cultural projects, she will discuss her approach to heritage work, illustrated through a selection of recent projects.

Watch it here.

In 2016, KAAN Architecten was invited by DUQER and COD | development pioneers to create a vision for the ambitious transformation of seven plots in the Hogehilweg Area in Amsterdam Zuid Oost. This collaboration laid the foundation of SPOT. A once monotonous office zone is now evolving into a vibrant, mixed-use urban district. KAAN Architecten was tasked with designing the masterplan for this new part of Amsterdam.

Following the plan's presentation to the municipality, a collaborative process was launched involving DUQER, COD | development pioneers, the City of Amsterdam, KAAN Architecten, and landscape architects Inside Outside, who were responsible for the public space design. The municipality appointed Don Murphy as supervisor to oversee the design process and coordinate the selection of architectural practices.
Its initial plot-by-plot development approach sets this vision apart, eschewing the traditional tabula rasa masterplan. This strategy allows for organic growth while establishing a strong urban framework. It supports the development of a critical mass and guides future expansion, fostering urban vitality, comfort, and a rich spatial hierarchy. With a strong focus on residential quality, the plan balances dense housing with generous green spaces, workspaces, and amenities.

SPOT has since become a benchmark for the transformation of Amstel III, introducing a layered, high-density neighbourhood that merges metropolitan scale with a human, local atmosphere.
In addition to the masterplan, KAAN Architecten designed three residential buildings within SPOT: the high-rise landmark Crystal, the mid-rise Dusk and Coral, and a low-rise office block, delivering nearly 400 new homes.
The fine-grained structure of SPOT is now becoming a reality. As the first buildings rise and the public realm takes shape, this vibrant new district is set to welcome its first residents by early 2026.

Discover more at this link.

The integration of art into the built environment is of great importance to KAAN Architecten. This topic is often on the agenda from the very beginning. In conversation with clients and local authorities, it is given a serious place within the overall project. We have established an art committee, including the users, for several projects. Over the course of the project, we work together to identify and select artworks, formulate art commissions and oversee their implementation; we are often assisted in these processes by professional art consultants.

This approach has repeatedly resulted in art playing a central role in our projects, creating links between developers, clients and designers. Well-integrated art enriches the public value of our built environment and fosters connections within our society.

In this conversation for de Architect, together with Floortje Keijzer and Merel Pit, Kees Kaan reflects on his architectural journey, from his early influences and longstanding partnership with Felix Claus to the foundation and evolution of KAAN Architecten alongside Vincent Panhuysen and Dikkie Scipio. He shares insights into the pragmatic working method that defines KAAN Architecten and discusses how it continues to shape the projects today. He also speaks about his deep, two-decade-long connection with TU Delft, where he bridges practice and academia by mentoring future generations of architects.

Looking ahead, he stresses the urgent need for an “energy revolution,” calling for a nationwide investment in a sustainable energy infrastructure powered by solar and wind to go hand in hand with solving the housing crisis and space for water in a new Deltaplan 2.0. "De verbouwing van Nederland".

Throughout the conversation, Kees Kaan underlines architecture’s enduring role: creating buildings that transcend their time and users, and firmly committing to better, climate-resilient design for generations to come.

More info at this link.

The Centrum Ondergronds Bouwen (COB) jury praised the project for its ability to enhance the visitor experience while preserving the monumental character of the 17th-century palace. Described as “a Louvre-like transformation in Apeldoorn with international grandeur,” the underground extension beneath the historic forecourt was recognised for its technical ingenuity and architectural quality.

“Following the renewal of the palace gardens at the start of this century, Het Loo has now been given new vitality in a beautiful triad: history, new underground space, and the preservation of high quality above ground,” the jury stated.

A special thank you to Stichting Paleis het LOO Nationaal Museum, Volker Staal en Funderingen and WSP for the great collaboration and shared dedication that made this exceptional project possible.

We are pleased to announce that Lumière, a major mixed-use development in the heart of Rotterdam, has received both building permission and zoning approval!

The project brings together 263 apartments, a 160-room hotel, retail spaces, offices, and recreational areas within a striking 155-meter-high tower. A heartfelt thank you to our partners, Manhave, VORM, and our design team. We look forward to seeing this ambitious vision come to life! Discover the project Lumière and its development Lumieretoren.

After six years of dedicated leadership, Kees Kaan will step down as Head of the Architecture Department at TU Delft’s Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, effective 1 February 2025. His expertise will continue to shape the future of architecture through his ongoing work with KAAN Architecten, as well as his continued leadership of the Complex Projects Group at TU Delft.

Taking over as Head of the Architecture Department will be Georg Vrachliotis, whose extensive experience and visionary approach will help guide the department into the future.

Dean Dick van Gameren: "I thank Kees Kaan for his outstanding commitment as Head of the Architecture Department over the past years. Under his leadership, the Department has grown stronger and more resilient, ready for a new chapter. I have great confidence that Georg Vrachliotis, working collaboratively with all colleagues, will guide the Department toward an impactful future."

We wish Georg all the best as he leads the department into its next chapter!

Building 140 CERN will enhance the area's urban identity by gathering several of CERN's key activities in a state-of-the-art, sustainable building. The design integrates laboratories, workshops, learning spaces, and offices in a new modern hub for the Meyrin site. This facility enables groundbreaking experiments conducted by over 17,000 scientists from institutions worldwide.

The building will be at the centre of groundbreaking research, housing facilities that support the study of particle accelerators. Positioned as a key landmark on the campus, it will enhance the connection between research spaces, playing a pivotal role in the continued exploration of fundamental physics. The project spans approximately 15,600 m², providing space for the growing needs of the CERN community.

Following a pragmatic approach, the design is compact, direct, and simple, focusing on optimising the shape for each function and integrating them into a unified structure. The project will be developed in two phases, with the first phase focusing on the Experimental Physics Department, providing office space, laboratories, and workshops for the Detector Technologies group.

"This project presents an opportunity to establish Building 140 as a distinct landmark that embodies a multidisciplinary architectural approach, optimising resources and prioritising environmental sustainability. It reflects CERN’s excellence as a centre for research and innovation, extending the campus development beyond its traditional underground focus to create a meaningful presence above ground," concludes Kees Kaan.

Behind our architecture stand talented people with diverse specialisations, cultural backgrounds, experiences, and ages, but complementary skills and strong ambitions. Our work is brought to life by a diverse group of architects, landscape architects, urban planners, engineers, graphic designers, communication officers, and office managers, all of whom contribute their expertise to our projects.

Thank you, Titia Hahne, for capturing the faces behind our firm so beautifully.

In December, the first residents of FRESH received the keys to their new apartments. This marks the beginning of a vibrant community in this thoughtfully designed living space.

FRESH features 123 rental apartments spread across 18 floors, with a dedicated community space on the top floor. This area offers residents a place to connect, work, or enjoy panoramic views of Eindhoven’s skyline. While the apartments are now ready, the building's final touches are still in progress.
We look forward to revealing more as FRESH comes to life.

Together with BPD | Bouwfonds Gebiedsontwikkeling, Huybregts Relou (VB Groep), GROOSMAN, DELVA Landscape Architecture / Urbanism, Adviesbureau Tielemans BV, Kompas 360, Studioninedots

Yesterday marked the official start of construction for the Antwerp Coordination Centre (ACC).

Annick De Ridder (Flemish Minister of Mobility, Public Works, Ports and Sport), Jacques Vandermeiren (CEO Port of Antwerp-Bruges), Johan Klaps (Port Alderman of the City of Antwerp), and Bram Vandenboom (Managing Director of Van Roey) commemorated the beginning of this significant project.

Located between the Zandvliet and Berendrecht locks on the west bank of the Schelde River, the ACC will be a central hub for overseeing and coordinating port operations, managing 275,000 annual ship movements. Its eight-storey design, with a robust load-bearing framework and expansive openings, ensures clear sightlines for navigation.

We are pleased to announce that Museum Paleis Het Loo has officially been listed among the world’s most beautiful museums for 2024! This recognition was awarded during the World Ceremony at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris on 2 December 2024. We are honoured to be listed alongside other outstanding global projects. Congratulations to all the recipients of the Prix Versailles 2024.

Dikkie Scipio had the honour of serving as a jury member for the 2024 edition of the Prix des Femmes Architectes, organised by ARVHA with the support of the National Council of the Order of Architects and the City of Paris. This prestigious award celebrates the achievements and careers of women architects, inspiring the next generation while fostering greater gender equality within the field of architecture.

Congratulations to Sara de Giles Dubois, winner of the Prix International 2024! It is particularly special that Dikkie, herself a recipient of the Prix International in 2023, had the privilege of awarding this honour. We also extend our congratulations to all the laureates recognised for their exceptional contributions to architecture.

Selected from 350 candidates and 1,270 projects, these awards highlight outstanding talent and innovation in our profession.

More info at this link.

The Netherlands American Cemetery Visitor Centre has won the "Betonprijs 2024" by Betonvereniging in the "Utiliteitsbouw" category together with the “publiekprijs”. The jury commended the project for its innovative use of concrete, which created a strong, iconic, and poetic architectural expression. The layered in-situ cast concrete reflects remarkable craftsmanship, offering both a sense of protection and openness. The technical achievement of lifting this massive concrete block post-casting, without joints, was described as "sublime."

More info at this link.

Museum Paleis Het Loo has been awarded the Dutch Daylight Award in the >1000 m² category!

Last Wednesday, the winners of the Dutch Daylight Awards 2024 were announced in The Hague.The jury praised our design for its remarkable use of daylight, seamlessly integrating light to enhance the museum experience. This project prioritises a connection between interior spaces and the surrounding historic landscape, creating an atmosphere that respects and revitalises the heritage setting. Thank you to the Dutch Daylight Awards and everyone involved.

Antonio Ortiz (Cruz yOrtiz Arquitectos) is leading the course "Interventions on Existing Buildings," a professional gathering at Universidad Internacional Menéndez Pelayo organized by the Santander Fundación. The course will take place from September 2–4 in Santander, Spain.

Kees Kaan will be a speaker at the event and will deliver a presentation in which he will discuss the importance of heritage from different perspectives. He will join a distinguished panel that includes David Chipperfield (David Chipperfield Architects), Rafael Moneo (RAFAEL MONEO ARQUITECTO SL), Jordi Garcés (JORDI GARCES ENRIC SORIA ARQUITECTES SA), Gabriel Cabrero and Román San Emeterio-Pedraja.

More info at this link.

In his inaugural speech to guests and members of the Academy, Kaan discussed the significance of representation in architecture and how themes of grandeur, collectivity, and culture, rooted in French architecture, have influenced his professional journey. Exploring the concept of "Palais" and its evolution in Parisian architecture, Kaan drew a parallels to the urban development of Amsterdam's canals, based on a pragmatic and commercially efficient economic model.

Kaan concluded by emphasizing the role of architecture in fostering social interaction and cultural dialogue, highlighting the importance of narratives in building.

Dikkie Scipio reflects on the essay 'Let's talk about Palladio, a brave attempt to understand a 16th-century architect', which is included in the book: “Palladio has been the most studied, copied, and celebrated architect for centuries, yet his relevance in contemporary architectural discourse is minimal. However, at a time when the perception of our profession and the way architects define their role are both undergoing significant changes, it becomes pertinent to revisit the question: What exactly is an architect? In doing so, we cannot overlook the godfathers of architecture and must endeavour to understand their position on Utilitas, Firmitas, and Venustas (usefulness/convenience, durability, and beauty) the triangle on which architecture is founded”.

Thanks to FH Münster, University of Applied Sciences, the Münster School of Architecture and the Palladio Museum – Centro Internazionale di Studi di Architettura Andrea Palladio for making this possible.

The book is already online for a free delight, you can find it here.

The Matchbox project adopts the rationality and no-nonsense aesthetic of the early modernist context to be integrated into the former industrial ribbon of Philips factories Strijp-S.

After realisation, it will be the first building in Strijp-S to use bio-based materials, allowing the storing of more CO₂ within the building than what was emitted during its developing phase. Matchbox brings in the softness of an elegantly crafted timber grid system. This deliberate design approach exemplifies our dedication to reducing the carbon footprint and nurturing a more environmentally conscious future.

Matchbox has a highly permeable active plinth, hosting small entrepreneurs and the new Trudo offices from the ground floor to the second floor. A total of 36 apartments on levels three to six are arranged around an inner courtyard to encourage social contact between people, completely in the style of Strijp-S.

As urbanisation continues to increase around the world, cities are expanding rapidly, and planners are trying to predict future scenarios. This is particularly true for the city of Amsterdam, where urbanisation means, above all, intensification and diversification. Amsterdam has a long tradition of integrated planning of its growth, with the century-old canal system as the protagonist. Architecture and urban development have always been closely intertwined, in its own unique way, throughout every period of growth. This has made the city of Amsterdam one of the most fascinating showcases of the relationship between architecture and urban development. The recent debate on how to achieve the right density in different parts of the city is an example of this attitude.

Inspired by such questions and challenges, KAAN Architecten is ready to jump into the arena of the constructive and innovative pioneering mentality that Arcam promotes, which is also typical of Amsterdam. KAAN Architecten's many projects in the city have given us an extensive awareness of the big picture and the main questions for Amsterdam, and we are eager to share and debate.

In response to the publication Women in Architecture, nai010 publishers organised a panel discussion with Arcam Architectuurcentrum Amsterdam and Pakhuis de Zwijger.

Dikkie Scipio was part of this debate together with Linda Vlassenrood, Eileen Stornebrink, Peter van Assche, Pınar Balat, Murtada Alkaabi, Erica Smeets-Klokgieters and Jurrian Arnold. The event also had Indira van ’t Klooster (Arcam Architectuurcentrum Amsterdam) discussing new values, ownership and authorship in architecture. The event took place last December at Pakhuis de Zwijger in Amsterdam. Watch it here.

Fascia is the vertical band forming the outer surface of the building's abstract cubic volume suspended above the landscape. Captured on film by Marcel IJzerman, the structure was slowly and carefully lifted over the course of several days by a coordinated system of hydraulic jacks to its final position. There, it will permanently hang from the visitor centre’s roof structure, allowing light to enter behind and giving it the appearance of floating in place. We are incredibly proud and excited to reveal the finished space very soon.

Film by Marcel IJzerman Sound design by Morten Brogaard Commissioned by KAAN Architecten and American Battle Monuments Commission With thanks to Groep van Roey, Civiele technieken deBoer bv, Camuse

The renowned award, now in its 11th edition, celebrates the outstanding contributions of women architects globally. ARVHA, in collaboration with esteemed partners such as the Ile de France Region and the National Council of the Order of Architects, aims to recognise and promote the achievements of women in architecture.

In a competitive pool of 1,270 projects reviewed for the 2023 edition, Dikkie Scipio stood out for her remarkable accomplishments, receiving the award for her outstanding works, among others Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp, Geo- and Environmental Center at Tübingen University and Museum Paleis Het Loo in Apeldoorn. This recognition reflects not only her individual success but also her influence as a role model for future female architects.

In addition to her architectural achievements, Dikkie Scipio plays a vital role in academia, where she finds deep importance. As a dedicated professor at the MSA Muenster School of Architecture, she actively seeks to inspire and empower the next generation, particularly young women, by fostering a passion for architecture.

Congratulations to Dikkie Scipio on this well-deserved honour!

Titled Building Narratives, the lecture will explore the transformative power of narrative construction within architectural projects. Kaan will delve into how each project takes on a distinct identity as the architect crafts a compelling narrative, engaging individuals and stories along the way. This process, as Kaan emphasises, is inclusive and open, actively inviting the input of all stakeholders. By incorporating the diverse opinions and experiences of those involved, this approach ultimately results in the creation of buildings that are not only robust and straightforward but also deeply connected to the needs and aspirations of both future occupants and society as a whole.

Practical information: ENSAPLV, Amphi 302 Tuesday 3 October 2023 at 18.00 h Free admission, limited seating available.

Organised by the Flemish Architecture Institute, Day of Architecture is just one of many events taking place during the Festival of Architecture from 5–10 September which aims to highlight architectural culture with numerous activities throughout Flanders and Brussels. On 10 September, the Day of Architecture exceptionally coincides with Heritage Day, and visitors of Utopia will get to experience firsthand how contemporary architecture and heritage meet.

Visitors can explore Utopia by themselves between 14.00–17.00 (no registration needed), or join an exclusive lecture by Vincent Panhuysen. The lecture will take place in the auditorium at 15.00, followed by a guided tour of the building. Space is limited, so registration is required.

Practical information Utopia Library and Academy for Performing Arts, Aalst 10 September 14.00–17.00 – walk in, free visit – no registration needed 15.00 – lecture by Vincent Panhuysen and a guided tour – registration required

"Reflections," also available in Dutch as "Spiegelingen," chronicles the process of renovating and extending Paleis Het Loo. Once a Dutch royal hunting palace, it has since evolved into one of the Netherlands' most esteemed and frequently visited museums.

Through a collection of striking photographs and informative accounts from key contributors to the project, the book highlights the history of the palace and the new design by KAAN Architecten, illustrating how these elements harmoniously converge. Reflections offers a fascinating account of a successful transformation, where the past, present, and future seamlessly reinforce each other.

Now available for preorder!

August 2023 Editors: Anton Kos, Peter Bakkum, Pien Harms, Michel van Maarseveen, Dikkie Scipio Authors: Floris Alkemade, Peter Bakkum, Pien Harms, Anton Kos, Michel van Maarseveen, Koen Ottenheym, Wim Pijbes, Dikkie Scipio Design: Koehorst in ’t Veld Photography: Sebastian van Damme, Marnix Klooster, Simon Menges, Dominique Panhuysen, Bouke Wolbrink Publisher: nai010 publishers, Rotterdam In collaboration with: Museum Paleis Het Loo Hardcover | 22 x 28 cm | 176 pages | illustrated (130 full colour)

In last week’s ceremony, Mayor Axel Grael recognised the park's innovation and its important role in Niterói's plan for a sustainable and inclusive future. The inaugurated section is named Recanto Carlos Boechat in honour of the former councillor and regional administrator of the Oceanic Region, who played a crucial role in engaging with the community and was instrumental in ensuring the successful implementation of the park.

The POP project aims at a long-term improvement of Niterói’s Piratininga Lagoon. It includes extensive water-filtering gardens, an overarching network of pedestrian and bike paths, lookouts, squares, recreation areas, and an eco-cultural centre focused on environmental education.

It is currently the largest project in Brazil using Nature-based Solutions (NbS) and has already won the Latam Smart City Awards in the Sustainable Urban Development and Mobility category. More recently, it won the Sustainable Cities Award for the best environmental project in the country.

On behalf of our design team, they were greeted by Dikkie Scipio, and as part of their tour, they made a special stop at the iconic Madonna by Fouquet. More information on their visit can be found through official sources.

The New Together Exhibition emerges as an active platform, gathering projects that embody a new era and offer solutions for the transition. “Metamorphosis is the closest image to indicate a phase of profound transformation that is challenging our lifestyles, the tools and languages with which we represent them, and the visions with which we imagine a different future,” claim the exhibition’s curators Luca Molinari and Simona Finessi.

The exhibition showcases a collection of 140 projects developed worldwide in the past three years, spanning various scales and promoting social interaction. Our Amsterdam Courthouse is one such project encouraging encounters, dialogues, and shared experiences within the judicial and wider city context. Managing architect Marco Lanna joins the Platform Architecture Festival to present the project on 24 June.

The New Together Exhibition is held from May 20 to July 30 at the Scuola Grande di Misericordia in Venice.

Our office is located in the heart of Rotterdam, in the former premises of De Nederlandsche Bank. Join us between 13.30 and 17.00 to delve into the fascinating history of this mid-century landmark and learn more about our work and projects.

Additional information is available through official sources.

Nearly a year ago, we celebrated the launch of PORTRAITS, a significant publication that offers a unique perspective on fifteen of our major built works to date. These selected projects were portrayed as distinct characters with distinctive physiognomies, yet they belong to the same family and share similar features, hence the book's title.

Beyond being a project overview, publishing PORTRAITS was a culmination of a research process aimed at interpreting a complex genealogy that reveals the 15 buildings not as autonomous entities but as parts of a shared vision.

To celebrate the one-year anniversary of our first monograph, we are hosting a special presentation of the book in Zürich in association with our publisher Park Books and our friends at the gta institute from ETH Zürich. Join us on 21 June at 19.00 for an engaging evening with the book editors and special guests, followed by an interactive Q&A session and celebratory drinks.

Practical information Wed, 21 June 2023; 19.00 Never Stop Reading (Spiegelgasse 18, 8001 Zürich, Switzerland)

Speakers Alice Colombo (KAAN Architecten) Kees Kaan (KAAN Architecten, TU Delft) Tom Avermaete (gta institute, ETH Zürich)

Entry is free. Due to high interest and limited capacity we kindly ask to register your attendance at press@kaanarchitecten.com.

The panel aligns with the Biennale's theme of “change,” which is emphasised by this year's curator, Lesley Lokko, as a means of creating a collective and relevant future. During this event, four architects will briefly share their perspectives on this question and present their visions for the future based on their own practices.

Joining the panel are Dikkie Scipio (KAAN Architecten), Robert Winkel (Mei architects and planners), Frederik Jacobs (CONIX RDBM Architects), and Ron Bakker (PLP Architecture). Together, they will explore the provocative question of whether we can define new freedoms and how we can attain them.

We invite you to join us on Thursday, 18 May at 09.30 at Palazzo Contarini Polignac in Venice.

Last Friday evening, we marked the opening of this special project with a show featuring projections, live music, dance, and an array of lights.

As the guest of honour, His Majesty the King visited the extension before the show, together with Dikkie Scipio, Michel van Maarseveen, Pien Harms, and Gerdi Verbeet.

Shot in the stunning Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp, this film is part of a larger body of work that explores the narrative possibilities of architecture and film through a captivating vampire tale.

Directed by Jaime Levinas and created in collaboration with a talented team of artists, including Tina Makharadze, Ruben Hamelink, Nadia de Vries, and Noah Chevan, this film is a testament to the power of creative collaboration and experimentation. Watch the film on our MINUTES platform

MINUTES has received critical acclaim for its unique approach to exploring the intersection of architecture and film. Since its launch two years ago, the series has gained a significant following and has been featured in various film festivals and architecture events worldwide. Each short film in the series has been carefully crafted to showcase the beauty and complexity of the built environment in a new and captivating way.

[caption id="attachment_19542" align="alignnone" width="1920"] From the film by Romain Loiseau & Tristan Soreau - To Become one[/caption]

“Film and architecture have an almost uncanny bond with each other”, claims Brendan Cormier, senior curator at the Victoria and Albert Museum, noting that “it is somewhat surprising that until now, films that focus exclusively on the representation of architecture remain a relatively niche pursuit.”

[caption id="attachment_19540" align="alignnone" width="1920"] From the film by From Form - Await[/caption]

In his essay ‘Why are there so few films about architecture?’ Cormier marks MINUTES as a milestone on a joint historical timeline of architecture and cinema. He writes: “By commissioning these films, KAAN Architecten is doing a wonderful service for architecture culture in general. It gives space for new experiments with the portrayal of architecture on film while showing valuable ways to enrich our documentation of architecture for future generations to experience.”

As the MINUTES series continues to grow and evolve, we look forward to seeing what new stories and perspectives it will bring to the world of architecture and film.

[caption id="attachment_19541" align="alignnone" width="1920"] From the film by Benita Vlok - Crafted[/caption]

Visit MINUTES website to discover more information about directors, films and architectural projects.

Film credits: Featuring: Tina Makharadze Written and directed by: Jaime Levinas Director of Photography: Ruben Hamelink Line Producer: Sara Halbertsma Creative Producer: Inge de Leeuw Editing: Andrew Aaronson Original music and Sound design: Noah Chevan Words by: Nadia de Vries Production Designer: Rosie Stapel Setdresser: Lorien Mouyal Propsrunner Anne van Soest Props assistants: Freya Filarski, Anjelica Belgrave Special props: Jos Crezee With thanks to: Opera Ballet Flanders, Jacobs Interieur NV te Bree, ’s Zomers Bloemen Rotterdam, Antiquariaat Looijestein, Diana van de Vossenberg Jaime Levinas is an Argentinean filmmaker based in Rotterdam. He graduated from Brooklyn College as a Fulbright grantee and Prins Bernhard Cultuur Fonds fellow. His short films Midnight Coffee (2020) and PINPIN(2021) have been selected for festivals such as Clermont-Ferrand, BAFICI, IFFR, Maryland and others.

Shot in the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp, this film is part of a larger body of work that explores the narrative possibilities of architecture and film through a captivating vampire tale.

Directed by Jaime Levinas and created in collaboration with a talented team of artists, including Tina Makharadze, Ruben Hamelink, Nadia de Vries, and Noah Chevan, this film is a testament to the power of creative collaboration and experimentation.

MINUTES has received critical acclaim for its unique approach to exploring the intersection of architecture and film. Since its launch two years ago, the series has gained a significant following and has been featured in various film festivals and architecture events worldwide. Each short film in the series has been carefully crafted to showcase the beauty and complexity of the built environment in a new and captivating way.

“Film and architecture have an almost uncanny bond with each other,” claims Brendan Cormier, senior curator at the Victoria and Albert Museum, noting that it is somewhat surprising that until now, films that focus exclusively on the representation of architecture remain a relatively niche pursuit. In his essay Why are there so few films about architecture? Cormier marks MINUTES as a milestone on a joint historical timeline of architecture and cinema. He writes: “By commissioning these films, KAAN Architecten is doing a wonderful service for architecture culture in general. It gives space for new experiments with the portrayal of architecture on film while showing valuable ways to enrich our documentation of architecture for future generations to experience.”

As the MINUTES series continues to grow and evolve, new stories and perspectives will further enrich the world of architecture and film.

Film credits Featuring: Tina Makharadze Written and directed by: Jaime Levinas Director of Photography: Ruben Hamelink Line Producer: Sara Halbertsma Creative Producer: Inge de Leeuw Editing: Andrew Aaronson Original music and Sound design: Noah Chevan Words by: Nadia de Vries Production Designer: Rosie Stapel Setdresser: Lorien Mouyal Propsrunner: Anne van Soest Props assistants: Freya Filarski, Anjelica Belgrave Special props: Jos Crezee

With thanks to: Opera Ballet Flanders, Jacobs Interieur NV te Bree, ’s Zomers Bloemen Rotterdam, Antiquariaat Looijestein, Diana van de Vossenberg

Jaime Levinas is an Argentinean filmmaker based in Rotterdam. He graduated from Brooklyn College as a Fulbright grantee and Prins Bernhard Cultuur Fonds fellow. His short films Midnight Coffee (2020) and PINPIN (2021) have been selected for festivals such as Clermont-Ferrand, BAFICI, IFFR, Maryland and others.

In the past five years, Paleis Het Loo has undergone a significant renovation, including a newly designed extension spanning over 5000 square meters located below the Bassecour. The design was inspired by the layout and proportions baroque palace and its historic surroundings. It incorporates all the necessary facilities and spaces while expressing a grandeur that befits one of the Netherlands' most popular and visited museums.

For those who may not know, the 'drapeau' is named after the flag that was traditionally placed on top of houses when construction work was completed. The celebration was organised by the contractor Eiffage and provided a wonderful opportunity to bring together all parties involved in the project and recognize the hard work and dedication of the builders, known as 'compagnons'. We are thrilled with the progress made on JUMP and can't wait to see the final result. Stay tuned for more updates!

The goal of the new intervention is to turn the Santa Clara convent into the new headquarters for the Pontevedra Museum. At last week's press conference, the president of the local Provincial Council stated that the renovation and extension of the convent will be one of the most ambitious cultural works in Spain and will position the Museum as a cultural and architectural reference in the world.

Other participants moving further into the second stage of the competition include Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos, Kengo Kuma, David Chipperfield with Carlos Seoane, and Snohetta with Alfonso Penela.

Drawing from the renovation and extension of KMSKA in Antwerp, Paleis Het Loo in Apeldoorn, and many others, Scipio's lecture will focus on how architecture deals with the passing of time and how the process of aging develops new ways of working and coexisting within architectural practice.

Join on Tuesday, 7 February, 19.00 in the AUDIMAX auditorium (Steubenstraße 6, 99423 Weimar). The lecture will also be recorded and streamed online at a later date.

Bridging Time chronicles the making of one of Europe’s most exciting museums in recent history. The latest renovation work and new design combine a contemporary allure with the glorious but somewhat neglected beauty of the 19th-century landmark. The renovation and extension bring together the past, the present and the future in a layered ensemble of time, architecture, history and art.

Contributions by Inge Bertels and Frederik Vandyck, Melanie Bühler, Louis De Mey, and Dikkie Scipio unveil this palimpsest of influences that shaped the museum and its setting and eventually guided our architectural intervention. The texts are richly illustrated with original drawings, archive material, unique images, and testimonies of designers, builders and craftsmen involved in the project over the past two decades. Following last week’s launch with the book contributors at a festive night at the museum, Bridging Time is now available for purchase online and in specialised bookstores.

Credits Texts: Inge Bertels, Melanie Bühler, Louis De Mey, Dikkie Scipio, Frederik Vandyck Publisher: nai010 publishers, Rotterdam Design: Alice Colombo Cover photo: Sebastian van Damme Photography: Stijn Bollaert, Karin Borghouts, Sebastian van Damme, Toon Grobet Copy editing: John Kirkpatrick Translations: John Kirkpatrick, Billy Nolan Printing and lithography: Die Keure, Brugge Paper: Magno Gloss 150 gr, Sirio Color Cherry 140 gr (interior), Wibalin Natural 565 Blueberry (cover material)

1st edition, 2022 Hardback 176 pages 22 x 31 cm ISBN 978-94-6208-743-9

The website was designed by Samuel Gadea, Florian Casarin and Julien Bidoret to host the 12 short films directed by talented international filmmakers portraying projects designed by KAAN Architecten. The site's graphic language draws from black-and-white contrasts, informed by the core visual identity of MINUTES originally designed by From Form.

“This website manages to be design-led without intruding on user experience. It does not sacrifice functionality for style, and showcases each project in a way that is clear, concise and comprehensive, while still being visually arresting and engaging,” said the judges. “It allows the user to dive further into each film, inviting them to explore the process and design thinking behind the projects. What first could appear to be simply a landing page evolves into a complete content experience.”

Rooted in the essential belief that every building tells a story, MINUTES was first floated as a concept in 2017, when we started exploring the dialogue between architecture and cinema. Four years later, MINUTES evolved into a fully-fledged cinematic oeuvre consisting of 12 short films, each less than ten minutes long. Within the framework of this unique exploratory initiative, commissioned filmmakers were given creative freedom to realise their vision of our projects. Using narrative, reference and symbolism, each film takes a different approach to portray how architecture interacts with the world.

As a dynamic platform with ongoing critical contributions from global thought leaders in architecture, design, climate, data science, art, culture, economics and politics, THE NEW OPEN rethinks the future foundations of design and its impact on our societies. Their first public conference will take place on 27 and 28 October at TU Delft. The event includes keynote talks, interview-like conversations and panels from architects, designers and academics on climate, artificial intelligence, architecture, data-driven design and social and cultural change.

"If more accurate, complete and unbiased information is available, our ability to shape our habitat will be better too," says Kees Kaan to introduce his keynote on the future of data-driven design set for 27 October. He advocates the need for open, impartial and fair data, calling it essential for the design process.

"Better design decision-making is based on reliable, clean, and approved data sources," continues Javier Cuartero. He will give his insight as a data and tech support leader in a workshop on 28 October. For the first time, THE NEW OPEN [Minds] workshop will bring researchers from the fields of Open Science, Computational Design, Urbanism, Data Management and Artificial Intelligence together with architects and experts from internationally renowned design firms innovating architecture through the use of data.

The director of our French office, Marylene Gallon, welcomed the audience after which editor and graphic designer Alice Colombo presented the concept behind the book’s structure and design. She explained the idea of selected projects being portrayed as different characters with distinctive physiognomies but belonging to the same family and sharing similar features, hence the book’s title.

The evening continued with a conversation between Kees Kaan, Vincent Panhuysen, architectural critic Pierre Chabard and architect Jean-Pierre Pranlas-Descours, both frequent collaborators of KAAN Architecten. Chabard is also one of the featured writers in the monograph. His essay Architecture as Dialogue weaves through the book and elucidates framing, topology, geometry and craft as the hallmarks of our designs.

You can get your copy of PORTRAITS online and in specialised bookstores.

Images by Sebastian van Damme. Featured image by Urte Baranauskaite.

The Courthouse in Nancy will bring together the penal, civic, social and trades courts on one site. Creating a singular hub for these legal entities aims to improve the conditions for welcoming the public and the functioning of all courts. The jury selected our design as it ensures a high-quality urban interpolation that highlights the remarkable industrial heritage of the site. Located on the site of the former Alstom factory in the northeast of Nancy's historic core, the new judicial complex marks the first stage of the transformation of this historically industrial area into an up-and-coming ecological district.

Our project restores the architectural and spatial integrity of the former assembly hall, transforming it into various interconnected spaces. Facades and most portico frames are preserved and dialogue with the project's different parts: the new judicial building and its logistics spaces, the forecourt, and a dense forest. The greenery is omnipresent and seeps into the building through a large patio, contributing to the image of serene and welcoming justice.

Demolition works carried out by the municipality of Nancy will begin in 2023, while delivery is expected by 2027.

Project facts Architect: KAAN Architecten, Paris/Rotterdam Local architect: Bagard & Luron, Nancy Structural advisor: EVP Ingénierie, Paris Installation and Sustainability advisor: INEX, Montreuil Financial advisor: BMF, Paris/Apprieu Acoustics advisor: META, Paris Maintenance and operation: SINTEO, Paris Landscape design: Territoires, Besançon Images: ILULISSA, Nancy

Client: The Public Agency for Judicial Real Estate (APIJ) GFA: 15.000 m2 Program: 10 public courtrooms, 21 cabinet courtrooms, 338 workplaces

After winning an international competition in 2003 commissioned by the Flemish Government, we have worked intensively on the complex masterplan, renovation and extension of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp (Belgium), also known as KMSKA (Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen), to bring contemporary allure to a glorious, overlooked beauty of the 19th century.

Guests can walk through an enfilade of exhibition rooms tinted in dark pink, green and red; oak doors, tall columns and ceiling ornaments in plasterwork convey a feeling of ancient grandeur. Meanwhile, hidden in the heart of the old building, a new vertical museum arises as a completely autonomous entity built within the four original patios.

With bright white exhibition halls, hidden rooms, long staircases, far-reaching sightlines and varying gradations of daylight, the new museum charts a route full of surprising vertical experiences.

With the museum's grand opening, the longest-running project of our office comes to a close. “The renovation was a unique experience, one that has not followed the usual paths of an architectural project in any way. A lot of people have contributed with their hands and head to a result we can now celebrate, and for which I owe everyone a lot of thanks,” says Dikkie Scipio, the founding partner in charge of guiding the masterplan of the renovation for the past two decades.

The selected projects are portrayed as different characters with distinctive physiognomies but belonging to the same family and sharing similar features, hence the book’s title. “Designs morph into characters, and then into buildings,” claims Kees Kaan. “Each project acquires its own identity through the narrative that is developed by the architect. This is a nurturing process that pulls people and stories together to build a powerful, simple, clearly formulated, and connective concept.”

The same idea runs throughout the book, which draws on rich visual documentation, including photographs, original illustrations, and detailed drawings, to explore the studio’s work using different lenses. The eponymous Portraits chapter retraces and unfolds the projects’ narratives, focusing on single pieces of a complex puzzle: a fragment of an image, a citation from an article, a detail. Meanwhile, Gallery, Drawings and Features simply hold up a mirror to the projects, reflecting them as they are, with no additional interpretation.

Original essays by architecture critics Pierre Chabard and Ruud Brouwers weave through the book, interpreting the common architectural themes evident in the firm’s work. Chabard’s Architecture as Dialogue mainly elucidates framing, topology, geometry and craft as the hallmarks of KAAN Architecten designs, while Brouwers reflects on their strong contemporary identity, which is simultaneously rooted in history and future-proof.

The book is available for purchase online and in specialised bookstores.

The Aurora building is a prominent landmark at the intersection of Centrum, Zuid and West and is one of Amsterdam's first modernist anchor points. It was designed by the renowned Dutch architect Piet Zanstra for the Aurora life insurance company in the 1960s. The elegant curvature of its facade is a characteristic feature, running almost parallel to the bend of the street corner. The building consists of a commercial plinth with spacious office floors of almost 1,000m2 above.

The renovation of Aurora combines character preservation with innovation. The ambition is to modernise and make the building more sustainable while respecting its history and unique features. Adding a new roof structure, green roof terraces, and a vertical greenhouse will create various outdoor spaces and meeting spots to strengthen the connection within the building and with the neighbourhood. The aim is to obtain an A++ energy label, BREEAM and WELL certification for the building. All sustainability measures contribute to a comfortable and healthy living environment. The focus is on social cohesion and achieving a pleasant living environment, with less noise, heat stress and air pollution.

Aurora will make an ideal new home for major national and international companies due partly to its good accessibility and location in relation to the centre of Amsterdam. First activities regarding renovation are expected at the end of 2023, after the departure of the current tenant, Booking.com.

Project facts Architect: KAAN Architecten Developer: Being Owner: UBS Asset Management Structural engineering: IMd Raadgevende Ingenieurs Installations and sustainability: DGMR Financial consultant: SkaaL Leasing manager: CBRE, Van Gool Elburg

Dust Motes Dancing in the Sunbeams

I’m not an architect, but I’ve always been attracted to the built environment: the spaces we occupy, what they represent and how we represent them.

Since I joined KAAN Architecten in 2015, I started working on how to illustrate architectural projects. First, I observed how architects describe their buildings, which supports they choose, which language they use and how their narratives come to life. I noticed how a bad presentation could ‘kill’ a well-thought project and how an intelligent presentation could uplift a project designed in just a couple of days.

Working in communications, my job is to ‘curate’ the way we present the office’s projects to the broader public: journalists, students, clients, collaborators, social media followers, and so on. It’s complex work requiring understanding your audience and choosing an appropriate language and a suitable medium to spread your message. Because of the press standards in the architectural field, we usually follow a uniform procedure to document projects. This is a ready-to-use package that illustrates the projects at their best. Nevertheless, I felt something was missing, and more could be done to dig into the real essence of a building. Playfully, I imagined a situation where the story of the building is not told by the architect but by someone else who brings a very fresh view of the space.

During the construction period, the organs and blood vessels of a building take shape; you can almost see the heartbeat. To me, visiting a construction site always felt like an intimate moment, like peeking into a pregnant woman's belly. Once the machines are gone, the structure is free-standing, now free to roam. The creature (building) has its own life and voice. There is something cathartic about the moment a building is completed. Like the ‘passing of the baton’, the architect and the whole construction team offer a building to its users. From a hand-drawn sketch or 3D model representation, the building is now fully operative and gives room to other narrations outside the contractors’ meeting rooms.

Thanks to my specific role in the company, I have access to most KAAN Architecten’s buildings. I manage press tours, accompany photographers during their photoshoots, and visit construction sites with our clients to plan a press strategy for upcoming buildings. While walking through these spaces, I was surprised about how many elements I could grasp from these buildings that don’t necessarily emerge through our standard press material. The building ‘lives’ its daily routines, it breathes, and people occupy places in an extraordinary way. There are so many stories to tell.

The idea of MINUTES started here. MINUTES is a way of counting time. It is a standard duration, notes from a meeting, generic and precise at the same time. I thought this name could work well for such an ambitious project. I proposed to launch a series of films. Web and TV series work really well. Series are the product of our times par excellence. Bits of information in a restricted length of time, a story diluted into chapters for better digestion.

MINUTES proposes alternative stories about KAAN Architecten buildings. We established a standard set-up for the series, an opening sequence, a clear project identity, and a methodology to approach each movie in a structured way. We gave ‘open mic’ to 12 directors from different backgrounds and nationalities to experiment with a selected range of projects. In discussions with them, I always promoted the importance of creating their own vision of the building. The final objective was not to have a documentary of our built portfolio but rather a constellation of stories emerging from personal memories and emotions generated by these spaces.

Fragments of the reality of these buildings are eternalised on film. The buildings aren’t always the centrepieces of narration. Sometimes they serve as settings; other times, we barely see them, which is exactly what I wanted to achieve with MINUTES. Work with evocative images, a sensory experience of space.

Our imagination works with images and needs them to operate. Architecture is a constellation of images, but I always thought they lacked the dynamics of how we experience spaces. The vibrating shadows, people’s gossip, the fact that some spaces are dull and others are soothing, dog’s footsteps in an empty space… Films can elevate spaces to places where situations happen.

The adventure of MINUTES was far from being an easy one. In constant conversation with the firm's partners, I coordinated many directors with brilliant and original ideas while trying to keep the overall project looking like a coherent series. MINUTES touches a vulnerable spot; it is intended as a generous gesture where the architect offers the building to interpretations. It is not very common and, as far as I reckon, this has never been done by other architecture studios, at least not as a full series of movies.

Another significant challenge of MINUTES is offering additional documentation of architectural projects framed at a particular time. For example, I’m thinking about Floating Stillness, which Miguel C. Tavares shot in Lille during the Covid-19 pandemic. We were almost ready to shoot, but then the scenario had to change entirely and adapt to the constraints given by the limited activities in the building and the overall atmosphere of estrangement and loneliness at that moment. On the other hand, when Joana Colomar filmed Utopia, within the walls of a vibrant space filled with the most diverse kind of crowds, she decided to illustrate the building by filming the people occupying the space. Their presence is so significant and gives meaning to the whole architectural project. We can understand the project and how it socially resonates without the need to see the building.

Nowadays, we have the privilege of a fantastic variety of media to capture the essence of a building. Nevertheless, when I’m out of inspiration, I think about the sensibility of Vilhelm Hammershøi, who could evoke the feeling of dust particles dancing in the light that filters through a window with just a still life painting. We all know this precious yet tiny little event. A flat interior space gets inhabited by a small dance originating from the sun. It’s an invitation to discover a story where we thought there was just a dull corner of a building. Life is happening; it’s all about how attentive we are.

— Martina Margini

On June 21, we will present Portraits, the first monograph on KAAN Architecten, recently published by Park Books. This is the first substantial publication offering a unique perspective on our major built works to date. The selected projects are portrayed as different characters with distinctive physiognomies but belonging to the same family and sharing similar features, hence the book's title. Beyond being a project overview, Portraits is a culmination of a research process aimed at interpreting a complex genealogy that reveals the fifteen buildings not as autonomous entities but as parts of a shared vision.

Join us on Tuesday evening, June 21, in a festive ceremony with a brief introduction by the authors and editors. The book will also be available for purchase during the event, courtesy of NAI Booksellers. The launch will take place at Baanhof, a unique venue located in a mid-century power station in the heart of Rotterdam.

We are also joining the Open Office Day initiative during the Rotterdam Architecture Month. On Saturday, June 25, we will open the doors of our office space located in the former premises of De Nederlandsche Bank. Visitors can learn about the history of the mid-century landmark as well as about our work and projects. Guided tours in English will take place hourly between 11.00 and 16.00 (the last visit starting at 15.00). Entry is free with registration.

The Reconstruction era was an extremely fruitful period which yielded the city’s many landmarks. As a Rotterdam-based studio, we are honoured to have contributed to several of them through renovations, extensions and retrofitting assignments. We dug into our archive to bring you a selected overview below.

Galeries Modernes Originally built in 1957 in central Rotterdam by renowned architects Van den Broek en Bakema, Galeries Modernes was a prime example of the Reconstruction era architecture of the city. Our new proposal refers to and respects the basic architectonic principles of the original design. Strong volumes with deep setbacks in a primarily horizontal composition and sharp canopies are original qualities that are reinterpreted and translated into a contemporary building.

Crystal House – The Lobby The Lobby is a sustainable transformation of the current commercial venue Crystal House located in central Rotterdam. Although a part of the historic Lijnbaan ensemble, the building is not a protected monument because it was built later. As a part of the ongoing urban regeneration of the surrounding area, this outdated structure is getting a complete overhaul based on transparency, accessibility and a lively program. The modernist redesign of Crystal House gives the nod to the Rotterdam Reconstruction era yet radiates individuality simultaneously.

Dreamhouse In 2013 we renovated Dreamhouse, one of the monumental buildings by Van den Broek en Bakema from the 1950s in Rotterdam’s Lijnbaan area. While maintaining the existing concrete structure, rectangular volumes have been stacked in balanced proportions and masses similar to the original plan. They display a subtle differentiation of materials, window openings, colours and details, giving a contemporary feel to the traditional post-war architectural identity of Lijnbaan.

Lumière We are currently finishing the preliminary design for Lumière, a high-rise project adjacent to the protected Lijnbaan ensemble that makes significant steps in the development and desired densification of the city centre and brings to it a qualitative programmatic diversity in line with Rotterdam’s metropolitan ambition.

Central Post Central Post is a listed national monument that we transformed into a contemporary and multifunctional office building in 2009. A 90% increase in floor area was achieved through exterior restoration and interior transformation, and the building was granted a Class A Energy Label. The original Louis van Roode art piece on its façade and other integrated art pieces were also restored.

Erasmus MC Education Centre The Education Centre is part of the Rotterdam academic hospital Erasmus MC, originally designed in 1965 by Arie Hagoort (OD205) in collaboration with Jean Prouvé. A neglected paved courtyard and an existing low-rise building have been converted into a much-used atrium that connects various new educational spaces.

Groot Handelsgebouw Recently, we have been collaborating on several projects with the Groot Handelsgebouw (GHG), the icon of the 1950s reconstruction. GHG is located in the centre of Rotterdam, right next to the city's Central Station.

KAAN Architecten is among ten offices, collectives and groups that have been commissioned for the L'Architecture Manifeste exhibition, which aims to highlight the conceptual practices of today's architects. The official opening will take place on Thursday, May 19, at 19.30 at ENSA Bretagne in Rennes, while the exhibition remains on show until June 10.

The jury, headed by Marcia Luyten, recognized the iconic value of the renovation and intervention of Museum Paleis Het Loo. The BNA stated: “The jury is impressed by the daring structural intervention, which is both understated and monumental. The quality is evident. The connection between the palace's historical aspect and the contemporary extension is beautifully executed—in the floor plan, the water feature, and the exquisite sightlines. The underground space, which could easily have been somber, has acquired a festive character due to the sparkling light, high-quality materials, and unique ceiling lines. From the compass rose in the floor to the wood decorated with orange blossom motifs, every detail has been carefully considered.”

We’d like to congratulate and thank Stichting Paleis Het Loo Nationaal Museum, all collaborators, and the team for this prestigious recognition. To discover more about the complete jury report and the winners in other categories, see the BNA Award website.

As architects, we usually design buildings for other people. We provide a service to clients, small or big, and we try to place ourselves in their position and into the position of the building’s users. For the last six years, I've been doing exactly this at KAAN Architecten for buildings like the new Amsterdam Courthouse or the new Education Centre of the University of Groningen. The chance to design something for yourself becomes increasingly more difficult with rising real estate and material prices. Especially when you would like to design your own house, the plot price is usually well above the mortgage a 30-something-year-old can afford, let alone the costs of building a house. Luckily, people are looking for alternative ways of living, most famously with the Tiny House movement, which is increasingly winning ground in many municipalities in the Netherlands. Although many people, myself included, wouldn't want to live on 25 sqm with the risk of moving within a couple of years, this movement is actively proving the potential of self-built, bio-based, prefab and modular building, albeit on a very small scale. However, this scale might be on the verge of change.

In Eindhoven, a new neighbourhood called Buurtschap te Veld (neighbourhood in a field) is being developed. This neighbourhood will be located in the north of the city, adjacent to the A50 on a large plot of fallow land and will give room to about 570 apartments of different sizes and 100 spaces for self-built houses. Depending on the permit, the houses are allowed to stay for 15 or 30 years, resulting in mainly prefab, modular and/or rebuildable homes that are largely bio-based, leading to more sustainable development. Although the project has a supposed end date, this amount of time really allows residents to invest in the project and the environment. Depending on the size of the houses, people pay a monthly rent of between 300 and 400 euros to the municipality to use the land. Since the area is not divided into plots, all outdoor space is communal. Together with their neighbours, residents can design and maintain the outdoor areas themselves and in agreement with the municipality. At Buurtschap te Veld, my girlfriend and I will be building our own house as well.

The house should have a maximum footprint of 50 sqm and a maximum height of 6 m. Secondly, it should be compact and sustainable. Because the project has multiple intake rounds, we were already designing our house before we had any idea where the house would exactly be located. This resulted in an interesting design approach, where the house is truly designed from the inside out. Because of the still relatively small plot size, we had to rethink the usage of spaces and formulate our personal living preferences. Quite quickly, we concluded that many spaces in a house only serve one specific purpose and are not in use most of the time. By creating a sequence of connected spaces, functions can more easily flow from one into the other, allowing all spaces to be used throughout the day. While positioning the windows and ventilation grills on the first floor, it has already been considered that three bedrooms can be realised by reducing the void. The use of moveable walls will ensure that the spacious concept of the house will stay intact.

The technical space, kitchen and bathroom are grouped on one side of the house, for the efficiency of the MEP, which will also result in a reduced energy loss of the hot water plumbing. Towards the north and east, large windows are positioned to allow for large amounts of daylight while reducing the chance of high temperatures in summer. Not only do these windows allow daylight to come far into the house, but they also provide a view of the green surroundings from the working space adjacent to the void.

The house's exterior is clad with anthracite corrugated steel, reminiscent of burned timber or black tar facades found in rural architecture, allowing it to become a more abstract shape within its eclectic surroundings. The wooden window frames with extended exterior jambs create an interesting contrast with the steel cladding and literally bring the wooden interior outwards, allowing for a connection with the ecological character of the building.

Interestingly, sustainability is not quantified in the project requirements, but many try to build as sustainably as possible by default. For example, many people use bio-based insulation materials such as hemp, wood fibre, flax, recycled cotton or hay. These materials are renewable and compostable, but they are also better at storing heat. Their breathability allows for a vapour-open structure, which creates a much healthier living climate and reduces the amount of heat loss through ventilation to get rid of excess moisture. To minimise costs and the carbon footprint, a lot of houses, including our own, will be built with second-hand materials, such as window frames or leftover batches of insulation.

All houses that want to stay for more than 15 years have to comply with all Dutch regulations, including BENG (Bijna Energieneutraal Gebouw). This can be a challenge since all materials used for the facade should be documented for the final energy label of the house. Our current apartment in Rotterdam has already turned into a storage with stacks of OSB, kitchen, bath, scaffolds and insulation packages all around. Moreover, the new house will be equipped with an air-air heat pump with heating and cooling capabilities. Because of the compact and adjustable design, it will be naturally ventilated. High costs of heat pump systems led us to use an electric boiler, which could be exchanged with a ventilation air-water heat pump in the future since the boiler and ventilation unit are located in the same place. On the south-facing pent roof, PV panels will be placed.

We are currently in the process of finalising the design to submit the building permit. The first apartments are already built at Buurtschap te Veld, and the first self-build houses will start construction in May 2022. The area where we will build is due to be ready for construction in Q3–Q4 2022. — Koen Bosman

The committee appreciated the integrated attention to the visitor experience and the interplay between old and new. They also praised our reflection on the museum's contents, in which daring interventions bring unity to the entire complex. On this assignment, we worked together with Origin Architecture & Engineering, who contributed with their expertise in restoring and renovating monuments and landscapes.

Museum director Marieke van Schijndel says: 'We are delighted that KAAN Architecten will be making the design for our new museum.

We are looking forward to developing the vision for Utrecht's historical landmark. Find more information about the project here.

‘Best Building of the Year’ is a Dutch architecture prize awarded by the Dutch Architectural Firms Association (BNA) to projects that demonstrate added value for clients, users, and society. The nominated buildings compete for both the jury prize and the audience award, the latter decided through a public vote open until 28 April. The winners will be announced on 12 May at Theater Zuidplein in Rotterdam.

The Anda Kerkhoven Centre, expected to be completed by the end of 2023, will provide teaching, meeting, and working spaces for around 2,000 students and staff from the Faculty of Medical Sciences and the Faculty of Science and Engineering (Pharmacy).

Located along Antonius Deusinglaan, the building will serve as the new face of a part of campus that is set to transform into a lively, green city square, flanked by the University College Groningen and a cultural student centre.

The design features a high brick block housing education spaces, alongside a lower foyer topped with a green roof garden. Closely connected to the outdoor areas and neighbouring buildings, the foyer will function as the true entrance to the Healthy Ageing Campus. With its relaxed atmosphere, the building is conceived to encourage cooperation, knowledge transfer, and a healthy lifestyle. Sustainability is embedded in the design, with solar panels and a thermal energy storage system providing renewable energy.

Building team Architect: KAAN Architecten Installation consultant: Sweegers en De Bruijn Construction engineer: abtWassenaar Building physics advisor: Peutz Contractor: Aannemingsmaatschappij Hegeman BV (in collaboration with De Groot Installatiegroep) Contract management: ZRi Infra: WMR Landscape design: Felixx Landscape Architects & Planners

Rubens’ Baptism of Christ was hoisted straight up into the Rubens Hall through hatches in the floors, specially designed to transport paintings to and from the underground depot for safekeeping. After the Rubens, other ancient and modern masters will follow according to a strict plan worked out by the curators and restorers. In total, 650 works will soon be placed on the walls of the restored and new museum rooms. Following a thorough extension and renovation by KAAN Architecten, the Royal Museum of Fine Arts will reopen on 24 September 2022.

Directed by Spirit of Space at the Crematorium Siesegem in Aalst, Belgium, Static explores the power of architectural imagery in visually manipulating space and time to create an idyllic perception.

Faceless, empty forms are designed to define scale abstractly so we can envision ourselves inside future buildings and landscapes. If we suddenly became one of these static figures, our emotions would shift. All we would know is what we’ve assumed from staring blindly at empty blogs, feeds, and exhibits of blank forms. What is the intended purpose of our dream world? If generalisations and monoculture blind us from the purpose of architecture, we all become aliens navigating static worlds of isolation.

Spirit of Space was founded in 2006 in Chicago on the belief that buildings tell stories. They have completed around 200 film shorts with architects and designers such as Jeanne Gang, Amanda Williams, Steven Holl, Wolf Prix, and Daniel Libeskind. The art of their filmmaking lies in sequencing authentic experiences and editing them so that the emotional intensity of a project is felt. Their films are exhibited in museums, biennials, and galleries, but in line with their belief that design should be accessible to everyone, almost all of their work is available online and shared through educational lectures and public events.

Directed by Miguel C. Tavares at the Chambre de Métiers et de l’Artisanat Hauts-De-France, Floating Stillness portrays a specific moment in time. It is a meditation on a paradoxical period at a multifunctional building for collective use. Instead of weaving together people and stories, the great machine is on standby, its parts suspended mid-air.

The film guides us through different spaces as the temporarily vacant building is revealed in fragments. Sound emerges gradually, unveiling an expectant inner soul. In this narrative, the building itself becomes the starting point for a poetic analysis of the moment we are living in. Tavares works as an independent filmmaker and frequently collaborates with artists across disciplines. Together with Ana Resende and Tiago Costa, he initiated a series of films exploring visual constructions of architectural works, including The Construction of Villa Além, which follows the making of a house by Swiss architect Valerio Olgiati on the Alentejo coast.

KAAN Architecten was appointed by the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) to design the Visitor Center at the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten. The new building will host interpretative exhibits and deepen the understanding of the site’s history, while Groep van Roey will act as the main contractor. Conceived through an integrated design process, the Visitor Center is an effective and efficient facility that carefully engages with the surrounding landscape. Set within an opening amid a ring of scattered trees, the building blends into the sloping topography, its delicate presence respectfully complementing the monumental features of the cemetery.

Strong volumes with deep setbacks in a horizontal composition and sharp canopies are original qualities reinterpreted and translated into a contemporary building.

The façade design is equivalent on all sides of the building with a transparent plinth of big glass panels resembling the rhythm of the original façade.

Above the plinth, a glass box and natural stone volumes follow in a horizontal alignment. Few carefully chosen materials manifest in a natural yet elegant ensemble.

Inside the building, a patio will bring light into the hotel. On top of the 5th floor, a terrace and a pavilion will be surrounded by a green roof looking out over the city centre of Rotterdam.

This new typology is explored and discussed based on precursors from Rotterdam, The Hague, Amsterdam and Utrecht. What are the design solutions applied in this block? What are the challenges? And how will these blocks shape the future city?

Kees Kaan joins the symposium to discuss SPOT Amsterdam, a mixed residential and office district in the middle of Amstel III designed by KAAN Architecten. The panel of speakers also includes designers from MORE Architecture, Barcode Architects, de Architekten Cie, OZ, and BURA.

Reserve your place at the link.

Await' is a visual essay about the transformation of grief captured in and around the Heimolen Crematorium, directed by From Form.

The crematorium’s symbolic architecture reflects on moments of loss, acceptance, and finding relief that often seem to flow into each other, raising the question of whether this occurs in the past, present or near future.

From Form is a Rotterdam-based film and design studio founded by Jurjen Versteeg and Ashley Govers. They work across print, spatial and film, and also designed the MINUTES visual identity, including the opening sequence and all film posters.

The film is an exercise in imagination set on an idyllic countryside estate, directed by Italian artist and filmmaker Giulio Squillacciotti. While preparing for exams, two students speculate on something that only exists in their minds and, step by step, find themselves in the space they shaped with words.

The film was first teased during the MINUTES launch event 12 Ways to Film a Building earlier this year and later premiered at the Lisbon Architecture Film Festival.

Many may not know about your involvement in the sustainability policymaking of São Paulo. Can you give us some background on how it all started?

Well, for the past eight years already, we have been working on large urban projects in Brazil to reshape regulations by promoting urban hub densification, restoring green pockets at water edges, and developing low impact mobility infrastructures.

Thanks to our work in planning and sustainability development of large urban scale projects, KAAN Architecten has been invited as a voting member of the Chamber for Climate Change in São Paulo. This has been a very fruitful collaboration. The direct exchange with companies from the private and public sectors keeps us connected to new technologies and market development.

How did you go about making realistic goals for climate improvement in SP?

At the Chamber, we believe that decarbonisation is the victim of a horse race where lack of data damages the liability of the matter. When it comes to the worldwide rules, we are all behind, and today there are still no precise scales and methodologies common to different nations. So the first step was setting the basis for national regulations and measuring carbon emissions.

And has it taken off in the direction you intended it to?

Definitely! After three years of work, we finally created our own system of carbon credits in São Paulo state. The strategy of the Chamber encourages a collaborative approach via incentives. We took on the role to calculate CO₂ emissions and created a compensation programme for private companies in Brazil. Today more than a thousand companies are already part of the voluntary programme, and we hope to develop new regulations for the private sector soon. At COP26, the Chamber presented the results of this effort and the regulations in a joint publication. This is just the beginning, and I’m eager to see the evolution of the discussions in different countries, especially after the progress achieved on unifying regulations during COP26.

Based on that experience, how do you see the policies of São Paulo, and other cities for that matter, evolving?

Containing growth in urban expansion is key to sustainable and resilient development. It is possible to live within the limits of the ecosystem, meet the present and future needs, and ensure justice and equity for all through high-quality, well thought urban projects. For me, that’s the most rewarding thing about working as an urban planner: making meaningful changes.

The main goal should always be to promote building resiliency when studying urban development based on affordability, compactness and connectivity. Not all urban innovations require high-end technology skills or equipment. And it’s always a good option to start a concept with a passive sustainability approach. In the end, sustainability is an exercise in citizenship, also for architects and urban planners.

How does the work of KAAN Architecten tie in with this?

When we look into the general KAAN methodology, it’s based on process, understanding the questions, and creating the best possible answer or design. That’s also our approach to sustainability. Sometimes the focus is clearly on community building and social development, sometimes in low maintenance and representation, other times in overall carbon footprint. But the common denominator is a profound respect for the site and its specificities.

Some examples of this work are the urban operation projects for São Bernardo do Campo, São José dos Campos and Contagem. ‘Urban operation’ is a focused review of urban legislation for an area developed under the government’s coordination and involving the private sector, residents and users of the site. In these projects, the goal is to densify the consolidated areas within a given perimeter, shape and regulate real estate interventions in target places seeking to produce an urban space with structural transformations, social improvements and environmental enhancement.

This is rarely the kind of work most people have in mind when you mention sustainability...

Yes, people usually forget that sustainability is much more than the visible environmental aspects of a project. Intangible, economic and social matters are just as important and, as architects, it is our moral obligation to discuss and work on those matters too. I’m not a very big fan of the term “greenwashing”, but that’s exactly what happens when we simply discuss matters like the materiality of a building, for example, without considering its carbon chain, logistics, the boost for the local economy, durability and maintenance efforts for those design choices.

There is one undeniable truth when we speak about sustainability, though: the most sustainable building is the one you don’t build. The same is true for urban planning: the best way to promote the decarbonisation of modern cities is to understand their infrastructure and densify strategic neighbourhoods rich in mobility nodes and public equipment. It sounds like something quite intuitive and straightforward but it is remarkably difficult to achieve.

Renata Gilio is the Managing Director of KAAN Architecten with extensive experience in urban planning projects across Brazil and Latin America. She is an active member of the Chamber for Climate Change and the Sustainable Cities Club.

Interview by Valentina Bencic. The original text was edited for clarity and brevity

The evocative photographs by Willemskantine showcase Sevdaliza's powerful presence as she embodies every position in the workplace. No distinction is made between these positions: they each hold potential, talent, power and strength. Hierarchy is non-existent. Sevdaliza is EVERY WOMAN.

The right combination of ingredients meets in De Bank, our Rotterdam headquarters representing THE OFFICE - the everyday work environment of millions of people throughout the globe. THE OFFICE is characterized by the solid balance between two simple materials, wood and concrete, creating a stable, durable and strong realm. Sevdaliza is characterized by her continuously flowing cutting-edge artistry with a long-term philosophical and existential approach to being. Together they merge power, innovation and strength, resulting in self-explanatory art. It effectively emphasizes the concept of female leadership in every interpretation possible. Construction of two identities melting together into an alluring combination of roughness and elegance.

Credits: Creative Direction & Photography: @willemskantine Producer: @evaschaaf Art-Director: @jairoxlr Stylist: @leendertcs Hair: @latoyavelberg Make-Up: @laurayard Gaffer: @linhou.o Food Dresser: @__agne Photography Assistant: @ashleyrottjers Styling Assistant: @leawilbrand Gaffer Assistant: @borispeters.film

Vincent Panhuysen will talk about the use of daylight in the work of KAAN Architecten, drawing upon examples such as the Crematorium Siesegem, Utopia Library in Aalst and many more. The evening will close with a discussion with Eva Prats and Ricardo Flores.

See you at Palais des Beaux-Arts - Brussels on 23 November 2021, 19:00. Get tickets here.

The event will be in English.

Directed by Dutch visual artist Mirte van Duppen, Territory of the Beings pays homage to classic wildlife documentaries by exploring the office setting as if it were a natural habitat of an animal species – the ‘beings’.

Set in the District Water Board Brabantse Delta office building, the film presents a comprehensive survey of the beings (the employees) in a modern ecosystem of flexible islands (the office). The narrator takes you on a tour, displaying, analysing and describing the beings’ behaviour and how they occupy and defend their territory.

Visit the MINUTES website to discover more information about directors, films and architectural projects. To keep up to date with all upcoming events, online lectures and film releases related to the series, subscribe to the newsletter.

Through our branch office in Sao Paulo and the active membership of managing director Renata Gilio in the Chamber for Climate Change, KAAN Architecten is a part of the policymaking processes for the sustainable development of the State of São Paulo. The Chamber was founded by the state government agency CETESB to technically support the São Paulo Environmental Agreement. It brings together 18 representatives from various sectors of the economy of São Paulo, working to encourage the technological change and structural shifts necessary to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations, creating decarbonization policies and regulations in the State.

Today at the COP-26 summit in Glasgow, CETESB and the Government of the State of São Paulo are launching the book 'São Paulo Environmental Agreement: 56 successful cases in the climate agenda'. The book is a joint research effort in reducing GHG emissions and its findings will also be presented as a part of the CETESB-UN Climate Change Partnership on Friday, 5 November.

Tackling large scale architectural projects does not only involve understanding a pre-existing situation, analyzing its current needs, and proposing a future scenario. Complex projects most often create a network of professionals strategically interconnected according to their respective expertise and precious contribution to reach the desired result.

The 24-screen immersive video installation proposed for the 2019 Bi-City Biennale is now adapted to an animated film FLOWCITY, developed by KAAN Architecten and RNDR, using the OPENRNDR framework for creative coding.

The core of FLOWCITY is a choreographed study of data collected over a three-year-long design for an airport terminal portrayed both as a 'project' and a 'process'. It simultaneously traces the anticipated large flows of people within the future terminal and the spontaneous ones of hundreds of people working on the project. In both, the exchange of information and goods is constant, crossing borders and pivoting towards a common goal.

Therefore, the Terminal is a device to discuss a larger trend - the stretch of the architectural project towards another dimension, a much wider network of connections and flows, opening up to multi-disciplinary teams of professionals.

The short film highlights how architecture can often be a nonlinear process, consisting of iterative and asynchronous moments, yet following a chronological sequence of phases through which design evolves simultaneously. The architect subsequently evolved into a coordinator of flows — no longer a builder but a narrator.

FLOWCITY, 4'34, 2021

KAAN Architecten: Kees Kaan, Yang Zhang, Martina Margini, Shushen Zhang, Valentina Bencic, Michael Cardelli, Hrvoje Smidihen, Yagiz Söylev, Alexis Keng Yee Oh KL AIR: Arnd Brüninghaus RNDR: Jeroen Barendse, Boyd Rotgans, Viola Bernacchi, Edwin Jakobs

Teaching and research in higher education are currently subject to profound social and educational change. Globalisation, digital work, the rapid development of new technologies, international competitive pressure between universities, and the qualities of university locations are just a few aspects that play a decisive role in this. In their first academic year as professors at Leibniz University Hannover, André Kempe and Oliver Thill are exploring the radically changing conditions in the educational landscape. What influence do factors such as the particular ideal of social education, the context and location, or the spatial and typological organisation of buildings have on their success or failure?

The "Learning Landscapes" conference questions the typology of buildings for education and explores the possibility of an optimal building organisation, internal logistics, spatial backbone, flexible structure, compactness, and energy performance. Considering his experience in architectural practice and academia, Kees Kaan will offer his views on the evolving learning landscapes both as an architect and a teacher. He will be joined by Piet Eckert, Yvonne Farrell, and Shelley McNamara.

Tune in on 20 October at 15:30, when the conference will be streamed on the YouTube channel of the LUH Faculty of Architecture and Landscape.

Featured image by Simone Bossi.

CIRCLE combines good design, smart construction and efficient operation. It offers a robust and quickly realizable solution to the increasing demand for smaller and flexible homes with high quality, circularity at all levels, shorter construction time and lower costs.

Its optimized 3D-Concrete Shell® of 35 square metres is made in an industrial production environment that ensures high quality. Each module has standardized openings for installations and circulation which allows units to be coupled horizontally or stacked vertically. Rapid realization and just-in-time delivery of the modules significantly shorten the construction process and allow for up to 20% lower construction costs. Integral design and prefabrication ensure standardization and therefore less waste. In addition, the standardized module enables high-quality reuse of its parts due to the separation of construction, finishing and installations. The concrete is 100% recyclable. Come find out more at the PREFAB fair!

Discover the brochure below!

CIRCLE Brochure: https://issuu.com/kaanarchitecten/docs/ct-brochure_circle_v13_web

Directed by Katja Verheul, 'Dynamo' weaves a mysterious tale of a creature wandering around the empty CUBE at the Tilburg University inspired by a local anecdote of a puma sighting in the forest.

Nothing can stay hidden in a completely transparent building, so we occasionally catch glimpses of the creature's body in reflections on the windows or captured on security cameras. But what are we watching? Or rather, who is watching whom?

In case you missed it: the video from the event ‘Building Stories – Architecture on Film’ is available to watch in full. Organized in collaboration with Pakhuis de Zwijger, the event was dedicated to screening a curated selection of projects from the MINUTES film series.

Visit MINUTES website to discover more information about directors, films and architectural projects. To keep up to date with all upcoming events, online lectures and film releases related to the series, subscribe to the newsletter.

The Amsterdam Courthouse is another high-security institutional building designed and built by our office over the past 20 years. In fact, I looked it up – the Courthouse project began around the time we finished the Supreme Court in The Hague, which you also worked on.

Was there a transference of knowledge gained in the Supreme Court and applied to the Courthouse? Perhaps certain elements the two buildings had in common?

Although similar in the program, the Supreme Court in The Hague and the Amsterdam Courthouse have some differences. While the former is a tendentially closed building, only open to selected visitors under specific circumstances, Amsterdam Courthouse is a fully public institution. The urban settlement of both designs is also very different. The Supreme Court reacts to a consolidated urban structure – the historical city centre of The Hague. At the same time, the Courthouse is located in an extraordinary area of Amsterdam South, where three urban plans crucial to the city's growth have exercised their influence. Our building reacts to this rich history and its truly public character by opening up to the surroundings.

In French, they have an excellent name for a Courthouse: cité judiciaire. This expresses our goal for the design: a building that continues the city public space. The result is a building that serves its purpose – that of showing the process of justice, visually accessible but still authoritative, imposing in the right measure. Making room for the large public square generated pressure on the programme organisation inside and was reflected in the complex engineering of some parts. Therefore, the functional and logistical challenges of the Amsterdam Courthouse have also been much more demanding than the ones of the Supreme Court.

However, we can find many similarities between the two projects. In both, we see a very high building quality, coming from the choice of durable materials, carefully detailed and well-assembled. In fact, both buildings are conceived under a DBFMO (Design, Build, Finance, Maintain, Operate) contract. In this type of contract, the architect works in a consortium with engineers, a construction company (and its subcontractors) and a facility management party on the design from its early stages. Their expertise is conveniently reflected in the design, which results in a robust, highly qualitative building made to stay.

Indeed, we often describe the Courthouse as a future-proof building with embedded sustainability. Can you reflect on that? Did the collaborative process enable this?

When signing a DBFMO contract, both the client and the appointed consortium enter a mutual commitment for 30 years, which involves a delicate repartition of costs in case of future transformations or adaptations. This situation forces both parties to prevent extra costs beforehand. On the client's side, occupants and users are intensively stimulated to reflect on foreseeable changes to their primary functional process, which would require an adaptation of the spaces. Envisaged transformations are then included in the project specifications as a requirement. On the designer's and contractor's side, there is interest in minimising the costs for replacing or maintaining materials and installations, which would be necessary to avoid penalties.

Hence, combining both parties' interests results in efficient and flexible layouts based on modularity for the predictable changes and additional reservations for the less foreseeable ones. In combination with state-of-the-art technical solutions, this results in a building that needs virtually no heavy maintenance over a long time. We have learned to call that "embedded sustainability" – a concept that spans way beyond the mainstream sustainability features.

In light of this, one could reconsider some elements of the flashy greenwashed sustainability. I am highly conscious of the opportunity and responsibility that the building industry is taking up by broadcasting a "green" future. Our world needs a change and whatever moves in that direction is good. However, a lot of this greenwash is still too experimental or fragile. Take wood as an example: it needs more treatments and is subject to replacement much, much earlier than natural stone. Greenwash is a trend that very much tunes on the needs of today, but a courthouse should be timeless and designed in a way that preserves its image unchanged over time.

Suppose we analyse the energy demand throughout a building's lifespan, including its construction, transformations, demolition or dismantling. In that case, we see that most energy demand is in the first and the last phase, where the transportation of materials, disposal of debris and the use of building facilities require energy. So the best way of thinking of an energy-neutral building is to make one that lasts as long as it can. This is not just a matter of engineering. For a building to last long, it must gain social recognition and relevance in the community of its users.

This is precisely what happened with the amazing sculpture Love and Generosity by Nicole Eisenmann on the forecourt. The press coverage for it has probably been higher than the building's itself. Lately, when I pass by the Courthouse, there is always a professional photographer shooting the sculpture. Secondly, there is a group of skaters and BMX-ers who enjoy the ramps and benches of the square. Once I talked to them for a bit, and they told me an incredible story. In the beginning, they were shooed upon their arrival. But then, someone I later learned was a Courthouse representative – visited a local skate guru who addresses the rest of the skating community. Together they established some ground rules; for example, no grease allowed on the benches to preserve the lawyers' suits. And from that moment on, skaters were welcome again.

A genuinely public building represents the institution's authority while opening up to the community; it involves art in creating symbols that enrich the narrative and give a sense of belonging.

The construction phase of such a building must have been quite a venture. Can you walk us through some of the challenges you faced there and how you, eventually, dealt with them?

In Italian, there's a beautiful, old word: sprezzatura. It refers to something that looks easy and obvious but conceals a great deal of engineering. I like to think of this building as an example of it. When I looked back at the design documents of the first dialogue phases, before a contractor joined our consortium, I realised that the building had the same programme organisation, massing, façade design, and type of natural stone already 6 weeks after the start of the design! We knew by intuition from the very beginning that this was the right model AND the right design. The rest of the process has been a long journey of engineering and fine-tuning. We benefited from the expertise of the engineers, the facility management company, the main contractor, and the subcontractors. The peculiar organisation of a DBFMO design process confronts the designer early on with the need for solutions to design challenges that minimise risks.

I like to mention the design of the façade as an example. We wanted the columns to be as thin as possible since the building concept is about showcasing the use behind the envelope and not making it carry its own significance, as most buildings on the Zuidas do. At the same time, the façade line in the foyers needed to be flat to prevent people from hiding behind a column which implied putting them outside the glass line – structural profiles inside the metal case, wrapped with insulation. This required consideration of all kinds of challenges early on: production and montage tolerances of the steel parts, sufficient exposure of the structural profiles to the inner temperature to prevent deformations, montage sequence and agreements on the position and size of seams, bolts, welding… These are things you usually deal with during construction. In this case, they were anticipated into the design process by putting the façade contractor, steel supplier, main contractor, structural engineer, building physics engineer, and the architect around one table. Only after two lifesize mock-ups and conceiving numerous innovative engineering methods for steel production everyone had enough confidence that the designed solutions were valid enough.

Circling back to the thread of knowledge transference – what are the main takeaways from the Courthouse for you? What do you see being embedded in our next projects?

There are multiple takeaways from this project. In my opinion, the most important one is the power of narrative in the design process. As strong and right architect's intuition can be, there are moments in the design process where hundreds of other people operate very far from the main concept source. How do you make sure everyone moves in the same direction?

The architect's authority is essential when exercised constructively and inclusively, as it creates a sphere of trust from which everyone benefits. But this alone isn't sufficient. We had to respond many times to our own question: what is this building about? We like to work with presentations featuring infographics, a graphic language that can't be misinterpreted. By constantly referring to the founding ingredients of our story, as communicated to the client and our whole team, we kept a screenplay to which new ingredients would add up in time as the original core values evolved. In the same fashion, all design choices we needed to make, even and especially when in contrast to the Program of Requirements, were documented, explaining alternatives and justifying why we considered the chosen option the best one.

There is also another important takeaway. The DBFMO design process generates the architect's awareness of the efficacy and appropriateness of the design choices when time is an important factor. Together with experienced facility managers, you get to think early on about matters such as: how big and well connected does the furniture storage need to be if FM has to arrange the layout of a Courtroom in a contractually given time? Where to place a coffee corner considering the natural routing of people through the building so that revenues can be maximised? Or more technically: what is the best compromise to still realise that nice plaster ceiling in the foyer, considering the frequency of maintenance of the installations behind it?

We have learned to think this through at an early stage. And the great thing is that so many people in our office had the opportunity to work on this big project – so this knowledge is now widely spread in the office. After all, once you make a building that sets a new standard, you aim at no less for your next project!

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Marco Lanna is one of the Managing Architects of KAAN Architecten with extensive experience in developing and managing complex building projects such as the Amsterdam Courthouse and Supreme Court of the Netherlands.

Interview by Valentina Bencic. The original text was edited for clarity and brevity.

During the event at Pakhuis de Zwijger, a curated selection of two films and a performance from the MINUTES series will be screened. The event will be a hybrid between a screening and a talk, followed by live and online audiences.

Reserve your spot to attend.

This period of intense uncertainty inevitably led us to reflect on our lives and the physical (or symbolic) space we occupy in our environment and society. The three selected projects reflect on the ‘meaning of being’, metaphorically touching the topics of birth, death, and immortality.

It emerges through the forces of creation (Crafted by Benitha Vlok), the acceptance of mortality (Static by Spirit of Space), or possible immortality (Notes on an Immortal Being by Jaime Levinas). Building Stories explores this conceptual thread across the three projects while discussing the potential of intertwining cinema, architecture, and other creative practices.

The talk-screening Building Stories will be moderated by Dana Linssen, a film critic and writer. During the evening, three works from the MINUTES series will be presented by Benitha Vlok (via Zoom), Spirit of Space, and Jaime Levinas, introducing his upcoming expanded cinema project Notes on an Immortal Being with a performance. Besides them, KAAN Architecten founder and associated partner Dikkie Scipio and Martina Margini, MINUTES film series curator, will also participate in the discussion.

To explore the MINUTES project, visit the project website.

The fully renovated and extended museum will open its doors to the public in just under a year, on 25 September 2022! The long-awaited opening of Antwerp's landmark museum was announced with a festive moment this weekend in the presence of Jan Jambon, Minister-President of the Flemish Government and Flemish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Culture, Digitization and Facility Management, and Luk Lemmens, chairman of the KMSKA board of directors.

The museum will welcome visitors by exhibiting the highlights of its collection as well as new modern pieces in the additional 40% more exhibition space created through the extension by KAAN Architecten.

The process of renovating and extending KMSKA has been at the same time delicate and respectful to the old building but in other parts quite radical when it came to building up the extension. How did you navigate between the two approaches?

Interesting topic. First of all, I’ve never considered it as two different approaches. For me, it is one project where every part was worked on with the same delicacy, attention, respect and, indeed, radicality. Although the monument required more time researching on-site, working with the unknown and dealing with surprises to get, for instance, the same level of integrated details we designed on paper in the new extension.

In our vision, the new spaces are a completely different world with new experiences and possibilities, set apart from the monumental spaces. Therefore, the materiality of the two also required a big focus on contrast. In the monument, we searched for the artisan, the craftsman’s hands, the oak and the wax, the age and the wear, the scale and the weight. At a certain point, I had to explain to the plasterer not to make the walls too smooth, the parquet installers not to close the gaps—things like that. Beautiful but not perfect, matching the monument. Smooth straight surfaces were for the new museum. Similarly with the paintworks: no perfect spray in the monument, but visible brushstrokes—even on the ceilings.

The abstract, immaterial spaces of the new museum had the same attention to materiality: choice of paint, delicate PU floor with depth, floor boxes in marble, infamous zero-point details, immaculate skylight—those kinds of things. No visible marks of the craftsmen, the effort, or the engineering, but even more necessary so.

We were also quite radical in the monument to resuscitate it; no small changes were made. The colours, for example, are a far cry from what they were; we even inverted the wall-ceiling contrasts. Most colours were not exactly what we measured but were made more saturated, some darker, some acting as intermediates—all decided after applying test surfaces.

Radical breaches in the monument were necessary to give the new museum its hidden routing possibilities. On the other hand, the new building, where the installations were built in two technical towers and main air distribution filled an entire floor, serves as an infusion for the monument, delivering air, heat, and cooling. The new and the old need each other; they rely on each other functionally, technically, and materially. That is why it is one project and not a monument with an extension.

The project itself took around 17 years, from conception to finish. The conditions for which it has been designed and in which it will continue to live have changed during that time – how do you keep a design relevant to conditions in flux?

This is a situation that we face in almost every project, although in different proportions. Seventeen years is a lot, but it took a good six years of contracts, master planning, and budget finding before the design work could start. We had a good concept, widely supported, strong enough but not too determined, able to remain all those years: a hidden new museum built up within the courts of a revived and freed monument. We could keep using it as a starting point with every new development, enhance it, and improve it. We fitted new developments within this framework, and under our control, we kept the consistency in the project.

What iterations and changes did you have to make?

One example is the redesign of the public facilities with a more generous restaurant, shop, and reception facilities. In phase 2, the budget had to be focused on exposing and preserving the art and the monument for the community. Public facilities, or more precisely, commercial facilities, had to be modest.

In 2017, KMSKA changed from a government agency to a non-profit organisation, with more autonomy on finance and development. At the same time, the expected visitor numbers increased. These conditions made a redesign of the public facilities both possible and necessary. We could stay within our defined public zone at the front of the building. Extra square metres were found by moving the library office to the back, making the entire front public and the library reading room more prominent, with event possibilities.

Most importantly, we had the commissions for all the major phases and disciplines in my team: phase 1, phase 2, security, public facilities, offices, and ateliers. This allowed all these parts to be as consistent as a project can be. With other parts, out of our control, consistency is not self-evident.

I can only assume this is the longest-running project in your career, and as such, it must have shaped you as an architect – what are the lessons you learned along the way?

It definitely shaped me. I’m in my 12th year on the project now, with one more to go, and I must say it is hard to imagine not working on it. I’ve had the chance to work on it from preliminary design through the delivery of the final phase. I was always very aware of how rare that is, but I wouldn’t want it any other way.

I learned how vulnerable a project is in this kind of long process. Everything could have, and did, happen: four ministers of culture and three museum directors changed, new personnel in our design teams, the client’s team, and the KMSKA team. Also, we started without a set budget and programme. At a certain point, you become the guardian of the project, and I liked that.

Another key lesson is the importance of investing in personal contacts—not only to maintain mutual understanding but also to build what we envisioned. What we designed is quite out of the ordinary and needed enthusiastic collaboration to get built, together.

Then there are bound to be many interesting stories from such a long collaboration. Does any particular story or anecdote stand out?

One that is very dear to me is about colours. Halfway through construction, doubts were raised about the colours of the museum spaces by someone external to the design process. There was a debate about our design with clear white, night blue, and saturated dark reds, greens, and browns versus their suggestion to make everything light grey—walls, ceilings, and floors.

To clarify this situation, we prepared meticulously for a meeting. We built a clear argument and presentation, step by step, comparing our design to the light grey option, with projected artwork and large colour samples. The meeting took place in an early 17th-century house in Antwerp where KMSKA’s most precious artworks were exhibited. Seeing the colours alongside actual paintings made the subject tangible.

We even held a large NCS 4550-Y90R sample next to Fouquet’s Madonna Surrounded by Seraphim and Cherubim from 1456. The KMSKA art historians were assured and enthused. It generated the decision to have another series of rooms, the so-called “salon,” coloured dark green to match the artworks planned for those rooms.

Many museums ask for rooms as neutral boxes to be filled and coloured by the exhibition works. I think that’s an unnecessary pity. At KMSKA, we managed to keep the architecture’s coherence, the vision of the monument, and the new museum all in harmony with the art. Colour played a more significant role than I could have imagined. Our goal was not only a beautiful, well-built container for the collection but a building that is part of the collection and the experience. I’m sure we have achieved this. I can’t wait for the opening.

Walter Hoogerwerf is a project leader at KAAN Architecten, currently working on the last phase of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp, as well as the renovation and extension of Paleis Het Loo in Apeldoorn. Interviewed by Valentina Bencic. Featured image by Stijn Bollaert.

Explore the museum under construction: https://vimeo.com/407996719

Directed by Dutch filmmaker Dorian de Rijk, Ruling portrays the imposing Supreme Court of the Netherlands in The Hague. The camera explores the space, choreographing justice procedures and reading the architectural program as if it were a case at the Court. It circulates through different chambers and domains, ending up in the main courtroom.

Ruling investigates the semiotics of power and what it means to rule today. This procedure is translated into an aesthetic gesture that enhances the timeless architecture of the Supreme Court and its design coherency, which expresses the innate duality of a court of law—being open and transparent, yet safe and secure.

The movie was exclusively previewed during the 2019 ADFF Short Films Walk in New York and at a joint event with the Architecture Film Festival Rotterdam, Galerie de Jaloezie, and Roffa Mon Amour during the 2021 Rotterdam Architecture Month.

This film marks the fifth release in the eponymous series, consisting of 12 short movies directed by international filmmakers and portraying a selection of projects by KAAN Architecten.

Featured images by KAAN Architecten.

Among the 532 nominated works for the 2022 EU Mies van der Rohe Award, KAAN Architecten has three separate nominations. In addition to KMSKA, the nominated projects include the Chambre de Métiers et de l’Artisanat Hauts-De-France in Lille and the Amsterdam Courthouse in the Netherlands, which were announced earlier this year.

Other KAAN Architecten projects nominated in previous editions of the EU Mies Award include Institut des Sciences Moléculaires d’Orsay, Utopia Library, Education Centre Erasmus MC, and the Supreme Court of the Netherlands.

Organised by the Fundació Mies van der Rohe with the support of the Creative Europe Programme of the European Commission, the Award recognizes and commends excellence in European architecture. The jury will announce the shortlisted works at the beginning of 2022, while the winners will be announced in April 2022.

Featured images by Sebastian van Damme, Stijn Bollaert, and Fernando Guerra.

‘Aan het IJ’ is an area development project by Amvest where KAAN Architecten is designing The Stack—a residential ensemble of two buildings connected with underground parking, comprising both owner-occupied and rental apartments. Kondor Wessels Amsterdam will act as the main contractor, with construction aimed for completion by the end of 2023.

Besides KAAN Architecten's The Stack, ‘Aan het IJ’ includes projects designed by Orange Architects, KCAP, De Zwarte Hond, Powerhouse, and Studioninedots.

Explore the project here.

Directed by French filmmakers Romain Loiseau and Tristan Soreau, To Become One follows a fictional protagonist equipped with a protective suit as she explores the silent spaces of an empty building, only to sense the presence of someone else around her.

The Institut des Sciences Moléculaires in Orsay unites two architecturally expressed realms—housing theoretical and practical research—into a single entity. The ISMO building is distinguished by a harmonious coexistence of nature and scientific research. The split-screen of the short film To Become One enhances the metaphor of duality and guides the viewer to the main character’s ultimate discovery.

The jury of the 3rd edition of the Simon Architecture Prize awarded a Special Mention to To Become One, directed by Loiseau and Soreau on the Institut des Sciences Moléculaires project in Orsay (France) by KAAN Architecten + Fres Architectes. The jury highlighted the film’s role in demonstrating “how cinema can contribute to the representation and knowledge of architecture, far from being just a communication and promotion tool.”

This film is the fourth release in the MINUTES series, which consists of 12 short movies directed by international filmmakers portraying selected projects by KAAN Architecten.

Visit the MINUTES website to learn more about the directors, films, and architectural projects. To stay updated on upcoming events, online lectures, and film releases in the series, subscribe to the newsletter.

The facade works are nearly finished, with over 800 prefab concrete elements installed across the three buildings.

These modules are the largest prefab concrete elements KAAN Architecten has designed as of yet. Their size implies fewer structural joints and plays an essential role in making them not only cost-effective, but time-efficient. In this way, the crane moves faster and completes the mounting in less time.

Each building also features a central atrium as a binding element between the different floors. With a gridded glass roof acting as a lantern above the top floor, the atrium prevents heat accumulation and brings in abundant daylight.

The event will explore the social impact of architectural communication, featuring participating filmmakers and invited guests. It will analyze three completely different approaches to portraying architecture.

How can filmmaking generate new ways of communicating the built environment? Whether by bringing a building to life through speculative scenarios or capturing it in its perceived idleness, cinema proves to be a contemporary medium uniquely suited to reflect the dynamic and ever-changing nature of the architecture around us.

Save the date by making a reservation here. More information will follow.

In the meantime, follow MINUTES on Instagram for the latest updates, and visit the MINUTES website to watch the released films.

The Spring/Summer 2022 collection, titled ‘Neon Shadow’, draws inspiration from subcultures emerging in the digital world. The designer aimed to present the silhouettes as works of art, placing the models on pedestals to resemble sculptures. The light-filled spaces of KMSKA provide a perfect backdrop to highlight the collection’s vibrant colors.

Photographs by Ronald Stoops for Walter Van Beirendonck SS2022.

The glass roof over the Grand Foyer has been installed on a steel structure, introducing daylight to the newly extended museum. The roof will be topped with 4cm of water, creating a pond and reflecting the monumental Palace.

Historical grass parterres have been replaced by the four Bassecour ponds above the underground extension and will be materialised in glass and natural stone.

Seen from the west wing, structural works are being finalised to connect the Grand Foyer of the underground extension with the central Corps de Logis.

The visual connection between Corps de Logis and the underground Foyer is ensured through the glass roof.

The recent bout of sunshine has helped preview the magnificent light effects that will be visible on the walls and floors of the underground extension, soon to be clad in marble.

Keep updated on the construction progress via our website or the official Paleis Het Loo video channel. Explore the full project here.

Directed by Spanish director Joana Colomar, Utopia is a ‘slice of life’ look at a building where silence, music, past and future, coexist in perfect harmony.

A building full of life, Utopia Library and Academy for Performing Arts in Aalst thrives on the inextricable link with its citizens and a delicate mixture of seemingly opposite programs it comprises. Like its literary eponym, it emerges as an idyllic home for information, knowledge, culture, and leisure. Utopia is a dream and an island, a place where different people get together.

This film marks the third release for the eponymous series, consisting of 12 short movies directed by international filmmakers and portraying a selection of projects by KAAN Architecten.

MINUTES has also recently been screened at the Rotterdam Architecture Month, as a part of the closing event 'Undercurrent: Film in de garage'.

Visit the MINUTES website to discover more information about directors, films, and architectural projects. To keep up to date with all upcoming events, online lectures, and film releases related to the series, you can subscribe to the newsletter.

Named De Caai, the project is developed by BPD in collaboration with Studioninedots and DELVA Landscape Architects.

KAAN Architecten is designing a centrally located residential tower, partly built over the existing milk factory, which will fit between the existing monuments through careful integration with attention to materiality and facade composition. Meanwhile, Mei architects will be designing the adjacent tower, located next to the ring road.

We are delighted to see the quality of this project recognized among over 200 strong applicants. Our intervention in the Royal Museum of Fine Arts aimed to reverse these spatial changes by combining a thorough renovation of the historic museum with a contemporary extension completely concealed within the existing structure.

We extend our gratitude to everyone involved who made this project possible: Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen, Departement Cultuur, Jeugd en Media - Fonds Culturele Infrastructuur and Het Facilitair Bedrijf of the Flemish government, THV Artes Roegiers – Artes Woudenberg; Bureau Bouwtechniek; Royal Haskoning DHV and Architectenbureau Fritz.

Watch the full award ceremony at the link below!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4MZ6AsrTKs

Directed by South African director Benitha Vlok, Crafted is a short poetic depiction of craftsmanship that interacts with architecture and directly connects to the humanity of the buildings we occupy. This film marks the second release for the eponymous series, consisting of 12 short movies directed by international filmmakers and portraying a selection of projects by KAAN Architecten.

Following releases include Utopia by Joana Colomar and To Become One by Romain Loiseau & Tristan Soreau in July and August 2021, respectively.

You can watch Crafted, and for more information about the short films, directors, and architectural projects, visit the MINUTES website and Instagram page. To keep up to date with all upcoming events, online lectures, and film releases related to the series, you can subscribe to the newsletter.

The two mid-rise towers, De Zalmhaven II and III, topped out at the end of 2020, reaching their final height of 70 m. Since then, construction has been advancing, and the residential complex has fully taken shape.

Once completed, the two mid-rise towers will comprise 196 apartments, 33 single-family homes, and a parking garage topped with a shared roof garden.

De Zalmhaven is developed by AM and Amvest on a site adjacent to the former eponymous port in the center of Rotterdam, comprising 485 high-quality apartments spread over a complex with three towers. BAM Bouw en Techniek – Grote Projecten is in charge of the construction and expects to deliver the first homes in 2022.

Photographs by Sebastian van Damme.

On Friday, 25 June, Dikkie Scipio will give a closing lecture recapping Architecture Month, sharing a personal story related to her professional experience, dreams, and ideas for the city. The lecture will take place at 20:00 in the City Garage Kruisplein.

The next day, on Saturday, 26 June, KAAN Architecten will open the doors of its office space to the public, with guided tours taking place at De Bank every hour between 11:00 and 17:00 (the last visit starts at 16:00).

That same Saturday at 19:00, a part of the MINUTES series will be screened in a joint event with the Architecture Film Festival Rotterdam (AFFR), Galerie de Jaloezie, and Roffa Mon Amour. Participating directors include Dorian van de Rijk (Ruling), Mirte van Duppen (Territory of the Beings), Katja Verheul (Dynamo), Jaime Levinas (Notes on an Immortal Being), and From Form (Await).

See you this June!

KAAN Architecten has designed the masterplan for SPOT with approximately 1090 new homes, 13,000m² of office space, 4000m² for other amenities and an estimated 2500 new residents. Construction kicked off on a subdivision of the masterplan, named Kavel Y, which includes projects designed by Klunder Architecten, DOOR Architecten and Moederscheimmoonen Architecten.

SPOT is a part of a larger area development for the Amstel-III area developed by COD, DUQER and Amvest, and realised by Pleijsier Bouwgroep.

First floated as a concept in 2017, MINUTES is now a fully-fledged cinematic oeuvre consisting of 12 short films, each less than 10 minutes long. Within the framework of this unique exploratory initiative, commissioned filmmakers were given creative freedom to realise their vision of our projects. Using narrative, reference and symbolism, each film takes a different approach in portraying how architecture interacts with the world.

A crowning achievement of the four-year-long research and creative collaboration is the launch of the eponymous web platform MINUTES where all 12 movies will be periodically released throughout the year and freely accessible worldwide.

To mark the launch, the movie Forensic by Dutch director Chris de Krijger will be made available for viewing as the first one in the series. Set in the Netherlands Forensic Institute in The Hague, Forensic links the architecture to the painstakingly meticulous research being performed within the building's walls.

Visual identity: From Form Website graphic design: Samuel Gadea + Florian Casarin Website web development: Julien Bidoret, Accent grave

De Nieuwe Rechtbank Amsterdam comprises eight photo reports Panhuysen made over the period of 4 years. Each issue spans several months and covers the Courthouse's construction milestones, such as the demolition of the old judicial complex and topping out of the new building.

The book is a testimony to the efforts of everyone involved in the demanding building process, from engineers and architects to construction workers.

Amsterdam Courthouse was designed and built by the consortium NACH (New Amsterdam Court House) involving Macquarie Group, ABT, DVP, KAAN Architecten, Heijmans and Facilicom Group.

Book design by Studio Vrijdag.

In a specially dedicated masterclass for the BARQ International Architecture Film Festival, series curator Martina Margini and KAAN Architecten founding partner Kees Kaan will present the short film series MINUTES in conversation with three of its directors: Joana Colomar, Miguel C. Tavares, and Benitha Vlok.

Since 2017, KAAN Architecten has explored the dialogue between cinema and architecture by commissioning international filmmakers to portray its projects. The resulting MINUTES series consists of twelve signature short films.

Join the Masterclass on Wednesday, 12 May at 18:00.

The BARQ festival, celebrating its first edition from 11 to 16 May 2021 in Barcelona and online via Filmin, provides the perfect platform to showcase MINUTES. The festival presents films from around the world and various parallel activities, highlighting innovative cinematographic approaches to contemporary architectural topics such as urban activism, politics, economy, environment, cultural and social diversity, housing access, and equal rights.

Event sponsored by Cosentino City Barcelona.

The underground extension in the Bassecourt has been enclosed, revealing the bottom of a large central pond. In the next phase, a glass roof will be installed to bring daylight into the grand foyer.

Openings in the roof are currently being executed while structural work on the future exhibition halls continues in full swing.

In the historical building, the renovation of the monumental Corps de Logis hall is nearing completion. Meanwhile, the steelwork for the entrance pavilions of the wings of Paleis Het Loo is being installed.

Keep an eye on our website or follow the official Paleis Het Loo video channel for more updates on the construction progress.

Our design proposal introduces an all-sided facade design with no defined front or back. The facade on Grotekerkplein has historically served as an expedition area for the old department store; soon, the hotel’s entrance will be located here. Three retail spaces will open on the ground floor towards Hoogstraat, framed by a 4.2-meter-high glass facade.

The basement will be made accessible again. The largest area will be rented as retail space, while a smaller section will serve as the hotel’s bicycle parking. The old department store stairs and elevator hatches are currently being closed.

The hotel’s 180 rooms are distributed across the upper floors, positioned along the outer walls and the new inner patio—a feature added during renovation. Large sections from the first floor to the roof terrace are being demolished to create this wide patio, bringing light, air, and greenery into the building. The historic Laurenskerk will be clearly visible from multiple lookouts throughout Galeries Modernes, creating spectacular views.

The two mid-rise towers, De Zalmhaven II and III, topped out at the end of 2020, reaching their final height of 70 m. Since then, construction has been progressing steadily, and the residential complex is fully taking shape.

Taking place during the pandemic, the uninterrupted construction of De Zalmhaven is an impressive achievement, reflecting careful planning and strong teamwork. Once completed, the two mid-rise towers will comprise 196 apartments, 33 single-family homes, and a parking garage topped with a shared roof garden.

De Zalmhaven is developed by AM & Amvest on a site adjacent to the former Zalmhaven port in the centre of Rotterdam. The complex includes three towers with a total of 485 high-quality apartments. BAM Bouw en Techniek – Grote Projecten is overseeing construction, with the first homes expected to be delivered in 2022.

Every building tells a story

Rooted in the essential belief that every building tells a story, in 2017, we started long-term research and collaboration with a group of incredibly talented international filmmakers. Their fresh perception yielded impressive and diverse visual storytelling about projects we thought we knew for years.

Traditional architectural representation methods immortalize a building in time, freezing it in perfect shape and light. What happens when we introduce a new factor to architectural communication?

We decided to play with ‘time’ and explore the possibilities of film to understand and communicate what we build, to display a living building, a context in motion and never static. As anything in architecture does, this process took time, but it opened our eyes to a new dimension of our work.

This research has been four years in the making and has yielded twelve short films, which we are excited to share. We sincerely hope this can be the start of an extended discussion about the buildings surrounding us, their role in society, and our relationship with them.

Join us at the MINUTES launch

12 Ways to Film a Building is the first of several introductory events about the MINUTES series. Organized in collaboration with Het Nieuwe Instituut as part of their Thursday Night Live! Series, the online event will take place on April 8 at 19.30.

The launch is hosted by Brendan Cormier, Senior Curator of Exhibitions at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, who will introduce MINUTES and animate a discussion with the filmmakers who took part in the project. He will bring his experience of commissioning film for major exhibitions to add a new dimension of understanding for the viewer.

Watch the series trailer!

Read the full statement and join the lecture at the link below!

"Architecture should aspire and reach out for the better; there is no doubt in my mind about that.

Society changes permanently, which reflects in our built environment and, hence, in architecture too. In that sense, we could argue that architecture is the protagonist of change. However, this begs the question: is architecture a product of change or its driver?

The start of an architectural venture is often an initiative fuelled by the zeitgeist. Yet, its result arrives years later as a loud booming echo of the timely spark that caused it. Architecture is slow by nature and, as such, not suitable to be the protagonist of change, but rather a witness after the fact.

Every project has a reason why it started in the first place, often articulated as a question for which an answer is solicited. This question is explained in a brief that contains urban conditions, requirements, specifications, etc. However, the particular issue that sparked the process is likely to have disappeared or became less urgent once the project is finished. The architectural project tends to answer questions from the past. As a result, architects seem to design for the wrong question. So how can we find the right answer?

Every day we work on projects for the everyday life of people. Our designs become settings for wide ranges of different activities. The power of architecture is to generate settings that make every day feel remarkable and uplifting, comfortable and emancipated. Like good food, a great book, or any work of art can do. Architecture cannot change a life, but it can upgrade the quality of the everyday. This is not achieved by being extravagant or extraordinary, but by being appropriate and good, functional and beautiful, generous and sustainable.

Whether urban or rural, architecture always navigates the boundaries of different domains, from the very private to the very public. Architecture has the potential to put these domains in perspective, to ‘build’ relations. That is the very objective of architecture.

Architectural innovation serves no purpose unless a proper balance between private interest and common values is established. With this lecture, I will critically reflect on the contextual narrative as the driver of the architectural concept that generates a self-evident relation between the city, building, construction, and detail as well as between shared and individual interests or pleasures.

The question of beautification will be used as a vehicle to explore this statement."

Kees Kaan

To join the lecture on April 6 at 18.00. The lecture will be given partially in French and English.

The 'Gouden A.A.P.' 2021 will be awarded to the architect and client of the building that, according to a professional jury and a public jury, is regarded as the best of all construction projects completed within the municipal boundaries of Amsterdam in 2020.

This year's professional jury consists of Merel Pit (editor-in-chief of De Architect), Milad Pallesh (architect and founder of Studio Pallesh), and Songül Mutluer (Alderman for Housing and Construction Zaanstad and candidate for the Lower House for the PvdA).

The professional and public award will be announced during the festive presentation in the Trippenhuis complex—last year's winner—on Thursday afternoon, May 28, 2021.

Antwerp Fashion Academy alumni, Wijnants credits the museum and its extensive art collection as his source of inspiration during his study years, so the opportunity to present his work among the colourful historic halls of KMSKA was a unique occasion.

To start us off, can you reflect on what the past year has been like for you personally and/or professionally?

RG: I think for me personally and professionally, it’s the year that it really hit me what it means to run an office, to understand that there are families that depend on the salary they’re making in this office. And I’m talking only about our office here in São Paulo, 7 people. But it is 7 families, and it was hard. So in the first few months, it was just about understanding which projects are going to get cancelled, which ones are going to continue, and which ones are going to be paid.

We got very lucky that the housing market exploded in Brazil. People living in small apartments realized they wanted bigger houses, better living conditions, and they want them now. Ultimately we managed to secure new projects to tide us over. And now, as we’re slowly seeing the end of this, people are making more plans for the future. The institutional, urban, cultural projects we’ve had are also starting up again, everything is coming together.

Personally, of course, it was quite difficult being home. I have two small children, ages 5 and 7, and they’ve just learned how to read and write. Actually, WE had to teach them how to read and write while keeping up with our jobs. And that was really, really tough. But of course, it does bring you together as a family, you start being a little community, and yeah, in the end, it was OK.

What about you Marylene? We’ve checked in with you in an earlier interview about how you’re handling lockdown…

MG: That interview was in May last year, so it was a different time, right? Pre-pandemic we were already quite used to working remotely with the Rotterdam office, so the most noticeable change was in the comfort level - no more being in the office space and all the comfort that comes with that. When the lockdown happened in March, we mainly lost time adapting, negotiating, communicating. So, we asked for time to be able to succeed in the projects we were doing. And we did, with a small delay - if you consider the usual duration of projects. Turns out decisions take more time, not actions. After that, we focused on our Parisian office, setting up a proper branch and a new space in Le Marais. It was important to go on with this project. We got the keys to the new office space in October, on the day of the second French lockdown!

Realistically, in the months after that interview in May, we saw everything (in France) stop. No tenders or competitions; projects put on hold. November and December were particularly stressful, without perspective. But now, from January I see things starting up again. And I am optimistic. With this crisis, I can see minds changing. What we struggled to explain before, is now easier to understand – the need for accessibility, light, quality of space, robustness, steadiness, discussions of sustainability versus greening. There is a step forward, maybe not a big one, but things are slowly changing. And now that it is a more competitive market, Architecture is back on the plate. It may turn out to be a good crisis. (laughs)

DS: Wow, Marylene! I need to jump on this for sure. It’s quite interesting what you say about the quality of space, that it suddenly counts again. Because we’ve struggled before to get that point across.

We set up a research project with the office and with the university in Münster where I teach. It was a survey at first, called ‘Your home is your shelter’. We had this idea to ask people about the comfort and quality of their homes since it’s such a rare occasion they’re spending so much time enclosed. And some answers were quite obvious. People with children and families expressed their desire to have an outdoor space, a garden, a balcony…But as most participants were young students, they said they'd like to have more functionally non-determined spaces. Spaces that are more flexible and allow for transformations beyond just 4 white walls, a floor and a ceiling. And this is something very difficult to explain to a client. So hearing you say that you feel clients are more inclined to a dialogue about the quality of space is something I welcome.

RG: For sure, I think it’s just a given that crisis is a huge opportunity for quality to come back, right? When the economies are booming, people want to build and they want to build fast and make a profit, there is often no time or space for quality. But when you’re in a big crisis like this, you’ve got to have something special, otherwise, you’re not going to be able to sell it. It’s pretty simple. And what you said Dikkie is just so interesting, because what the people in your research want is not more spaces but more experiences, right? They’re lacking experiences. And this is a word that keeps appearing in most conversations I have lately, with engineers, reporters, clients, developers, investors…This new generation is focused much more on experiences than on spaces.

DS: Yes, that was already a thing before the crisis, but now even more. I mean, their world is on their computer right now. So there is a strange disconnection between the experience of the mind, the body and space. Right?

RG: Yeah, and it’s all so much more subjective…

DS: I might be falsely optimistic here, but I really hope that this crisis and the rising demand for quality can improve the spaces we design. Not only with materials, but with sound, touch, all these different things you can experience. This is something really difficult to teach. I have to tell my students to step away from the screen and go touch the walls of their rooms, their chairs and so on… Especially now…

Speaking of, Dikkie and Marylene, you are both teaching in different architecture schools. What has that experience been like during the past year?

MG: This is my first year of teaching – ever, so my experience is probably a bit warped. I was teaching in the fall semester to the 1st year bachelor students. In September, we weren't in lockdown so we got to have a few physical studio sessions, then later in October we switched to virtual teaching. I must say it was difficult. I’ve had students with great connection on a proper laptop, others with bad connection on their phone, on top of the mountains in the Alps, another one in Martinique, in a different time zone…(laughs) Somehow, we made it work, but in December and January we could get back for in-person studios, and… Students were just so happy to be together, and happy to see us, teachers. Because we could speak through our gestures, our pencils. It was all a bit emotional. Overall, this past year, students had to be adaptable and flexible, so I hope that is also a skill we managed to impart to them for the future. Dikkie, how was your experience in Germany?

DS: Well, I haven’t seen my students for basically a year now. And we’ve now also heard that the next semester will be virtual too. And it has some advantages, but also a lot of disadvantages. At this point, we’ve already gone fully digital. My students are completely immersed in this 3D world, gaming and all. So I get a lot of projects that are actually gaming environments. I discovered it when we were doing a studio about Notre Dame. The first thing we looked at was the Assassin’s Creed 3D model of the cathedral and how realistic it was. I mean, the students have modelling software in their hands already, and they can build up a whole world there. With the gaming industry getting better and better, I see more architects wanting to shift to that industry too, to create designed environments rather than just historical reproductions… I’ve also had some bachelor students tell me they were inspired to become architects after playing Sims all day…

Funny you should mention that, cause The Sims game has initially been designed to be an architecture simulator rather than a video game…

DS: Oh no, I didn’t know that! If that’s true then I could suggest some improvements... (laughs)

MG: Indeed, this gaming environment is a part of the architecture. Some people are spending a lot of time immersed in that world. The difference is in the sensory experience of it – how do you translate the softness or the hardness of a material, how do you express gravity, the feeling of going from a confined space to an open one, the transitions… How do you translate these feelings digitally?

DS: I know! I’ve discussed this with my students too. Their point was that the gaming industry is already so advanced, there are ways of interacting with these environments through VR, holograms and other devices. So it’s coming closer and closer to the real thing. And I’m not fighting it, I embrace it as a part of the architecture. It doesn’t obliterate the real-life aspect of it.

RG: Although I don’t teach, on this matter, I can tell from my children that they really do lead this double life, immersed in their screens and online games. I had to limit their time. When the lockdown started, the first thing I did was buy 6 chickens for our garden…

DS: Really?

RG: Yes, and I said to my kids: ‘You will spend every afternoon outside with those chickens, I do not want to see you inside!’ If I let them, they’d be inside behind a screen – first in class, then for fun. That is basically their whole lifestyle. So when you speak about your students and this other life that they have, this is the same thing - with just ten years difference. I find it fascinating how important that world is… I think we’re not the right generation to understand it, we grew up differently. Perhaps because our generation doesn’t understand it, there’s a lot of space for improvement in the way we design the buildings that we build?

It circles back to what Dikkie’s research was saying – about the need for experiences in the physical space around us, and how this demand got projected into a virtual dimension, where we’ve built a different world. We’ve even appropriated the architectural jargon – like online platform, forum, chat room

DS: Yeah, it’s very double. If we imagine, let’s say wood, we think about several different types of wood, how it’s cut, how it smells, we know how to put it together. But for those kids, wood is an abstraction, it has no connection to our mental image. It doesn’t exist. It took me a long long time until I understood that I am teaching people who think that the choice of material means clicking one of the boxes in the right corner of their drawing, that it has no relation to the real thing. And if we don’t teach them that, then that’s a loss. If we are not careful then this knowledge will be lost.

This brings me to another thing I wanted to discuss. Dikkie you’ve been vocal about quality, especially in materiality as a cornerstone of sustainability. Does that exclude more high tech solutions?

DS: No, definitely not. I don’t like to put industrial production and craftsmanship in terms of either one being good or bad, both can be made well. Quality is in how and with what intention the products are made and applied in architecture.

RG: Speaking of high tech solutions…Here in São Paulo I am on several committees for the sustainable development of cities, we meet to discuss strategies as well as business opportunities in the sustainability sector. This puts us in contact with companies that are building the actual technology, we hear and learn about carbon footprints of metropolitan regions, decontamination of rivers with phytorestoration, extraction of methane from water etc. I enjoy that they are business owners and they run their business with this kind of advanced thinking. It’s about communicating and building strategies to actually use the knowledge that we are creating. How can we push it further? Often it’s not about finding a perfect solution, but rather something the public will understand and accept, something that can be financed and applicable now. You know, I’ve never really understood the term smart city, but I do understand a resilient city. We have to find ways of making cities sustainable for the next 80 years, 200 years…For that we need to start thinking systemically, and looking at the entirety of our processes.

DS: Yeah, we have to step back and see the bigger picture. But that’s already difficult in our tiny country, in the Netherlands. You'd be amazed to see how many questionable decisions can be made only in this small area, now imagine France or Brazil…It’s not easy to solve it.

RG: Yeah, but I don’t think it's even about solving it as much as rectifying the warped idea of sustainability in people’s minds.

MG: But I also feel that people are learning more and more about this and dismantling the old beliefs. I remain optimistic. In Paris, big moves were made to accommodate bicycles, now I think there is more bike traffic than in Rotterdam! It’s a combination of reasons, of course – fewer people take the metro because of the pandemic, the strikes of the previous years - but when I think about Paris 20 years ago, it was a city for cars. Now it’s a different story. It’s not completely done, but it’s changing, and I welcome this.

DS: Do you think this has to do with people just switching from cars to bikes, or is it because many people are moving away from the city?

MG: It’s both, I think. But yeah, Paris is losing inhabitants, around 12 000 per year for the last 10 years or so, mostly because of the price of living. Once again, I think this crisis is a good kick. I see rent prices coming down, albeit slightly. Also since the pandemic started, the city of Paris set up requirements to be included in the local urban plans (PLU) - demands for more diversity, creating collective spaces, flexibility, refurbishments rather than demolitions, preserving existing nature, creating fresh blocks, sourcing local materials etc. These are not precise measures, but instructions. And we’re aiming at results…

RG: Right now, in Brazil, people still want to leave the city. Infrastructure could be better, everybody wants an outdoor space, a garden…It’s a social condition, it’s just the way people are. They've always been willing to sacrifice a certain amount of time for their commute so they can enjoy the advantages of both their home and their work area. But I also think this attitude will change for the better after the pandemic…

MG: Yeah, I really do not miss being on the train or the metro for hours, going from one meeting to another, only to have 10 minutes of productive discussions. We’ve saved that time for real work and life…

On that note, do you have any final remarks on where we’re headed?

MG: The architectural working method remains collective. Our profession is not (only) about producing excel sheets. The essence is in cracking problems through drawings, and a drawing is a collective document. To do that, it is easier to be together around one paper, one plan, because questions and doubts hardly pass through the screen.

DS: I must admit I'm intrigued by Marylene’s optimism about this. (laughs) I have been working the past year through this pandemic, but never really stopped to consider the fact that it might also bring good things. And ultimately, I must agree with you Marylene…

MG: (laughs) I do want to specify that I don’t think COVID was a good thing, eh? But that ultimately the crisis might yield good things.

DS: I’m glad that we had this talk, cause now it makes me think that I should focus more on what positive outcome we can bring to it, as architects. Let’s embrace what we can gain from it, not just what we've lost.

The lecture will introduce the approach of KAAN Architecten through several highlighted projects. Join the lecture on 16 February at 17.30 - 18.30 (UK time). Places are limited.

The Netherlands Edition' of the talk will bring Dikkie Scipio to the virtual stage where she will be joined by Nanne de Ru (Powerhouse Company).

Join for the live event on Wednesday, March 10th, 2021 from 19:00 to 20:30 CET. Free registration is available.

Both projects act as prominent landmarks in rapidly developing areas of their respective cities—NACH as the biggest Dutch court in the flourishing Zuidas district; and CMA as a port of call for local trade activity and a bastion at the entrance to Lille.

The geometry and transparency of Chambre de Métiers et de l’Artisanat embrace the nature, reinforcing the link between north and south and opening the fabric to the botanical gardens north of the site. Spreading over three floors, CMA houses offices for the local and regional Chamber of Trades and Crafts and the associated training school.

In the new Amsterdam Courthouse, the open structure of the architecture offers views over the city for both employees and visitors, and the opportunity to engage with the building for passers-by. The courthouse is exemplary in its efficiency, like the organization itself, and is part of the daily life surrounding it.

Other KAAN Architecten projects nominated in the previous editions of the EU Mies Award include Institut des Sciences Moléculaires d’Orsay, Utopia Library, Education Centre Erasmus MC, and the Supreme Court of The Netherlands. Organised by the Fundació Mies van der Rohe with support of the Creative Europe programme of the European Commission, the Award is dedicated to recognizing and commending excellence in European architecture. The Jury will announce the shortlisted works at the beginning of 2022, while the five finalist works will be known in February 2022.

Chambre de Métiers et de l’Artisanat has been designed in collaboration with Pranlas-Descours architect & associates. Amsterdam Courthouse is a joint venture of the NACH consortium which, besides KAAN Architecten, includes Macquarie Capital, ABT, DVP, Heijmans, and Facilicom.

Discover the newly renovated Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp, where two architectural worlds converge in one building, both embodying an emblematic contrast in dimensions, light, and atmosphere.

Credits: Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp (Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen) KAAN Architecten Artes Group

The renovation of the museum takes time. The completion of the renovation and extension of the museum is certainly an important milestone. However, there are other important goals to reach before the museum will be able to open its doors to the public. These include the renovation of the offices, operational testing of the climate system, scenography, the museum garden, moving in the artworks, and the creation of a new art mosaic in the entrance. As such, the museum is not able to communicate an opening date at this time.

The Lumière project is positioned between a great diversity of city axes with variations in height and program—Weena versus Kruiskade, and Karel Doormanstraat versus Lijnbaan. To bridge that scale, the relatively low plinth will connect to the characteristic 'Rotterdamse Laag' and provide access to the semi-public interior spaces, while keeping the protected buildings of the Lijnbaan ensemble intact. The tower will rise above the plinth with slight setbacks.

Lumière will provide a qualitative impulse by adding a combination of housing, shopping, working and recreation. Commercial functions and facilities will occupy the ground floor, along with a large atrium at the foot of the tower that gives entrance to the hotel and apartments. The inner court will be transformed into a working environment with offices and other amenities, with green terraces running along the courtyard and up the tower via the setbacks.

After having established the conditions of the project in collaboration with the Municipality of Rotterdam, the design will be further developed in the coming year. Realization of Lumière is going to be a significant step in the development and the desired densification of the city centre bringing a diversity of the qualitative programme that is in line with the metropolitan ambition of Rotterdam.

KAAN Architecten worked on the renovation of the depot, a complete restoration of the existing 19th-century building and an extension of the new museum, adding more than 5000 m2 to the project.

We are incredibly proud and excited to show the finished space in the coming weeks and take you on an adventurous architectural journey full of surprising experiences.

In the meantime, explore the design.

Taking place during the pandemic, the uninterrupted construction of De Zalmhaven is an impressive achievement and a testament to great planning and teamwork. Once completed, the two mid-rise towers will comprise 196 apartments and 33 single-family homes, as well as a parking garage topped off with a shared roof garden.

De Zalmhaven is developed by AM & Amvest on a site adjacent to the former eponymous port in the center of Rotterdam comprising 485 high-quality apartments spread over a complex with three towers. BAM Bouw en Techniek is in charge of the construction and is expecting to deliver the first homes in 2022.

As the Zuidas area develops in the future, the public square of the New Amsterdam Courthouse will play a central role and should be accompanied by a work of art that underlines its landmark status to the public and refers to the judiciary itself. Over five meters tall, 'Love or Generosity' fits well with the new ten-storey courthouse, depicting a gatekeeper of the court: not a guard but a gentle figure radiating ease and comfort. Despite the height of the statue, the friendly attitude of the "gatekeeper" ensures that the statue does not deter visitors, but rather attracts and evokes curiosity.

The artist, Nicole Eisenman, is best known to the general (art) public for her figurative paintings in which she applies different styles, ranging from Renaissance painting to modern art. Since 2012, Eisenman has also established herself as a sculptor, exhibiting her work at the Venice Biennale and the Whitney Biennial, among others. Her work deals with topical themes from contemporary society which she approaches with humour and love.

Alongside Eisenman's sculpture, the New Amsterdam Courthouse will feature artworks by Jesse Wine and Femmy Otten in the garden and the courtrooms respectively, curated by arts advisor Esther Vonk. Commission of these pieces is a part of the percentage scheme for visual art in government buildings, which requires original artwork be commissioned for new or renovated governmental buildings that pertain to the Central Government Real Estate Agency. Due to future developments in the area around the court and Zuid station, the municipality of Amsterdam Zuidas and the Amsterdam Fund for the Arts are additional partners in this assignment.

NACH is a collaborative consortium consisting of Macquarie Capital, Abt, DVP, KAAN Architecten, Heijmans and Facilicom that is carrying out the design, construction, financing, maintenance and operation of the New Amsterdam Courthouse on behalf of the Central Government Real Estate Agency.

Bassecourt of the palace is progressively getting covered by concrete and steelwork which will hold up the fountain and the glass roof above the grand foyer.

The circular outline of the fountain has already been set up. The mirror-like pond, lined with natural stone, will rise amid a parvis covered in brickwork.

Next to the fountain, the freight elevator has been completed which will enable the transport of artwork and other large objects to the underground exhibition rooms.

Exhibition rooms connect back to the grand foyer which leads further to the palace wings through underground connections.

The CMA is the winning entry of an international competition for the Eurartisanat campus in Lille, won by KAAN Architecten together with PRANLAS-DESCOURS architect & associates. The building serves as a hub for both the local and regional Chamber of Trades and Crafts, as well as the associated training schools that were previously scattered throughout the historic city centre of Lille.

Other KAAN Architecten projects nominated in previous editions of the EU Mies Award include ISMO, Utopia Library and Academy for Performing Arts, Education Centre Erasmus MC, and the Supreme Court of The Netherlands. Organised by the Fundació Mies van der Rohe with support from the Creative Europe programme of the European Commission, the award recognizes and commends excellence in European architecture.

For centuries, Amsterdam has served as a living laboratory for large-scale urban development, from the 17th-century canals to Berlage and Van Eesteren’s 20th-century plans, through docklands and the ring, up to today’s fringe belt expansions. These interventions share strong municipal guidance and a pioneering mentality in developing new housing typologies.

With its historic core formed by the UNESCO Heritage canal system, Amsterdam’s centre offers limited space for new interventions due to spatial constraints and regulatory limits. The city has boldly expanded toward former docklands and wastelands, creating a historic central node surrounded by residential and business clusters. The ring road around the centre is now a focal point for development, offering proximity to major infrastructure while bridging the gap between the centre and the outskirts.

City planners and developers continually explore ways to ensure the city’s flourishing, creating a platform for discussion and a playground for architectural intervention.

One such playground is Overhoeks, north of the city centre along the river IJ, currently being developed with owner-occupied and private rental apartments. KAAN Architecten is designing The Stack, a residential project of two buildings connected by underground parking. The design balances individuality and collectivity through refined building contours and elongated balcony slabs, increasing spaciousness, views, and privacy within a green, healthy living environment.

To the west of Overhoeks, across the IJ, an old ship- and dockyard area is transforming. De Walvis, built in the early 1960s and now under heritage protection, is the only remaining office building on Bickerseiland. KAAN Architecten renovated it with a focus on sustainability, daylight, increased interior heights, and BREEAM Excellent certification. The building was delivered in Spring 2020.

In Amsterdam’s south-east, the SPOT project redevelops the Hogehilweg area, transforming low-density office blocks from the 1980s into a cosmopolitan mixed-use district. KAAN Architecten’s masterplan creates diverse atmospheres, merging intimate inner-city qualities with the scale of an expanding metropolis.

Amsterdam’s rapid growth has spurred infrastructure expansion, including the 2018 metro line connecting North and South in 15 minutes. Public transport capacity is being enhanced, while Amsterdam Airport Schiphol underwent expansion to keep pace with passenger growth. KAAN Architecten, collaborating in the KL AIR consortium, designed the new 130,000 m² terminal, updating facilities to strengthen Schiphol as a leading European hub.

As a multicultural capital with high quality of life, Amsterdam attracts global companies. The Zuid-as district, strategically located between Schiphol and the city centre, hosts Dutch and international institutions. The New Amsterdam Courthouse at Zuidas and Parnassusweg replaces the former judicial complex. The largest courthouse in the country exemplifies efficiency and integration into daily life, with construction completing in late 2020.

Using Amsterdam as a living laboratory, the Complex Projects chair at Delft University of Technology, led by Kees Kaan, investigates urban settlements within globalization. Collaborating with AMS Institute and the municipality, the AMSTERDAM 2050 project documented current urban conditions and explored future trends, producing visualizations guiding redevelopment 2025–2050.

KAAN Architecten continues shaping Amsterdam through projects spanning residential buildings, masterplans, public institutions, and international transport hubs. Their work offers sustainable, high-quality, and comprehensible architecture, contributing to the city’s ongoing evolution.

The two mid-rise towers designed by KAAN Architecten are each 70 metres tall, rising from a solid plinth with clearly defined entrances.

The footprint of each tower is a split and shifted square, creating more corners and a variety of apartment layouts, all with corner windows offering remarkable views.

The plinth accommodates family houses with rooftop gardens and engages directly with the surroundings at ground level.

De Zalmhaven is developed by AM & Amvest on a site adjacent to the former eponymous port in central Rotterdam, combining both urban and local scales. Construction on the residential complex began nearly two years ago and is expected to be completed in 2021.

From 11:00 to 17:00, guided tours will be offered at De Bank—our office in De Nieuwe Boompjes, the former premises of De Nederlandsche Bank originally designed by Henri Timo Zwiers in the 1950s. Book your tour at the link below and find information about the precautions regarding corona safety.

Book here! - De Nieuwe Boompjes - Day of Architecture 2020

In an interview with Marco Brizzi, Kaan discusses the renovated Provinciehuis of North-Brabant along with other completed projects, reflecting on the role of architectural masters and how their built works transmit knowledge.

The conversation serves as an introduction to the short film Today, directed by Marcel Ijzerman, which is part of the Planet Netherlands video series covering the last twenty years of Dutch architecture. Between 22 June and 15 August 2020, eight videos and short films were released in the series, featuring works by Dok Architecten, MVRDV, Next Architects, Maurice Nio, OMA/AMO, UNStudio, and Wiel Arets Architects.

In the last months, the walls of the underground facilities have been fully set up and covered by a steel construction. A circular pond will cover the Bassecourt and its circular outline is already showing.

This edition covers the period from November 2019 to May 2020. Even though halfway through this period distancing measures were employed, the Courthouse construction has been steadily progressing.

The main focus has been on closing up the facades and working on the interior finishing. Glass and steel facade covers have been put in place, while natural stone and green walls were installed on the inside. The monumental steel staircase has also been hung in the central office void.

KAAN Architecten is undertaking works for the New Amsterdam Courthouse as part of a consortium which includes Macquarie Corporate Holdings Ltd., ABT, DVP, Heijmans and Facilicom.

The winner will be announced on September 17, 2020, at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris. In the meantimeIn the meantime, see the full list of nominees here or explore our nominated project here.

The modular facades will consist of over 800 prefab concrete elements altogether, which are currently in prototype phase. As the construction of the three buildings is extremely time sensitive, the facade design had to take into account short handling and mounting times.

These modules are the largest prefab concrete elements KAAN Architecten has designed as of yet. Their size implies less structural joints and plays an essential role in making them not only cost effective, but time efficient. In this way, the crane moves faster and completes the mounting in less time, considering the number of facade elements required for the three buildings.

The prefab panels are made out of self-compacting concrete and produced by Hemmerlein.

The video below explores the BSL3 as a workspace designated to the research of infectious diseases threatening public health. Even after 6 years since its completion, it is a unique space since there are less than a hundred of these type of laboratories worldwide and BSL3 is currently the only one of this size in The Netherlands, working closely with research partners and public health authorities.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aGsEMNbyFc

The opening festivities in 2018 lasted four days and welcomed over 25,000 visitors who joined concerts, workshops, and dance performances. Since then, Utopia has become a cultural landmark in Aalst, thriving on its deep connection with citizens and the delicate blend of seemingly opposite programs it houses.

The inside of the historical museum has been restored to its original grandeur with reinstated bright wall colours, mosaic floors, and wall trimmings, while a new grand staircase now anchors the entrance.

Hidden in the heart of the old building, a new vertical museum emerges, offering a strikingly contrasting spatial experience. Large and small exhibition halls, secluded rooms, layered sightlines, and nuanced daylight conditions create a route filled with discovery and surprise.

The concrete structure of the underground extension is already showing outlines of the grand foyer and the exposition rooms.

The steel structure covering these spaces is also being put in place, and will later be covered by glass surfaces and a pond.

Meanwhile, the monumental facades of the side wings and the Corps de Logis are currently being supported by temporary construction that enables the underground connection with the Bassecourt facilities.

For more updates on the construction progress, keep an eye on our website or follow the official Paleis het Loo video channel.

Read the English version of the interview below. French translation will soon be available on L’Architecture d’Aujourd’hui.

Where are you locked down and how did you get organised to continue working ?

KK: The lockdown in the Netherlands is relatively soft. A lot of responsibility is expected from the individual, there is no military in the streets. Overall, I see people taking care and behaving according to government’s recommendations. At the office, we started preparing for the lockdown in February. It was mainly about taking some extra IT measures and defining a protocol that enables a complete switch to remote work. We closed our offices in the middle of March, and since then ‘working from home’ has been the modus operandi. At the moment we are looking at how to reopen in the so called 1,5 meter economy.

MG: I am one of the people who left Paris to temporarily return to their native region, to facilitate the coexistence of professional and personal life. The other collaborators in Paris started working remotely from their homes, occasionally grouping up in one location with a couple of architects from different offices.

Are containment and architecture opposites?

KK: I wouldn’t say they are opposites. Architecture is not about enabling as much public interaction as possible. It is all about the relation of private behaviour in different public domains. It is about finding working relations and careful definitions of spaces for public and private interaction. If social distancing permanently changes human interaction, then that will be a fundamental architectural issue. It will impact how we’ll redesign our physical world, from the detail to the territory.

MG: Considering our professional activity, it depends on the specific moment and phase of the project. Solitude and calm are often welcome. This confinement helps us avoid the compulsive need for meetings and facilitates concentration (once the kids are busy, of course...). Communication through email, team chats and video calls make things easier when we have to communicate with our partners. We were already quite familiar with working remotely between our Paris and Rotterdam offices, although we used to travel back and forth a lot, during certain key moments of the project (Rotterdam is only 2,40 hours from Paris). However, a team meeting around a blank sheet of paper, a plan, a model, a single screen is still extremely important. Projects are more and more collaborative; architecture resides precisely in this work of communication. This is what we keep on doing while adapting our process.

What lessons do you think you will learn from the ecological impact of this crisis?

KK: We see that nature is flourishing. No further explanation needed. Our standard behaviour has had a devastating impact on the environment. Having said that, this does not mean we are lost and should not try to mitigate this effect. We are operating on the frontline of our profession and the building industry is one of the largest impactors in that environment. In our most recent experiences we learned that making our buildings more sustainable works better when the link that is made between capex and opex, when we not only design to win crazy competitions but also design to build and operate the building. When the lifecycle becomes an integral part of the brief, sustainable design gets a proper dimension. This crisis shows us how quickly nature responds in a positive way to small changes in our behaviour. We should remember this when things turn back to ‘normal’.

MG: The speed of our society should be reconsidered: technologies, communications, mobility. Same goes for the balance between abundance and scarcity. The society of abundance in which we live in often distracts us from what is essential. The available excess of seldom useless, energy or time-consuming goods and information, confronts me with the shortage of health supplies we are currently facing (masks, respirators, IC beds). Within the building industry, many run after this abundance: concepts, materials, shapes, colours, technologies, labels, regulations; until they forget the essence of the projects. At our office, 'the essential' is a notion that we always keep in mind, as well as the importance of building something that lasts through time, fostering quality and adaptability. This leads to a certain architectural sobriety.

A film to see / a book to read during lockdown?

KK: Although in lockdown, I am still working both in our practice, as well as teaching and running the architecture department in Delft. At home, I am living with a family with children still in the school age. They are also ‘working’ from home. It is a very dynamic and lively setting here, no lonesome moments. So now that we work remotely, it is not that I find an ocean of time to read or watch movies, rather the opposite. Not commuting saves time, but online work is slower and more focused. I have no special books or films associated with the lockdown, although a very nice book comes to mind immediately. It is Being there by Jerzy Kozinski. It tells the story of a gardener, coming out of a lifetime lockdown in his garden, who is suddenly confronted with our society. It appears he has developed a completely fresh, non-corrupted and disarming state of mind.

MG: Considering the current atmosphere, I would suggest watching Soylent Green by Richard Fleischer and, for something more ‘French’, The wing or the thigh by Claude Zidi. As for books, I would recommend some maritime tales to which we can relate at the moment: The long way by Bernard Moitessier, a story of a solo race lasting 11 months in 1969 and, more recently, Woman at sea by Catherine Poulain, a harsh story of large fishing boats in Alaska. Finally, the special AA Hors-Série on KAAN Architecten: "Master Narrators", of course 😉

A social network to follow?

KK: @cp.complexprojects, @datapolis_cp, @espaciogris

MG: Keep in touch! Call your neighbour or your grandpa. Connect with your friends and family! Otherwise, follow @AA and @KAANArchitecten

What do you expect from this experience?

KK: I hope that after lockdown we can maintain some parts of the remote working system. In certain cases, it is more effective than continuously trying to meet physically. It saves travel time and it is better for health and the environment. I also learned how vulnerable our system/economy is. It is entirely cashflow based. There are hardly any reserves. When the cash stops flowing - systems collapse. We somehow need to make our economy more sustainable. This requires us to plan for the longterm rather than for the quick win. Make companies more resilient on one hand, the employment system more flexible on the other.

A very interesting phenomenon is how quickly the new exceptional became the new normal. People can adapt quickly and easily to new rules which become new norms, and then we display different behaviour. Dutch government bet on people's sense of responsibility by announcing a relatively loose lockdown. I think it has worked, and it has set an example. The 1.5-meter rule made us more gentle towards each other, and maybe even more polite. We avoid unnecessary movement and we have developed a cure from the 'fear of missing out' caused by intense social media exposure. Maybe we can hold on to this feeling after lockdown gets alleviated.

MG: First, I hope this will enhance Europe’s cohesion: beyond the circulation of people and capital, cultural and social ties are still far too weak. Education and sharing of knowledge still need to be consolidated and supported. Besides this, I wish the health system (finally) finds stability and balance. Being French and having lived in the Netherlands, I believe that the Dutch health system can teach us something in this regard. Finally, I hope education and culture get recognition as essential activities.

What impact does this containment have on the perception of both your workspace and domestic space?

KK: I have always loved working from home. I like the idea of participating in processes without being constantly present in the office. I have a great workspace in my house that allows me to work comfortably and in an effective way. Still, I miss the office and my team very much today. The lockdown has forced many people with children to combine family life with daily work. Most of us have had a good opportunity now to test our homes, not just as places for touchdown and sleep, but as real homes to live in, spend hours together with family and find a good balance of privacy and company. I am sure the requirements for our living spaces will be critically reviewed in the near future. I am also sure that most of us will be relieved when the kids go back to school and the office reopens.

I’m also doing my teaching and other TU Delft related work remotely. We meet students and have critique sessions online. It works, but it is far from ideal. Although it surely is a very interesting additional tool, online environments cannot replace real-life interaction (yet). This is why I believe that, as physical entities, the faculty and the office space will remain important for teamwork and for the special ambience they have for exchange of ideas and knowledge. The question is, however, if the large open floorplates crammed with people are sustainable in the coming years.

When the digital age started, some predicted that paper industry would die, but the opposite occurred. We use more paper now than ever before. On one hand remote work might reduce the need for office/work space, but increase need for living space on the other. Maybe the reduction was already assumed in the previous crisis implemented in flexwork offices. The need for social distance increases the demand for built space and infrastructure in general, and this is interesting in the context of the density debate.

The COVID-19 charts displayed on all media clearly showed the relation between urban density and levels of contamination. The denser the area, the more likely and quickly the virus could spread. This puts the entire discussion on density, urbanity and territorial development of metropolitan areas in a new perspective. Maybe the polycentric model of The Netherlands is not such a bad one in this context after all.

MG: I constantly shift between my screen, on which I work at 200 km/h, and the slowness of family life. It is a bit like combining an early 20th-century lifestyle with the technologies of the 21st… Nevertheless, I’m grateful that this situation allows me to pursue both family and professional life in an isolated location. Talking about housing conditions, isolation is not only a problem related to this crisis. Think about sick or elderly people, about geographically, socially or economically isolated citizens, or children who receive home-care and those who look after them (parents, nannies, babysitters), adolescents who spend a lot of time in their rooms, professionals who were already working remotely even before this crisis, etc. All living spaces must be dignified and comfortable, allowing people to spend most of their time there. It is now evident. This sanitary confinement consolidates certain ideas about house design and essential topics such as natural light, views, exposure to the sun, air circulation, flexibility and adaptability, outdoor spaces, nice atmosphere, etc. The city’s stakeholders should certainly learn the most from it. The opportunity is there, it must be seized and maximized.

De Walvis is the only remaining office building on Bickerseiland in Amsterdam. Although modern at its time, the building no longer complied with contemporary workplace standards. The complete strip down and renovation brought in more daylight, increased interior heights and upgraded all installations to the highest standards. By topping up the building, the future users will be welcomed by an even better view of the area. Meanwhile, redesign of the ground floor will bring life to this historic site.

The artworks are never regarded just as stationary objects placed in space for the sole purpose of being admired. Their purpose is to enhance or contrast the atmosphere; to integrate with the scale, perspective and light which, in turn, determine the users’ experience of space.

Regarded as the heart of the public area, the atrium of renovated office building B30 in The Hague has been allocated for art. An invitation was extended to an artist to create a mosaic or floor pattern that visualises the magic of this space. Artist Rob Birza designed a pattern inspired by images from his travels, but which can be read as a garden abstraction. It has become the internal garden in a series of three gardens that traverse the building. The artwork has been beautifully executed by Van der Zande Terrazo & Mozaiek, in natural and precious stones, in combination with terrazzo concrete. The scale of the imagery is elusive, but at the same time, it manages to attune itself to the perspective of the beholder and the proportions of the space they occupy in that experience.

In projects such as the Supreme Court and Crematorium Siesegem large scale paintings enhance the formal and solemn atmosphere of the spaces. ‘Hoge Raad’ by painter Helen Verhoeven was specifically commissioned for the Supreme Court of the Netherlands. The 4x6,5m painting reflects themes of law and justice by depicting a densely populated courtroom in which the walls are covered with historical references to the development of the Dutch legal system and constitution.

Meanwhile, the 6x6m painting by Belgian artist Rinus van de Velde is the focal point of a long zenithally lit corridor of Crematorium Siesegem. In his characteristic haunting strokes of black and white, the painting depicts the symbolic crossing of the river, appropriate for the programme of the building.

On the other hand, the artwork in projects such as the New Amsterdam Courthouse and the District Water Board Brabantse Delta exude an appropriate form of humour as a counterpart to the formality of the institutional architecture. Although the final design is yet to be revealed, a prominent 5.5m high sculpture by the American artist Nicole Eisenman will be placed on the public square in front of the New Amsterdam Courthouse. The artwork features a larger-than-life figure extending a hand holding an acorn (protection against evil), an owl (wisdom) and an arrow (power). Hopeful and optimistic in its symbolism, the artwork fits into the formal environment and acts as a recognizable landmark for the area.

Similarly, the colourful wooden sculptures by Stephan Balkenhol stand out against the classically symmetrical building of the District Water Board in Brabantse Delta. The wood for the 4 statues came from two oak trees that stood on the edge of the estate and were removed to make way for the renovation. The group of sculptures is characteristic of Balkenhol's work – mundane human figures on a bulky pedestal, painted in simple colours, appearing both living and inanimate at the same time.

Within the past months, groundwork has commenced to accommodate the combined underground parking of the Alpha, Beta and Gamma buildings. The structure and floorplans have been designed by RKW Architektur +, while the facade design by KAAN Architecten will underline and support the identity of the buildings to consolidate and unite the Werksviertel aesthetic, while at the same time being iconic within in its own way.

Over the last 20 years, the office has designed more than 40 projects related to renovation and restoration of built heritage. Whether it is an interior renovation such as De Bank, the office’s new headquarters in Rotterdam, or the addition of a new structure as in Erasmus MC Education Centre, the guiding principles are the same.

Complex interventions on buildings of different periods must always present a clear hierarchy between the old and the new. The contemporary should not override the existing, but nevertheless ensure a comparable dignity, highlighting the monumental and the original. In this way, the new provides knowledge of the past.

The Education Center is part of the Rotterdam academic hospital Erasmus MC, originally designed in 1965 by Arie Hagoort (OD205) in collaboration with Jean Prouvé. Following the essence of the original design, the second floor has been reintroduced as the main floor and entrance of the complex. Since its completion in 2013, the new building has merged all medical student programmes within the education square with a pattern of study islands spanned by a large, glazed roof structure. The flexibility of the column-free space allows it to admit different functions. As such, the Education Centre has recently been transformed into a Dutch national coordination centre for corona patient distribution.

Among such projects is also Central Post in Rotterdam, which has been transformed into a contemporary and multifunctional office building. Due to the modernization of the postal process, the building fell into disuse. Through exterior restoration and transformation of the interior, a 90% increase in floor area was achieved and the building was granted a Class A Energy Label. It is currently one of the five most sustainable buildings in the Netherlands. Last year it was also categorized as a national monument by the Dutch Cultural Heritage Agency.

Meanwhile, B30, a closed hierarchical building in The Hague, has been transformed into a contemporary and state-of-the-art working environment through a clear spatial configuration and additive design. Originally designed in 1917 as a ministry building, B30 is now an imposing structure with a distinct architectural character and is a Grade 1 listed building in the Netherlands.

More recently, the office has been commissioned to restore, renovate and extend two highly regarded museums – Paleis Het Loo in Apeldoorn and the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp. Both projects aim to improve and expand the visitor experience as well as highlight the grandeur of the existing institutions. With extensive photo reports from the construction sites, KAAN Architecten brings continuous coverage of updates on both projects.

To get a sense of the scale, consider that the inside of the elevator measures 5,3 by 4 m with 3,6 m height. The mesmerizing still shots take you through a sequence of large and small exhibition halls, hidden rooms, horizontal and vertical sightlines and varying gradations of daylight. These rare observations could only be filmed during construction and before closing the elevator shaft.

Video by Koen van Herk and Marcel Ijzerman for KAAN Architecten Music score by Vague Imaginaires

Empty rooms of the historical museum made a perfect deconstructed backdrop for the avant-garde designs of the 'Jolene' collection, photographed by Charlie de Keersmaecker.

Previously a cotton mill, the complex was built in 1911 with brick masonry construction and refined finishing. As the building represents significant industrial heritage within the city, the central part of the assignment is restoring the intrinsic qualities of the space by reinstating original materials and colours.

The process started with the chromatic restoration of paint on facades where traces of original ochre colour were found on plastered fragments. Through pictorial prospecting and acid testing, it was possible to map the main elements of its composition. On areas with an exposed brick surface, it was necessary to first test the reintegration of mortar and the application of a protective solution.

All application tests were carried out within sampling windows which allow controlled and comparable results, to obtain the best solution for the originally painted facades, as well as to ensure the conservation of exposed brick masonry.

Restoration studies have been developed by Vinicius Martins de Oliveira (historian architect) and Jéssica Aparecida de Paula (architect) for KAAN Architecten

KAAN Architecten team: Raluca Firicel, Juliana Generoso, Renata Gilio, Danielle Gregorio, Carlos Jacquet, Kees Kaan, Ricardo Marmorato, Vincent Panhuysen, Marco Peixe D’Elia, Dikkie Scipio, Lais Xavier

Recently I read Victor Hugo’s Notre-Dame de Paris, written in 1830. The book became widely known as “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” and is remembered as the love story between the gypsy beauty Esmeralda and the pitiful creature, deafened by the bells and living in the belfry of the cathedral. Victor Hugo wrote his novel as a plea for restoring the Notre Dame which was in great disrepair at the time. In doing so, Hugo showed a thorough and detailed knowledge of architecture. He formed a passionate opinion about the matter and did not avoid writing a strong manifesto against the damage done by the Academies, professors and “certain individuals that have adopted the title of the architect”.

Victor Hugo classified three sorts of devastation that had brought Notre Dame to its state of ruin at the beginning of the nineteenth century. First: Time, responsible for the wrinkles and warts on the building’s skin. Second: the acts of violence and the brutalities, the bruises and fractures being the work of Revolutions. And third: the mutilations, amputations, and dislocations by A Swarm of Architects from the schools – licensed and certified – who defaced by choice with the discrimination of bad taste. In summary, he applied the Latin quote Tempus edax, homo edacior (Time erodes, man erodes more) which he freely translated as: Time is blind, man is stupid.

To put this into perspective, the Notre Dame of Paris was built over a period of 182 years, starting in 1163, the age of Charlemagne and Romanesque architecture, and ending in 1345 after the reign of Philip IV in Gothic architecture. By the time of Victor Hugo, the Vitruvius books had been recovered, and the Renaissance, Baroque, Neoclassicism and Romanticism had touched the cathedral. Revolutions of the religious kind (Luther’s Theses of 1517 and the Reformation), economic kind (rise of the bourgeoisie), social kind (French Revolution of 1789) and political kind (Napoleon’s reign 1804-1814) had all scratched and scarred Our Lady.

Victor Hugo was right to note the state of the cathedral, but after 600 years it could hardly be a surprise the building had been modified, even if they were bold modifications like the removal of the spire. What might have enraged him so about mankind and architects?

The answer to this is revealed when he explains the full significance of chapter one, ending with the Archdeacon directing our gaze away from a book, made possible by Gutenberg’s printing press, to the monumental cathedral, and lamenting: “Alas, this will kill that”.

Until the fifteenth century, architecture was the principal register of mankind, man’s chief form of expression. All ideas of any complexity which arose in the world became a building. Every popular idea, just like every religious dogma, had its monuments. In fact, the human race inscribed in stone every one of its important philosophies. When this was disseminated among the masses and then suppressed by feudalism, architecture was its one outlet, eventually being fully unleashed through this art form by the realization of cathedrals. The other arts all submitted to the discipline and dominance of architecture.

Thus, up until Gutenberg in 1439, architecture was the chief, the universal form of writing.

With the invention of the press, books took over the role of architecture as the exclusive mode of expression. Architecture was dethroned. It was no longer the total, the sovereign art; it no longer had the strength to keep hold of the other arts and so they set themselves free. Sculpture became statuary, imagery became painting, canon became music and, from the sixteenth century, the great artists rose to prominence. Architecture became merely one art among others.

As human ideas change their shape, they change their mode of expression. The central idea of each generation would no longer be written in the same way or with the same material. The book of stone would give way to the book of paper. Paper was to kill the building and the sole power of the Church, and the Archdeacon was feeling the transition. For Victor Hugo, it was the ignorance of the ‘architecture as one art among others’ making adaptations to the ‘architecture as the mother of all arts’ that infuriated him.

Today we are again in transition. This time books of paper are losing their absolute power to express knowledge, as the digital realm and internet rise. Like architecture, books will not be lost but they will have to reinvent an independent status as one art among many.

As for architecture, digitalization adds an extra dimension to our profession. It would not be surprising if many young architects started designing videos, virtual reality and gaming experiences of architecture and urban design, as a precursor to building. In the digital world, again many independent arts are being combined to create an energy that raises overall design quality. Who knows, architecture may regain a position of hegemony and virtual cities and buildings may become our combined mode of expression once again."

Prof. Dikkie Scipio

for De Architect

1st quarter, 2020

Translated from Dutch by Dianna Beaufort (Words On The Run)

Powilleit describes her process as concentrated observation and calmness, a waiting game of sorts for the right opportunity to arise even in the most complex of situations. In this way she captures the essence of her subject.

A day at De Bank is precisely such a complex situation, comprising a variety of dynamics. Busy periods of activity, team meetings and presentations are interspersed with moments of quiet contemplation and individual work. Powilleit welcomes this chaos, claiming: "I enjoy working when people no longer notice my presence, when I can really capture them in their own environment and concentration."

All of this takes place in a photogenic space flooded with daylight coming in from both sides, with long corridors and passages allowing Powilleit to experiment with composition. Working, meeting and leisure spaces are all effectively connected, producing a variety of different shots ranging from still lifes to overviews.

During the past year major progress has been made in the Bassecourt, which was excavated to make room for the new entrance facilities, the Grand Foyer and several exhibition spaces.

The deepest point of the construction pit has been reached and concrete was poured and cured underwater to make sure the structure is without tears or leaks. Following that process, first walls of the underground facilities have been raised.

On the inside, the palace has been undergoing operations for removing asbestos and is now asbestos free; well ahead of the governmental requirements. The interior has been carefully dismantled in order to preserve the original elements from the 1600s to remove the dangerous material that was placed in the palace during the 1970s. Once the renovation and removal of asbestos are finished, all the pieces will be put back in place.

To find out more about the renovation process, watch the timelapse video of the construction here or click here to keep up with the ongoing video series following the construction progress. At this link, you can see the timeline of the construction process.

By means of our digital platform, the integral processes concerning design, meetings, presentations and communication are maintained without reservations. Our teams are active and can be contacted during office hours through the usual communication channels.

On behalf of the team, KAAN Architecten sends its warmest regards for your health and safety. Remain responsible and vigilant for the benefit of your community.

Enter for a chance to win a copy of limited edition project books and monograph issues with rich illustrative and photographic documentation of KAAN Architecten projects. Click on links below to explore the publications eligible for the giveaway:

L'Architecture d’Aujourd’hui Hors-série - KAAN Architecten

I Maestri dell'Architettura Collector's Edition - KAAN Architecten

Crematorium Siesegem

Utopia - Library and Academy for Performing Arts

ISMO - Institut des Sciences Moléculaires d’Orsay

To enter, fill in the form HERE with your contact information and mark your preferred publication. Please note the giveaway will close on 18 March 2020. Winners will be selected at random and notified by email. Collected information will be kept confidential and used solely for contacting the winners.

In the past, the gradual expansion of the campus created a sprawling network of buildings with complex internal relations. The new Education Centre will re-establish the flows and clearly define the public space, becoming a central accessible core for the University and functioning as the main entrance for the Healthy Ageing Campus. The complex will rise between the ERIBA building, the Faculty of Medical Science complex and the new Proton Therapy Centre of the University Medical Center Groningen, joining a cluster of existing structures with shared facilities that provide access to the clinic, research facilities and companies.

"Educational buildings are always an exciting architectural challenge, and we couldn’t be more delighted to bring our concept to life. The new centre will bring fresh identity to this part of the campus while connecting and reinforcing the surrounding buildings," says KAAN Architecten founding partner Vincent Panhuysen. Within its 11,000 m² of surface, the new Education Centre will provide a sustainable, open and dynamic space for students. The connections with the existing buildings are gently integrated in the design, to highlight the Centre’s bonding purpose for the whole campus.

The Centre will provide lecture halls, libraries, classrooms, project rooms, education square, patios, a restaurant, an underground bicycle parking and some flexible workplaces that teachers can use between class hours. Busier and quietest facilities will be smartly arranged through a rational structure, providing adequate working and leisure environments for the students, with respect for their work and concentration, while still offering generous natural light and green spaces. Brick, wood and concrete will be the main materials used in the construction of the Centre, providing a robust yet friendly study environment.

The building will host up to 2,000 employees and students, with its facilities being highly flexible and adaptable to any possible future changes in the organization of the Campus. The winning competition team is composed of KAAN Architecten (architect), Sweegers en De Bruijn (installation advisor), ABT (sustainability), and Peutz (building physics consultants).

The full project will be released soon.

The volume opens with Andrew Ayers’ in-depth interview with partner and co-founder Kees Kaan entitled ‘Master Storytellers’. It traces the milestones of the office’s history during the last two decades, touching upon important features of the firms’ philosophy, most prominently the narrative nature of the design process.

The publication further investigates the approach of KAAN Architecten through analysing four buildings as the highlights of the office portfolio: Supreme Court of the Netherlands, Utopia Library and Academy for Performing Arts, Chambre de Métiers et de l’Artisanat and Erasmus MC Education Centre. These four essays are written by Christelle Granja, implementing the voice of Marylène Gallon and Vincent Panhuysen.

Furthermore, the Hors Série also features editorials by Emmanuelle Borne, editor-in-chief of A'A', and three ‘Carte Blanche’ contributions. This editorial space is dedicated to selected artists who established fruitful collaborations with KAAN Architecten: Victor Vroegindeweij (filmmaker), Helen Verhoeven (painter) and Dominique Panhuysen (photographer).

The issue is available for purchase in selected architecture and art libraries world-wide, as well as online at the following link.

KAAN Architecten would like to thank the editorial team behind this publication: Laure Paugam, Guillaume Ackel, Anastasia de Villepin and Caterina Grosso, as well as the very talented journalists Andrew Ayers and Christelle Granja. This publication would not have been possible without the help and support of Groep Van Roey and Velux.

Originally published on a-zine.nl (available in Dutch) “The fact that there are fewer women than men in architectural firms has nothing to do with the profession itself.” Dikkie Scipio, founding partner of KAAN Architecten, launches right into the interview with a statement about women in architecture. What follows is a discussion about her desire to take her responsibility as a role model seriously, and her opinions on what quality means in architecture. If she could plan the future, she would be designing two more significant buildings and then become Chief Government Architect of the Netherlands.

Once we’ve taken our seats in the meeting room, Dikkie Scipio gets right down to business: “So you interview women working in architecture. I find ‘women in architecture’ a difficult subject; I’ve always felt this. I fight it tooth and nail, the idea that there are fewer female architects because of the nature of the work itself. It’s nonsense that gender has any kind of influence on the quality of work you produce as an architect.”

What is the reason behind it then?

“Everything has to happen in that first phase of life – buying a house, having children, building a career – and in the meantime our life expectancy keeps rising. We’re gaining more and more time, while our window of fertility remains the same. So we need to develop a vision for the entire span of our life. The time for having children and raising them is diminishing relative to a whole lifetime. In the first phase of life we should allow ourselves the freedom to focus on this and getting a good education. After 18 years of child-rearing, during which you’ve developed in all kinds of ways, you can devote yourself to a career. A comprehensive view like this will benefit society, creating happier, more relaxed people. But it won’t be happening just yet.”

When will it?

“Once the baby-boomers are gone. Then the urgency becomes real, because the responsibility for a functioning society will suddenly rest on the shoulders of a very small group of people. A large part of this group is already suffering from burn-outs, because it’s incredibly hard to raise kids and move up the career ladder at the same time – whatever the profession.”

So fewer women at architectural firms has mostly to do with having children?

“Yes. When a woman doesn’t have children, then the same rules apply as they do for men. Then she can put all her energy into her career, without anything holding her back.”

But how can it be that young fathers do continue to work at architectural firms?

“Because they are men. Of course, they also have a caregiving role, but they do not get pregnant, give birth or breastfeed. We women can more or less act as though we don’t have children, at least if we are lucky with our partners. Yet, if we were to feel prouder about being a woman, then we would simply invest more time in that busy, early phase of life. We’d have children first and then later invest the time in our career.”

Take more time. Is that your advice for working mothers?

“Yes. Motherhood is the most beautiful thing in the world. When I think about it, it’s such a shame that I didn’t allow myself the space and time to enjoy it because of my own notions about needing to prove myself at work. I was just on the go all the time. But it’s not healthy, and it’s also not necessary. It’ll happen later. We women need to – calmly and confidently – establish our position. I decided a while ago that I would no longer work on projects that require me to be away from home for more than one night. This was a very conscious choice, and it means that I cannot take on any projects in China, for example.”

My column Ms. Architect is primarily intended to give a platform to female architects. I feel they are less visible. For example, many people don’t know that you are a full partner at KAAN Architecten. Everyone thinks that the office is run by Kees Kaan. How do you feel about that?

“It’s really annoying. I’ve recently realized that a public presence is actually an important part of my job. If I want to be a role model for young women, then I need to step up and become visible. I also don’t want my work to be ascribed to someone else. This means I need to work on getting seen, but I find that tricky. I really just want to work on my projects, give them my full attention and ensure that we achieve quality. And all this should not suffer from efforts to increase visibility.”

What does quality in architecture mean to you?

“That I take the skill and professionalism of our discipline very seriously, at all levels. As an architect I create spaces, but before I get there I have to examine what really needs to happen from a multitude of perspectives. I only start once I fully understand the needs of the client and users. There’s a big difference between what people think they want and what they actually need.

Ultimately, I want a building to last, and to bond with users by making it so innately attractive to their needs that they will continue to explore and experience the building. I want them to have a relationship with the spaces and materials that make up the building. As an architect it’s important to be able to visualize this. The biggest compliment I can get when a building is completed is when clients and users tell me: we never could have imagined it this beautiful.”

What do you think is the current state of quality in Dutch architecture?

“The discipline of architecture in the Netherlands is lacking leadership and vision at the moment. There seems to be a misguided view among many clients that you can call up an architect to get them to design a pretty picture. But that is a fallacy. Architecture is so much more complex, in both the design and the execution of projects. We as a community have unfortunately allowed this to happen. Now it’s a constant struggle to achieve quality. In a few years, when Floris has finished his mandate, and after I’ve completed two large-scale projects, I would love to take on the role of Chief Government Architect.”

What would you be able to do as Chief Government Architect to raise the level of quality in Dutch architecture?

“During the recession we still had the DBFMOs. They had their disadvantages, but the collective priority of creating a building based on sustainable quality was good. Now that the market is restored, making money has become the priority and creating a building that lasts is less important. Now a building has to be ‘circular’, which means nothing more than ‘easy to demolish’. I can accept the mechanisms of the market, but not that municipalities and other governing authorities have lost the capacity to develop visions.”

I’ve spoken to a lot of architects who long for a return of the climate 20 years ago, when young architects in the Netherlands had much more access to opportunities.

“Yes, a lot of young architects have a chance to develop their skills then, thanks to the regulated Dutch housing market. But they didn’t really have access to the big projects, with the exception of a few. I think it’s presumptuous for young architects to think they have the right to design a big complex just after graduating. You need to have a lot of experience to do that. Fortunately, experience grows automatically, that is, if you work on developing your skills and talent. Architecture is about understanding the client, managing processes, designing details and building the actual structure. Quality means you strive for perfection in all these aspects.”

What would you still like to achieve as an architect?

“A building that will stand for centuries. Many developers write off a building after fifteen years. In this context, I could create seven buildings in a century. But I’m not interested in numbers, only in quality. The French writer Marguerite Yourcenar inspires me, for example. She rewrote and rewrote the same book until it was perfect. I ask myself in my work: when have I captured the essence? If I want to design a building that will stand the test of time, its quality needs to be at 100%.”

Merel Pit is the founder of A.ZINE, initiator of Ms. Architect column and a 2019 Quarterly Winner of Fleur Groenendijk Foundation. As a board member of the Foundation, Dikkie Scipio writes in response to the chosen winners, and her follow-up on Merel's win can be found online.

Located in the south of Amsterdam, the new Courthouse building has been steadily progressing since topping out in 2019.

KAAN Architecten is undertaking works for the New Amsterdam Courthouse as part of a consortium which includes Macquarie Corporate Holdings Ltd., ABT, DVP, Heijmans and Facilicom.

The deepest point of the construction pit has been reached and concrete was poured and cured underwater to make sure the structure is without tears or leaks. Following that process, first walls of the underground facilities have been raised.

Watch below the recap of the past two years, or click here to keep up with the ongoing video series following the construction progress.

The publication traces the history of the office through milestone projects, most notably revisiting the Netherlands Embassy in Mozambique, Supreme Court of The Netherlands, as well as the UTOPIA library in Aalst and the Amsterdam Airport Schiphol Terminal.

The Masters of Architecture series of illustrated monographs features the works and protagonists of contemporary architecture, including among others UN Studio, Renzo Piano Building Workshop, Foster+Partners, Studio Liebeskind and Zaha Hadid Architects.

The issue is available in Italian only, and can be purchased online or on newsstands across Italy.

Nestled in the landscape designed by Erik Dhont, the crematorium building is a comforting sequence of spaces in symbiotic relationship with its surroundings. Its calm, easily readable environment and tranquil landscape merge together to emanate genuine serenity. This cohesive relationship between the building and the nature is essential, and it became even stronger when the final form of the new landscape expressed its full potential after a few seasons.

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.

FLOWCITY visualizes how we operate as collective space makers. The video traces the evolution of the new Terminal – from a winning competition entry through several phases of development, towards the current design decisions. The vast quantity of data, collected over the past three years, is quantified over time to illustrate the progressive and fluid nature of its design. The reflection on the quantity of stored data includes the prediction of the movement of people within the new terminal and the constant exchange of information between the different flows: workers, travellers, and visitors.

FLOWCITY video has been designed by RNDR with OPENRNDR software, and commissioned by KAAN Architecten.

The Bi-City Biennale will open its doors to the public on December 21st, 2019 at the new Futian high-speed Railway Station and at the Shenzhen Museum of Contemporary Art and Urban Planning. If you wish to know more about the 2019 Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism\Architecture (UABB) please visit the official website.

This latest edition chronicles June throughout October 2019, during which the highest point of the building has been reached. Meanwhile, the facade glazing is being mounted, nearly closing up the building. On the inside, rough finishes have been put in, as well as natural stone wall cladding.

KAAN Architecten is undertaking works for the New Amsterdam Courthouse as part of a consortium which includes Macquarie Corporate Holdings Ltd., ABT, DVP, Heijmans, and Facilicom.

Out of over 200 applications, the jury comprised of editors of Le Moniteur and AMC nominated 20 projects, divided into five categories. On Monday, 25 November at the Arab World Institute in Paris, each nominated project will be presented to the jury and the winner of each category will be announced.

Besides KAAN Architecten, offices in the running include Baukunst, Emilio Tuñón, Lacaton & Vassal, and Tezuka Architects in association with Ciel Rouge Création. This selection was made based on relevance of previous work as well as the strength and multi-disciplinarity of skills.

Through a competitive dialogue process, Paris La Défense intends to enhance the 20,000 m² of underground space beneath the district. The competing firms will have several months to propose both a long-term vision necessary for the completion of this complex project, as well as more immediate first interventions to reveal these hidden spaces.

At the end of the dialogue in early 2020, Paris La Défense will choose the team that will make “la Cathedrale” and its contiguous volumes a real urban experience, unusual and original, driven by its aesthetic DNA and an atypical programmatic ambition.

Historically, the platform of Paris La Défense was designed to separate the functions for the users of the district from technical or logistical purposes, leaving thousands of square meters unexploited with ceiling heights often reaching up to 15 meters.

Find out more information here.

An impressive panel of judges praised Ruud's "extensive, refreshingly illustrated study in which all conceivable current questions, from sustainable mobility to decentralised waste processing, ecology, water and climate-proof living are answered in an ambitious way."

Organized by the Fleur Groenendijk Foundation in collaboration with Rotterdam Academy of Architecture and Urban Design, De Meester award aims to highlight and promote work of young architecture graduates in the Netherlands, giving them a platform to present themselves to larger audiences and make a debut within the professional sphere.

This edition also marks the fifth and last year of Dikkie Scipio presiding as jury chairman for the award. During her tenure, she sought to highlight the work of recent graduates that shows social and contextual relevance, craftsmanship, and a clear vision.

Explore the winning project here. Photographs of the event by Rhalda Jansen Photography.

Robust and elegant, while essentially open in character, ISMO building is distinguished by a harmonic coexistence of nature and scientific research. It unites two architecturally expressed realms, housing theoretical and practical research, into a single entity.

Consistent facade treatment unifies complementing approaches and activities that coexist within the institution. Sturdily stacked, smooth, pre-fab concrete posts and lintels protrude 80cm from the facade shading the interior from the sun.

KAAN Architecten was commissioned by The Netherlands War Graves Foundation to design a new multifunctional memorial and education centre at the National Field of Honour in Loenen. The main focus of the centre will be to tell stories about Dutch war victims, the efforts of Dutch people during World War II and current international peace missions.

The pavilion will act as a connecting element between the new National Veterans Cemetery and the existing Field of Honour. The landscape, originally designed in 1949 by garden and landscape architect D. Haspels and extended by Karres + Brands, is characterised by the contrast between open spaces and the dense forest.

The rich woods, existing routes and the scenic qualities of this exceptional site have been used to underline the unifying role of the building.

The completion of the project and the official opening are set for next year.

Day of Architecture is just one of many events taking place during the week long Festival of Architecture from 21 - 27 September. Organized by the Flemish Architecture Institute, the festival focuses on the quality of the designed space as the result of an open conversation in which designers, policy makers and residents meet. The program builds a bridge between all these actors and encourages everyone to think about a well-designed environment and how they can contribute to it.

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 aims to highlight and promote work of young architecture graduates in the Netherlands.

Serving as jury leader, Dikkie Scipio has assembled an impressive panel of judges comprising Dirk Jan Postel, partner at Kraaijvanger Architects; Harm Tilman, editor-in-chief of De Architect; Victor Mani, former dean of MSA Münster, and visual artist Joep van Lieshout.

During the evening ceremony, the jury will see project presentations by 3 nominees who will be selected out of 11 graduates of the Rotterdam Academy of Architecture and Urban Design.

Location to be announced.

With its regular A4 size and wide central stitch binding, reminiscent of a typical school notebook, the publication was designed as a nod to the building’s programme.

The vitality of a university centre is conveyed using an energetic colour for both the cover and inside diagrams. The central spread of the book mimics the vibrancy of the study plaza as the heart of CUBE. Meanwhile, the elegance and robustness of the building is evoked by the clarity of the layout and supporting graphics.

The book features an original text by Kees Kaan, published both in English and in Dutch, while photographs by Simone Bossi and Sebastian van Damme capture the symbiotic atmosphere of the building and its users.

The European tender for architect selection was published in May 2019, after which an assessment committee of experts in the field of restoration, renovation and museum environments has unanimously chosen the aforementioned offices for the so-called dialogue phase.

The committee consists of Chief Government Architect Floris Alkemade, architect André van Stigt, former Director of the Cultural Heritage Agency Cees van 't Veen, director of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen and experts from the municipality of Rotterdam.

The assignment is not to design an entirely new building, but to make a design for the renovation, restoration and sustainability of the existing building and the associated outdoor space. The selected offices will be in talks with the museum and the municipality in the coming months. The members of the committee will then jointly decide on one architect. This definitive choice is expected in January 2020.

The museum has since closed its doors to the public and preparations are being made to make the museum building asbestos-free. Mid-2020 the city council will decide on the extent to which the museum will be renovated.

Read the full press release here.

Located in Itú, 100 km from São Paulo, FAMA aims to preserve and promote contemporary artistic expressions within the city and state of São Paulo. It operates far beyond the usual constraints of a museum, offering ateliers, workshops and artist residences, enabling full immersion into research and creation. In addition to FAMA headquarters, the complex also displays Marcos Amaro’s art collection and part of the collection from Museum of Contemporary Latin American Sculpture (MESCLA).

In order to materialise FAMA's ideals, KAAN Architecten was tasked with converting the old São Pedro factory grounds into a state-of-the-art cultural centre.

Previously a cotton mill for the Companhia Fiação e Tecelagem São Pedro established in 1911, the complex was designed by Louis Marins Amirat, a French-Brazilian master builder, who introduced Itú to a branch of architecture analogous to what was happening in Europe at that time. He brought innovation by applying proper brick masonry construction resulting in monumental facades with refined finishing.

As the building represents significant industrial heritage within the city, the assignment is far more complex than designing a functional ensemble. Besides implementing the highest developments in sustainability and adapting the building to museum requirements, the design proposed by KAAN Architecten will create dialogue with the historic layers that have been part of the structure for more than a century, fortifying this cultural oasis in Itú.

Bright wall colours have been reinstated, along with wooden floors and door trims, bringing the historic halls of KMSKA a step closer to their original look.

Meanwhile, progress has been made within the new 'vertical' museum where both large and small exhibition halls are being finished.

The event kicked off with an introduction by Kees Kaan, followed by an exploration of the layered process behind the making of the office’s projects. Divided into four phases - competition, design, construction and communication; the visitors got to participate in a series of interactive sessions in which architects shared tools and techniques as well as personal anecdotes relating to each project phase.

Photographs by Narine Gyulkhasyan (KAAN Architecten).

As showcased in the previous issue, the building began rising above ground with the first facade columns being installed. In recent months, the remaining 22-metre-high facade columns, extending up to the fifth floor, have been erected, and the first glass panels mounted. This phase also marks the completion of the concrete structure in the public area.

KAAN Architecten is executing the New Amsterdam Courthouse works as part of a consortium including Macquarie Corporate Holdings Ltd., ABT, DVP, Heijmans, and Facilicom.

In a recent lecture, co-founder Kees Kaan anticipated a reinstatement of the architect’s position in a highly collaborative field. “Today, design practice is all about explaining the project to numerous stakeholders,” he said. “Architects are used to negotiating, dealing with criticism, and explaining things. New 3D-modelling techniques, which allow the rapid production of multiple variations, diagrams, spreadsheets and presentations, have enabled architects to be in control of the design process once more.”

In this context, this Studio Visit will offer insight into how KAAN Architecten positions itself in a shifting architectural practice, from DBFMO (design, build, finance, maintain and operate) tenders to the use of new design techniques in the office. Participants will be introduced to the studio through a series of interactive sessions in which architects will uncover the layered process behind the making of the office’s projects.

More information on tickets and the programme can be found at the link.

Opening in December 2019 in Shenzhen, China, the UABB will feature two shows curated by independent teams. The “Eyes of the City” section, led by MIT professor Carlo Ratti, explores how digital technologies and Artificial Intelligence will shape urban life and architectural practices.

As a Foundational Contributor, Kees Kaan reflects on the implications of a sensor-imbued city gaining the ability to “see.” He emphasizes that digital technologies in the Information Age offer new ways to use existing resources more efficiently and sustainably. The future urban environment will be aware of human presence and actions, with connected vehicles and tools communicating with each other and inhabitants, opening up previously unimaginable possibilities for daily life.

Architects, according to Kaan, must focus on how new lifestyles, infrastructures, and urban facilities influence public spaces. While predicting the future is difficult, understanding current urban structures allows for informed speculation on likely changes. This approach helps architects envision and design adaptive solutions for the cities of tomorrow.

Using Amsterdam as a living laboratory, students, researchers, and teachers explore potential future scenarios, new architectural types, and novel ways of living, aiming to anticipate change by studying the city’s past and present.

Find more information about the Biennale here.

From 11.00-17.00 h, guided tours will take place at De Bank, the Rotterdam office of KAAN Architecten. Meanwhile in Amsterdam, on the construction site of the new Courthouse, the project team will host the visitors from 10.00-16.00h and introduce the design of the building.

Explore the events here (Day of Architecture, Day of Construction)

Since the last construction update, major progress has been made with both the historical and the new museum taking shape. The complete overhaul of Antwerp’s prestigious institution aims to restore the original routing and decorations dignifying the intrinsic qualities of the space, while the new extension enriches the museum experience through contemporary practices.

Having studied arts, design and architecture at renowned Dutch Royal academies as well as having spearheaded large scale transformation projects such as B30, Paleis Het Loo or the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp, Scipio has a unique arsenal of experiences to pass on to her students. However, her appointment to this position is not only a milestone in her multi-faceted career as an architect, but also a recognition of her advocacy and promotion of young architects, be it students or recent graduates.

Following initiatives like De Meester and her work with Fleur Groenendijk Foundation, she maintains the importance of dialogue as essential for the design process. It is her intention to teach students in Münster how to open themselves to critiques and impressions, how to make their own decisions, and in return: "Working with the younger generation, I hope to find things that I did not look for."

Find more information here.

The subtle yet elegant design of the book mirrors the design of the building in several features. The duality of ISMO’s programme is reinterpreted through two types of paper sewn together by aptly chosen Swiss binding technique often used in scientific publishing. Meanwhile, the recognisable concrete facade is referenced in the grid-like positioning of the ISMO logo and the texture of the grey cover paper that uses genuine pulverised cement to give it a rough chapped feel.

Along with an original essay by Ruud Brouwers in both English and French, the book expresses the essence of the building through rich photographs by Fernando Guerra and Sebastian van Damme.

Guided by the notion of 'layered city' as the overarching theme of RAM, both architects will discuss their experiences and ideas for the future of Rotterdam city centre.

As the city's supervisor of urban development, Kees Kaan will reflect on the importance of renovation processes such as the Post Office transformation by ODA together with Braaksma & Roos.

Suitably, the event will take place at 19.30 in the historic former Post Office at Coolsingel 42.

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).

With the overarching theme of contextuality and dialogue with the surroundings, Panhuysen's lecture will revisit some of the office's most notable projects such as the Dutch Embassy in Mozambique, Supreme Court of The Netherlands, as well as the UTOPIA library and Crematorium Siesegem in Aalst, Belgium.

The lecture is a part of the joint lecture series with AIA Triangle and will take place at Burns Auditorium at NCSU at 18.00

Continuing a series of advanced building techniques, the latest step of the expansion involved pouring and curing the concrete underwater. In this way, the pressure of water ensured that the concrete structure is without tears and leaks. Explore the full photo report below and click here to keep up with the ongoing video series following the construction progress.

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).

KAAN Architecten already has a firm footing in France after completing three projects in the country in recent years. The firm’s French oeuvre includes residential projects in Saint-Jacques-de-la-Lande near Rennes and the Rives de la Haute Deûle area in Lille, as well as the highly lauded Institut des Sciences Moléculaires located within the Paris-Saclay Campus, in Orsay.

The office has also participated in ambitious international studies such as the competition for the new Gare d’Austerlitz in Paris and the CHU hospital campus and research institute in Nantes.

Several other projects in France are due for completion this year, like the Cité des Métiers et de l’Artisanat in Lille, designed in collaboration with Pranlas-Descours Architect & Associates. Additionally, two large mixed-use complexes are in the final phase of construction: one close to EuraTechnologies area in Lille, the other in the ZAC Bottière-Chénaie in Nantes. Meanwhile, an office complex in Aubervilliers, Paris, is currently in design stage. Once completed, it is set to revitalize the former logistics area at the borders of Paris.

Led by architect Marylène Gallon, the new Parisian office will continue the multidisciplinary design approach set out by the Dutch headquarters. Furthermore, it will reinforce the presence of KAAN Architecten within France, developing relationships with both new and established clients and partners. Using research, innovation and technical expertise acquired in projects of varying scale, the firm intends to deliver creative, yet context-specific solutions fit for contemporary use by both public and private clients in France.

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.

The book includes a text written by architecture critic Ruud Brouwers describing the history of this peculiar project and its relation to the city of Aalst, accompanied by a rich illustrative and photographic documentation.

Utopia Library and Academy for Performing Arts has been slotted into the urban fabric of the city center creating three new squares alongside adjacent streets. The new building integrates into its design the ‘Pupillenschool’ building from 1880: its historic façades blending perfectly with the new structure through a dialogue of materials.

The complex is enriched by the vibrancy of the two seemingly opposite programs it comprises – the library and the academy for performing arts. The windows offer unobstructed views through the building showcasing the bookshelves and the rehearsal spaces for the various performing arts. The complex is not ornamented but is itself an ornament for the city.

Browse the full publication here.

Vincent Panhuysen (KAAN Architecten founding partner) and Bas Barendse (project architect) attended the award ceremony on behalf of the building team.

The project is the result of a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) based on a Design & Build contract, with Van Roey as the main contractor and KAAN Architecten as the lead architect, working in close collaboration. Utopia opened to the public in June 2018 and has since become an important landmark for the Aalst community.

You can see the full list of winning projects of the Frame Awards 2019 here https://frameweb.com/article/here-is-the-full-list-of-winners-from-the-2019-frame-awards

The monolithic Cité de Métiers et de l’Artisanat in Lille is a multi-use building featuring a different program on each floor: public space on the ground floor, education and offices on the first and second floors respectively, while the auditorium is placed at the core of the building. The project was done in collaboration with local architects Pranlas-Descours Architect & Associates.

Additionally in Lille, a mixed use complex Ilot 13 is in its final stages. Located right along the canal of the Deûle river, the set of buildings will encompass residential units, offices and a group of commercial spaces located on the lower levels.

Meanwhile in Nantes, the Bottière-Chênaie project is set to revitalize a high-traffic area in the north-eastern part of the city, bringing residential, commercial, and office buildings together into a comfortable whole.

The Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Centre will be located in Kiev, near the site of the historical events in the Babyn Yar ravine. The new center aims to commemorate and reflect on the mass shootings that occurred in 1941, in addition to being a platform for research and public discourse. The project will include exhibition and public event spaces, centers for research and education as well as a memorial park.

Following the preselection and Stage 1 results due in spring, only four to six participants will go on to Stage 2, with the final winner being announced at the end of July. For more information on the competition and the memorial, visit the BYHMC website.

Built in the late fifties by architects Herman and Evert Kraaijvanger, Central Post stood 15 stories tall, making it one of the highest buildings in Rotterdam which was undergoing extensive reconstruction at the time. The building featured an extensive art collection as well as an original Louis van Roode art piece covering the entire height of the building.

Decades later due to the modernization of the postal process, the building fell into disuse. KAAN Architecten was commissioned for exterior restoration work and transformation of the interior which included insertion of hanging floors replacing the mail sorting machine. The result was a 90% increase in floor area and a listed building that achieved a Class A Energy Label. It is currently one of the five most sustainable buildings in the Netherlands.

The existing cores on both sides of the building were updated. The long office floors were divided by a wall to reduce the size of rentable units and to create fire proofing compartments. A corporate penthouse is housed on the top floor, with a terrace overlooking the city, while the ground-floor uses and tenants add vibrancy to a completely new and contemporary Delftseplein. Meanwhile, the numerous integrated art pieces were kept in their original place, restored, or if possible returned.

Explore the full project here.

Photographs courtesy of Luuk Kramer (featured image) and Christian Richters.

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.

In his opening statement, Kees Kaan elaborates on 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 of programs and typologies in recent architectural production.

Read the full opening statement here.

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 the 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 a 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)

After the completion of groundwork and construction of the two basement levels, as showcased in the previous issue, the building started to rise above ground with the first façade columns being put in place. KAAN Architecten is undertaking works for the New Amsterdam Courthouse as part of a consortium which includes Macquarie Capital, ABT, DVP, construction companies Heijmans and M.J. de Nijs & Zonen, and Facilicom. Completion of the project is expected in September 2020.

Explore the full publication or find out more about the project here.

The complete overhaul of Antwerp’s prestigious institution aims to restore the original routing and decorations, dignifying the intrinsic qualities of the space, while the new extension enriches the museum experience through contemporary practices. End of construction is expected in 2021, and the museum will open its doors to visitors in early 2022.

End of construction is expected in 2019. Once completed, Ilot 13 will be the fourth project by KAAN Architecten built in France, including the recently inaugurated Institut des Sciences Moléculaires d’Orsay. In addition, the monolithic Cité de Métiers et de l’Artisanat in Lille will open its doors to the public at the beginning of 2019.

Photographs by Sebastian van Damme.

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 TU Eindhoven. Find out more here.

The De Meester jury was comprised of journalist and author Tracy Metz, architect Bjarne Mastenbroek, urban planner Karen van Vliet, and Rotterdam Festivals director Johan Moerman, led by KAAN Architecten founding partner Dikkie Scipio. During the event, all three candidates presented their projects followed by a panel discussion with the judges. However, it was Bram's study of the refugee crisis as an urban problem of the 21st century that left a lasting impression on the jury and led him to the De Meester title.

Through his project, Bram questioned the role of the urban planner in a complex situation set in a Palestinian refugee settlement where there is no control by a form of central authority. Based on this, he formulated a strategy to develop the refugee camp from the state of exception into an inclusive urban district. The jury praised his impressive analysis and proposals which would serve as catalysts for future architectural and urban development of the area. Nevertheless, the prize also comes as a further assignment for Bram to clarify how city makers can contribute to this issue within their discipline.

Nestled unassumingly among the trees, the building is anchored into the landscape by the paved orthogonal pathways that guide users to the entrances. Once inside, the ground floor unfolds as a progression of public spaces – open study areas, lounges, circulatory spaces and a restaurant. They stretch inside and out, allowing users of the study plaza the freedom to study or take a break within the same space. Abundant daylight and sweeping sight lines through the building allow the structure and surroundings to flow seamlessly into each other.

Photo reportage by Sebastian van Damme. See the atmosphere from the opening of the academic year in CUBE.

Nestled in the landscape, the crematorium building is a comforting sequence of spaces in symbiotic relationship with its tranquil surroundings. It is an ode to verticality, while being horizontal and pure in its geometry and balanced proportions. Its calm, easily readable environment and tranquil landscape merge together to emanate genuine serenity.

The Crematorium Siesegem is showcased through the photographs of Simone Bossi and Sebastian van Damme.

Both buildings represent landmarks in their respective communities – Utopia as a long-awaited cultural hub of Aalst, Belgium, and ISMO as a flagship of the new urban campus in France. Complex programmes merging multiple functions and careful contextual design are other common aspects of the nominated projects.

Utopia Library and Academy for Performing Arts incorporates a striking historic building from the second half of the 19th century and rejuvenates the urban landscape while elegantly giving expression to the required functionality. The project was carried out through close collaboration between KAAN Architecten as designer and Van Roey as main contractor. Meanwhile, Institut des Sciences Moléculaires d’Orsay, designed in collaboration with local architects FRES Architectes as part of the future Paris-Saclay campus, is dedicated to higher education, research and innovation.

Other KAAN Architecten projects nominated in previous editions of the EU Mies Award include the Education Centre Erasmus MC and the Supreme Court of the Netherlands. Organised by the Fundació Mies van der Rohe with support of the Creative Europe programme of the European Commission, the Award is dedicated to recognizing and commending excellence in European architecture. The Jury will announce the 40 shortlisted works at the beginning of 2019, while the 5 finalist works will be known in February.

Photographs courtesy of Fernando Guerra FG+SG, Delfino Sisto Legnani and Marco Cappelletti.

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 as 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 in De Grote Nederlandse Kunstkalender 2019.

De Zalmhaven is developed by AM and Amvest and consists of approximately 450 high-quality apartments located inside two mid-rise towers (by KAAN Architecten) and a skyscraper (by Dam and 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.

The new visitor center will be a product of an integrated design process dedicated to creating an effective and efficient facility with 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.

In less than two weeks, this year’s 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 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.

For more information, attend the De Meester 2018 event and award ceremony on 31 October 2018 at Garage Rotterdam for an evening of dynamic discussions and new ideas. Registration is available online.

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. Full release of the project is set for November.

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.

During the ceremony speeches were given by Sylvie Retailleau, President of Paris-Sud University, Antoine Petit, President and CEO of CNRS and Gilles Bloch, President of Université Paris-Saclay, and the architects from KAAN Architecten (Kees Kaan) and FRES architects (Laurent Gravier + Sara Martin Camara).

After the ceremony, Kees Kaan gave a presentation on the design of ISMO, which is distinguished by a harmonic coexistence of nature and scientific research. The newly opened building will serve over 160 students, researchers and teachers working in molecular physics, nano-science, chemistry and biology.

The award was announced just in time to mark a year since KAAN Architecten, Estudio Lamela, ABT bv, Ineco, DGMR, Arnout Meijer Studio and Planeground Airport Consulting, operating as KL AIR, won commission to design Amsterdam Airport Schiphol Terminal. Today, September 28, 2018, a special exhibition of all awarded buildings will open at the annual symposium, “The City and the World” at The Contemporary Space in Athens.

The International Architectural Awards are organized by The Chicago Athenaeum, together with The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies, and serve to honor new and cutting-edge design worldwide. Find out more about the awards here.

Yesterday marked the start of Marmomac International Trade Fair for Stone Design and Technology, which will continue over the next four days in Verona. Dedicated to the natural stone industry, the fair represents the entire supply chain from processing to application in architectural design.

During today's events, KAAN Architecten project leader Marco Lanna will give a lecture on the Supreme Court project in The Hague, which features pronounced use of light grey limestone within its interior.

Dedicated to recognizing the importance of well-rounded architectural agencies, the Architect of the Year award is organized by the Dutch architecture platform Architectenweb. The jury is composed of architects Koen van Velsen and Uri Gilad, developer Martijn Dirks, and architecture critic Kirsten Hannema.

KAAN Architecten founding partners Kees Kaan, Vincent Panhuysen, and Dikkie Scipio are nominated as a collective, with the jury citing great craftsmanship demonstrated by recently completed projects such as the Utopia Library in Belgium, university buildings in Brazil, as well as exciting future projects for the new Schiphol Terminal and the Amsterdam Courthouse.

A detailed jury explanation can be found online.

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

Serving as jury leader, Dikkie Scipio has assembled a panel of judges comprising journalist and author Tracy Metz, architect Bjarne Mastenbroek, urban planner Karen van Vliet, and Rotterdam Festivals director Johan Moerman.

During the evening ceremony, the jury will review project presentations by this year’s nominees: Nina van Osta (Beauty of the Grey), Jurian Voets (Intense Stad Oude Westen), and Bram van Ooijen (Al-Wihdat refuge camp in Amman). All projects address topical issues of urban life while questioning the disciplines of architecture and urban planning.

The De Meester 2018 event and award ceremony will take place on 31 October 2018 at Garage Rotterdam, offering an evening of dynamic discussions and new ideas. Register to attend the event here: https://www.eventbrite.nl/e/tickets-de-meester-2018-49714490379

The ceremony included speeches by Professor Emile Aarts, Rector Magnificus; Ingrid van Engelshoven, Dutch Minister of Education, Culture, and Science; Professor Koen Becking, President of the Executive Board; and a group of students.

The CUBE is now officially open for the upcoming school year, with its 11,000 square meters of floor area intended to better facilitate university students and raise the level of education on offer. Its position strengthens the landscape structure towards the northwest side and fully integrates with the pre-existing campus configuration.

Find more information about Tilburg University’s academic year opening ceremony here: https://www.tilburguniversity.edu/current/events/show/event-opening-academic-year-2018-pt.htm

In her latest column as a board member of the Fleur Groenendijk Foundation, Dikkie Scipio reflects on the implicit advantages for societies and economies that emerge 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 advocates maintaining that positive momentum even after the crisis has passed, to continue benefiting the larger community.

Read the full article: http://www.fleurgroenendijkfoundation.nl/thank-the-crisis/?lang=en

The official opening of Crematorium Aalst will take place on Thursday 6 September at 17.00. The ceremony will include a welcome speech by Westlede director Kris Coenegrachts, the mayor of Aalst Christoph D'Haese, and a presentation by KAAN Architecten founding partner Vincent Panhuysen. A guided tour will take the visitors through the building, displaying the easily-read spaces and the cohesive relationship with landscape in which it is set.

The crematorium was built in the marshy pastures just outside of Aalst, Belgium. The serenity desired of such an institution has been carefully translated into a design that puts emphasis on natural light, varying textures and neutrality which can allow guests to find their own comfortable spaces. The goal was to design a building capable of internalizing the landscape so that its tranquility could console visitors and provide strength. Key to achieving this were its linearity, rhythmic layout of alternating patios, open courtyards, glass walls and – in the chapels – column-free spaces. Through the use of renewable and low carbon impact materials and the state-of-the-art heat recovery systems, zero-energy consumption is achieved, making sustainability an additional pillar of strength for the design.

Full release of the project is set for November.

The new addition to Tilburg University campus designed by KAAN Architecten, aptly named CUBE, will serve as the Education and Self-study Center (OZC). Comprising a floor area of 11,000 sqm, the OZC will support all faculties within the university, with new building spaces forging connections among them. The teaser video offers a glimpse of the building just before it opens to host 2,500 students and educators.

Watch the video: https://vimeo.com/286480071

Video by Sebastian van Damme / KAAN Architecten

Anna Winston of Dezeen has interviewed Vincent Panhuysen, one of KAAN Architecten’s founding partners, about the making of UTOPIA and the process behind the design. Read the full article here: https://www.dezeen.com/2018/07/09/kaan-architectens-utopia-building-library-architecture/

Other media platforms like Yatzer (https://www.yatzer.com/utopia-kaan-architecten), Wallpaper (https://www.wallpaper.com/architecture/utopia-library-and-performing-arts-academy-kaan-architecten-belgium) and Archinect (https://archinect.com/news/article/150070728/kaan-architecten-completes-utopia-a-library-and-academy-for-performing-arts-in-belgium) have all featured the UTOPIA project, praising its masterful integration with the old school building. The project has also received worldwide recognition, with ArchDaily (https://www.archdaily.com/897216/utopia-a-library-and-academy-for-performing-arts-kaan-architecten) publishing it across its multiple international platforms in China, Brazil, and wider South America. The most intensive coverage has been by the local Belgian press, which has written multiple newspaper articles about the library and academy, focusing on its importance to the civic life of Aalst.

Below is a short overview of the extensive press coverage by country:

United Kingdom: Wallpaper, Dezeen USA: Archinect, ContractDesign, aWorkstation Italy: Designboom, URDesignmag, Divisare, ArketipoMagazine, ProfessionArchitetto, Floornature, MaterialiCasa Russia: TheArchitect, ADMagazine Ireland: Architecture-design France: Architecture d'aujourd'hui Spain: DXI Magazine, Revistaad, TCCuadernos China: Gooood, Popbee Netherlands: Architectenweb, deArchitect, stedebouwarchitectuur, NOBB Germany: Baunetz, DEAR Magazin Poland: PointofDesign Argentina: NoticiasArquitectura Thailand: Handhome, ThepamDesign Greece: Yatzer, Elculture Turkey: Arkitera Brazil: Archdaily Switzerland: World-Architects

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 2.1x2.1 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.

The sibling buildings in Piracicaba and São José dos Campos are landmarks that firmly and visually open themselves to the city, giving the University a recognizable position within the architectural panorama. Adhering to the motto 'two campuses, one architectural identity', both projects feature representative facades and generous central common spaces based on sustainable building principles of inner climate control. The projects were coordinated by BRC Group.

Browse the entire publication here.

More than 25 000 visitors gathered for the opening festivities spanning over 4 days (21-24 June) where they participated in concerts, workshops and dance performances. Official presentations took place on Friday, 22 June, with speeches from representatives of the Aalst city council, Utopia board of directors, KAAN Architecten and Aalst mayor.

Following a competition in 2015, the Aalst city council chose to establish a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) based on a Design & Build contract. The project was assigned to a team consisting of Van Roey as main contractor and KAAN Architecten as architect, working in close collaboration throughout the whole project development and construction.

This new cultural landmark for the city incorporates a striking historic building from the second half of the 19th century and rejuvenates the urban landscape while elegantly giving expression to the required functionality. The desire of KAAN Architecten to interact with the urban fabric has been achieved: Utopia is already a reference point in Aalst city center, with citizens eager to enjoy and welcome a new landmark in their everyday lives.

Continuing her work as a board member of the Fleur Groenendijk Foundation, Dikkie Scipio writes quarterly columns in response to the incoming funding applications. Her most recent column reacts to this quarter's application 'Controversial Heritage' by Ankie Petersen. Aptly named 'Beauty does not judge', the essay discusses how we deal with politically charged heritage, and whether we can separate the valuable architectural and artistic opus from the regime that brought it about.

http://www.fleurgroenendijkfoundation.nl/?p=2056&lang=en

Spreading over approx. 10 000 sqm, the New Courthouse project aims to merge the city streets with the layout of the building, creating an extension of urban space within. Comprising 12 levels, the building is exemplary in its efficiency, like the organization itself, and is part of the daily life surrounding it.

KAAN Architecten is undertaking works for the New Amsterdam Courthouse as part of a consortium which includes Macquarie Capital, ABT, DVP, construction companies Heijmans and M.J. de Nijs & Zonen, and Facilicom. Completion of the project is expected in September 2020.

Browse the entire issue https://issuu.com/kaanarchitecten/docs/03_new_amsterdam_courthouse_dominiq

The rich woods, existing routes and the scenic qualities of this exceptional site have been used to underline the unifying role of the building. The landscape, originally designed in 1949 by garden and landscape architect D. Haspels and extended by karres+brands, is characterised by the contrast between open spaces and the dense forest. The design of the new centre consists of fluent open spaces, bound by a horizontally extended roof. This comprehensive openness blurs the transition between inside and outside and allows the natural elements to visually penetrate into the interior spaces. The flexible and logical organisation of the rooms and the roofed outdoor spaces gives the building a double function, while a multimedia educational installation informs students, families and visitors about the stories of war victims and veterans.

The three main rooms, the auditorium, the exhibition space and the condolence room, form a harmonious 'sequence' that can be combined for a single ceremony or can be used independently by different groups at the same time. These three key rooms each have their own identity, but at the same time form an architectural ensemble.

When entering the pavilion, the visitors experience the specific orientation of the building, which is positioned towards one of the sightlines of the Field of Honour with a central axis. In this way, the ceremonial route culminates with a view on the memorial cross seen from the auditorium of the pavilion. With this strong visual relationship, the pavilion occupies a central position between the two cemeteries, creating a timeless link between old and new.

Both buildings have been driven by the same design choices: to create an elegant yet strong architectural identity for the campuses of the Universidade Anhembi Morumbi through a non-scale approach to the representative façades, providing the students and the institution with a generous central common space that promotes social interaction and responds to the hot Brazilian climate of these regions by allowing greater circulation of natural air.

Located in proximity to a main road junction, the future campus in São José dos Campos stands like a modern day Acropolis on an elevated plot, which creates isolation and the ideal conditions to turn it into a new reference point amid the dense urban fabric. In Piracicaba, the new building occupies a plot along a secondary urban expansion axis in the southern part of the city.

By optimizing the topographical characteristics of their areas and thanks to the balanced façade geometries, both projects are landmarks that firmly and visually open themselves to the city, giving the University a recognizable position within the architectural panorama.

The buildings have different volumetric proportions. São José dos Campos encompasses a more compact structure and consists of three floors with a total area of 5.300 sqm, while Piracicaba, is horizontally developed and lies on the slope of the surrounding landscape, directly dialoguing with it.

The intense Brazilian solar radiation is mitigated by a fully encompassing system of vertical slabs that fulfills the need for shade in every façade. Choosing a regular structural system enabled KAAN Architecten to feature glass in between the thin concrete slabs and the roof beams. In the case of São José dos Campos, this was molded in-situ, relying on the expertise of the local workforce, while in Piracicaba, it was prefabricated to enhance sharpness and exactitude in the attachment system.

The wide use of glass in the façades enhances transparency and reveals a deep connection with the architecture of the cities. Moreover, a caramel resin floor comfortably reflects the abundant natural light in the social core and passageways of the buildings. The natural ventilation and light are optimized via a ceiling pergola in concrete and smaller wooden elements acting as sun blades.

The shared program features classrooms, diverse laboratories for practice exercises and simulation, a space for the cafeteria, physiotherapy facilities, a library and offices. All educational spaces are situated alongside the longitudinal glazed façades to take advantage of the natural light and have been oriented towards the large-scale central void, to embody the buildings’ core social identity and its essence as a place for encounters, human connection and knowledge exchange.

Following a careful analysis of the structural opportunities, a system of ribbed slabs made possible by in-situ molded concrete was adopted in the São José dos Campos building. In Piracicaba instead a system of alveolar slabs was employed, exploring the best possibilities of precast concrete. These choices allow wide free spans and a significant modularity of space based on a rigid 1.50 x 1.50 meter grid. Moreover, the in-depth study into solar radiation results in large floor-to-ceiling windows, which grant abundant daylight to classrooms and laboratories, playing with the deep shadows generated by the vertical concrete elements.

Sustainability plays a central role in the design of the two campuses, which feature an innovative energy management system for thermal control to prevent refrigeration waste and enhance the efficiency of the roof system with chimney effect. The use of BIM software and technology is also at the core of both projects: each façade has been designed following specific comfort studies, resulting in a wide protection porch for the north and south elevations, and in a dense grid of vertical brise-soleil for the east and west elevations.

The film will be screened at Cinerama on Sunday 10 June at 16.30 and Tuesday 12 June at 19.30.

For more information, please check out http://www.cineramabios.nl/film/2474

For more information and to book your visit, please check this link: Dag van de Architectuur 2018

From February to September 2018, the exhibition space of the Amsterdam Architecture Centre has been turned into the ARCAM Model Agency. From May till July, the model of the new Amsterdam Airport Schiphol Terminal will be part of this project's parade. The exhibition doesn’t focus on large urban issues and challenges, but rather put small-scale projects to the spotlight that shape the city of Amsterdam.

© Sebastian van Damme

© Karin Borghouts for KMSKA

images @ Sebastian van Damme

In line with the needs of a contemporary working environment, the closed hierarchical building has been transformed into an open and inviting one, through a clear spatial configuration and additive design. B30 is now a space for contemporary ideas and research regarding government transparency, and this use is reflected in the new design.

You can have a look to the publication here.

Images by photographer Karin Borghouts.

© Sebastian van Damme

Letters to the Mayor will be launched on Friday 12 January 2018, in the presence of the Mayor of Rotterdam, Ahmed Aboutaleb, and will be on show at the Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam until 11 February 2018. https://nieuweinstituut.nl/en/projects/letters-to-the-mayor

Kees Kaan talks about his first steps into the architecture school, passing through the first projects​ and commissions till winning international competitions and the change of approach to the design process in the last decades. New keywords and important aspects of the future role of the architect such as the redefinition of functionality combined with the increasing sustainability debate and the complexity of fast developments in a time of technology are at the core of the video interviews.

Watch them on Itinerant Office Vimeo channel!

To browse the book, follow this link: https://issuu.com/kaanarchitecten/docs/02_new_amsterdam_courthouse_dominiq

Located in a former industrial and commercial area behind the Ostbahnhof train station, the new development strives to blend existing industrial and office buildings with a new contemporary layer, dedicated to the creative industry. The Alpha, Beta, Gamma buildings, whose structure and floorplans have been designed by RKW Architektur +, will not merely rely on standard and strict German office rules to define their architecture, but will also express transparency and encompass lofty spaces that clearly represent the creative industry of the 21st century. The facade design by KAAN Architecten will underline and support the identity of the buildings to consolidate and unite the Werksviertel aesthetic, while at the same time being iconic within its own right.

Composed of a rational deep façade and utilitarian elements, the prominent concrete frame features large openings, and represents the structure of the buildings. It is designed to adapt to various typologies of office spaces of the future. Black metal cladding and window frames wrap the entrances, stairways, sunscreens and technical spaces in a single, seamless skin. To supercede standard office aesthetics and create a feeling of openness, the division of larger elements into smaller components and the number of vertical profiles have been limited.

Moreover, the roof is treated as the fifth facade, going beyond its function as a mechanical and technical space, to become a living, breathing part of the buildings. The atrium roofs incorporate distinct glass openings, designed in a triangular shape to maximize resourceful use of glass and thereby prevent overheating.

The atriums of the Alpha, Beta, Gamma buildings extend towards the entrance to create a spatial relationship between the interiors of the building and the external public space, and to provide adequate daylight to the offices. Here, cafés and shared spaces will embody the open and contemporary character of the project.

From 2020, the Alpha building will be the first to implement the facade design by KAAN Architecten, followed by the Beta and Gamma buildings. Completion is slated for the end of 2022.

The prominent concrete structure in balanced dialogue with the wide glass facades has been completed. It's now time to give the final shape to the central and sunken auditorium, to the study spaces which will be filled with daylight, and to the green core of the OZC building.

The reportage has been carried out by photographer Sebastian van Damme.

To learn more about the project, have a look at our Work section.

The Fleur Groenendijk Foundation, in collaboration with the Rotterdamse Academie van Bouwkunst and with Dikkie Scipio as founder, created “De Meester”. The prize aims to promote the work of young Dutch architects and urban planners.

Dikkie Scipio is part of the jury evaluating the works in a live and dynamic discussion, together with Marina van den Bergen (Archined), Robert-Jan de Kort (De Kort Van Schaik), Mendel Robbers (Schipper Bosch), and Rens Schulze (Geurst & Schulze architecten).

De Avond van de Meester 2017 at Het Nieuwe Instituut, Rotterdam

Wednesday November 1, 2017 - 18.30 / 20.00

From behind the construction fences and up in the tower cranes, she captures the work of demolishers and builders on the building site from a very personal perspective. Every building phase will result in a photo section. When the New Amsterdam Courthouse opens its doors, the series will be complete.

The prize is promoted by Fassa Bortolo and the Department of Architecture of the University of Ferrara in order to widely promote and publicize environmentally sustainable architectural projects designed for human needs.

An excerpt from the jury report states: "The use of efficient technological and engineering solutions, the design of flexible spaces able to adapt to changing requirements of use over time, as well as the choice of materials characterised by high durability, all combine to allow the building to respond effectively to the performance requirements defined during the meta-design phase.

The spatial organization of the new 100,500 m² terminal for approximately 14 million passengers per year, its design and the treatment of its façades, are based on the ability to link up with Schiphol Plaza, the train station and potential future expansions. This is achieved through architectural clarity, spatial openness, and details such as overhangs and black eaves.

Central to the design is the urban integration of the new terminal that will ensure an excellent connection with the rest of Schiphol. An overlapping area and a diversity of user flows distinguish the reception hall for departing passengers, and make a distinctive space for the baggage reclaim hall underneath the check-in floor. Furthermore, short and direct routes on the landside are urban integration elements that contribute to keeping Schiphol a “compact city”.

“The most inspiring architectural and planning DNA at Schiphol is that of De Weger and Duintjer’s 1967 Departures Hall, with interior design by Kho Liang Ie Associates, which is characterized by abundant daylight, simplicity of space and an impressive spatiality,” says the design team.

The large-scale terminal offers diverse spatial experiences to travellers within a light-infused environment, and the understated design allows the use of spaces to be self-evident, while not diminishing the overall functionality.

At the heart of the building, a raised Plateau creates a higher ceiling for the baggage hall and gives the check-in and security control area more privacy. Here passengers have a sweeping view over an entrance hall that is superbly crowned by a latticework of light, allowing travellers to take in the big Dutch sky. The columns in the façade and a few facility areas within the building will bear the load of the unique roof (spanning approximately 180 x 150 meters). Passengers will be able to oversee the space in a single glance and move freely within the space. Soaring panes of glass define the façades and provide a view into the vibrant activity of the airport as well as a view onto the wide open sky over the flat polder landscape. Materials such as wood flooring on the Plateau and lush greenery in the large light wells above the security control area communicate elements of sustainability inherent in the design.

Structural modularity and a repetitive rhythm in the façades and roof will serve the overall serenity and unity of the new terminal, while also providing excellent building blocks for any future extension. An integrity and timeless quality define this new link in the chain of Schiphol’s evolutionary development, and yet the design achieved is also distinctive and expressive.

The official release by Amsterdam Airport Schiphol can be found here: https://news.schiphol.com/amsterdam-airport-schiphol-presents-new-terminal/

The crematorium was completed by KAAN Architecten in 2008 and after almost 10 years it still captures the attention of the public and architecture press.

For more information about the event, please check Festival van de Architectuur 2017's website: https://festivalvandearchitectuur.be/programma/da-crematorium-heimolen/

Schiphol’s ambitions for the new terminal are to set a new standard in the aviation world. The new terminal must embrace Schiphol’s DNA and evolve it into the future.

The winning design will be announced in September 2017.

For further information, please check the Schiphol Airport website: https://news.schiphol.com/design-teams-present-new-amsterdam-airport-schiphol-terminal/

The construction site is in fact currently a demolition site, the old Amsterdam Courthouse is in the final stages of demolition, to prepare the area for the new building designed by KAAN Architecten. From September 2017, debris will give way to cranes and excavators in accordance with the start of construction.

The building, a collaboration between KAAN Architecten and VORM, will support all faculties within the university by providing auditoriums, lecture rooms, meeting places and cafeterias for the students to meet and study. This video shows the special operation from day 17 of the construction process: the positioning of four 50.000 kg concrete beams with a span of 50 meters. Two cranes were needed to achieve this, weighing in at 650 and 750 tons respectively.

On the project website, you can follow the construction site and find news about the building.

Since 2015, KAAN Architecten has been working on various projects across Brazilian territory: City Hall Park, a broad urban redevelopment plan in São Bernardo do Campo, the refurbishment of the city hall tower, the Paço Building, and Ferrazópolis, a transit hub featuring housing and a commercial program.

A team of architects, urban planners and engineers led by Renata Gilio works in close collaboration with the Rotterdam office and is based on the ground floor of a Sixties building in the cultural and residential district of Higienópolis, west of São Paulo’s city center. The Brazilian branch is predominantly dedicated to urban planning, renovation projects and educational programs between the States of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.

To mark the official launch of the new office and the start of construction, KAAN Architecten unveils the design for the new Faculty of Medicine of the Universidade Anhembi Morumbi (UAM) in São José dos Campos, a city in the greater metropolitan area of São Paulo State. Located in proximity to a main road junction of the city, the building stands on an elevated plot, which creates both isolation and ideal conditions to turn it into a new landmark in the dense urban fabric.

Optimizing the topographical characteristics of the area, the project stands firm and visually opens itself up to the city. The intense Brazilian solar radiation is mitigated by a fully encompassing system of vertical slabs that fulfills the need for shade in every façade. Choosing a regular structural system enabled KAAN Architecten to feature glass between the concrete slabs and roof beams. These are molded in loco, relying on the expertise of the local workforce, and eliminating the need for masonry.

The Faculty of Medicine in São José dos Campos is scheduled for completion by the end of 2017.

KAAN Architecten and Erasmus MC received the prize in Vicenza (Italy) on June 23rd. On the same day an exhibition featuring all the winners was opened in the Palazzo Chiericati, the exhibition will travel worldwide in the upcoming months.

Both days from 12.00 to 17.00, two guides will welcome visitors inside De Bank and give guided tours of the space every half-hour.

For more information, visit the website of the event: http://dagvandearchitectuur-rotterdam.nl

The first year of construction was dedicated to the construction of the concrete structure; followed by the building’s roof featuring all the mechanical plant units. The glazing of the two meter deep galvanized steel “façade rings” has started and last week the surrounding site was filled with soil to match the ground level of the campus.

The building is expected to be completed by Summer 2018.

On Wednesday May 31st, 2017, Dikkie Scipio will take part in the "Het Grote Publiek Gebouwen Congres", a one-day event held at Lantaren Venster in Rotterdam.

The congress, organized by Architectenweb, will focus on the design of public buildings: from shopping and sport centers to museums and other cultural buildings. Starting at 13.45, Dikkie Scipio will give a lecture about the renovation and new design of the Education Center Erasmus MC in Rotterdam, the ongoing renovation of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp and the upcoming one of Museum Paleis Het Loo in Apeldoorn.

Several projects and topics will be discussed by a range of speakers including Florian Idenburg (SO-IL), Michiel Riedijk (Neutelings Riedijk Architecten), Frederik Vermeersch (Rijnboutt), Erik Moederscheim (Moederscheim Moonen) and many more.

For more information, please visit this link: https://architectenweb.nl/agenda/event.aspx?ID=40333

Het Grote Publiek Gebouwen Congres 31 May 2017 - h 10.00 / 17.00 Lantaren Venster - Rotterdam

During the lecture "Past structures in present tenses", Dikkie will discuss how working with listed buildings represents a very specific typology in architecture.

Many theories are developed around how to approach the refurbishment of historic monumental architecture. How to integrate elegantly new additions within a pre-existing situation? Through three different restoration and extension projects by KAAN Architecten, Dikkie Scipio will analyse the practice of implementing monumental buildings with innovative features and the challenge of finding a fair balance between the old and the new.

B30 (The Hague), the Royal Museum of Fine Arts (Antwerp) and the Museum Paleis Het Loo (Apeldoorn) are currently in different stages of completion and offer an extensive overview on this particular topic.

Thursday 11 May 2017 - h 18.00 - Amphi B Ecole Nationale Supérieur d'Architecture de Nancy 2 Rue Bastien-Lepage - Parvis Vacchini Nancy

Originally built in 1917 by the then chief government architect Daniel E.C. Knuttel as a Ministry during a period of austerity, and renovated in 1994 by professor Hans Ruijssenaars, B30 is an imposing structure with a strong, distinct architectural character and is a Grade 1 listed building in the Netherlands.

B30 is located in The Hague city center, alongside the Haagse Bos green space. It stands on Bezuidenhoutseweg, a historical arterial route connecting the Royal Palace Huis ten Bosch and the Dutch Parliament, Het Binnenhof.

KAAN Architecten’s design, with its clear layout and architecture, transforms the enclosed, hierarchical building—with an atmosphere representative of people’s perception of the State in the early 1900s—into an open, transparent, and inviting setting in line with a contemporary and state-of-the-art working environment.

Thanks to an acute analysis that mapped the essential qualities of the original design to create an inspired framework, the historic building is seen not as a dead museum piece, but as a vital and sustainable component of the total design.

Anchored in its urban setting, broader landscape, and historic environment, B30 features an accessible and transparent public ground floor, including a restaurant, café, library, meeting, and seminar rooms. All passageways are aligned with each other, creating long sightlines through the building, enhancing contact with the street, woods, and gardens, and simplifying orientation and wayfinding.

At the core of the building, a large atrium becomes the quiet heart of B30. Dutch artist Rob Birza designed a new mosaic floor pattern, a garden abstraction giving life to an internal landscape visually connected with the city forest and new side gardens.

Knuttel’s original design has been expanded on both sides: the Seminar Foyer features meeting rooms, seminar rooms, and a sunken auditorium running through the glazed space, while the Work Foyer is characterized by lounge and working areas, an espresso bar, and a library. The foyers’ partitions feature large pivoted glass doors encased by high-gloss aluminum frames opening onto the gardens.

Both the atrium and the foyers have been covered by a series of daylight shafts inspired by the original coffered ceilings, taking a square base topped with triangular glass. These elements are positioned for optimal sunlight dispersion while preventing overheating from solar radiation.

The monumental staircase grants access to the former Minister’s Room on the first floor, while the atrium visually connects with the four upper floors, which accommodate the workspaces of various institutions. A new level of offices is situated over the “nave” of the building and flows into the roof, where the height has been reduced from 30 to 20 meters to create proper scale and proportions in the inner courtyard.

The façades of the new additions consist of sandblasted concrete frames filled with stone and a coloring agent matching the original building. The change in hierarchical relations and the importance of the ground floor has been expressed in the façade by enlarging the windows, lowering the sills, and lengthening the jambs.

B30 now embodies contemporary ideas regarding government transparency through its original design—a spatial expression of a shared vision that inspires curiosity and invites research and debate.

Since 2004, the Living Daylights Foundation has promoted the optimal use of daylight in the built environment by engaging architects, designers, urban planners, and stakeholders.

The exhibition at the Borneo Architecture Center in Amsterdam showcases the quality of the award-winning projects and invites visitors to participate in public debates and lectures led by the winning architects.

On Thursday, 9 March 2017, at 20:00, the 2016 winners will present their projects: Vincent Panhuysen with the Supreme Court of the Netherlands and Tim de Graag with House 20x3.

Borneo Architecture Center – Amsterdam “Daglicht Architectuur” exhibition 9 March – 22 June 2017 | Monday – Friday, 11:00 – 17:00

Originally built in 1686 as a royal hunting palace, Paleis Het Loo is located on the outskirts of Apeldoorn, in the heart of the Netherlands. KAAN Architecten’s project – responding to evolving needs and new ambitions – includes renovation, renewal, and an expansion of over 5,000 sqm, featuring new spaces such as the House of Orange, the Junior Palace, and a temporary exhibition hall.

Upon arrival, visitors enter the Bassecour, where the four grass parterres of the front courtyard will be replaced by four glass surfaces of identical dimensions. A thin layer of water will flow over the glass, evoking the fountains and waterworks of the historic gardens. These glass surfaces form the only visible façade of the underground expansion. Entrance pavilions will guide visitors into the light-filled underground entrance area, which houses the ticket and information office, museum shop, and other visitor facilities.

The Grand Foyer will serve as the heart of the underground expansion, connecting the entrance area to the Palace and providing access to both the temporary exhibition area and the House of Orange. To the west of the Grand Foyer, a space for temporary exhibitions will feature 5-metre-high ceilings, consisting of two large and two medium-sized square rooms, all interconnected. In the west wing, a dedicated museum for children – the Junior Palace – will be developed.

The past and present of the Dutch Royal Family will come alive in the 1245 sqm House of Orange in the east wing. Additionally, the Palace’s interior layout, spanning forty royal rooms, will be enhanced and reorganized to allow visitors to experience varied routes and atmospheres.

The fully renovated and renewed Museum Paleis Het Loo is scheduled for completion in 2021.

Following an international competition held in 2013, KAAN Architecten designed a large urban development mixing residential, commercial and office buildings.

The project will be presented on Wednesday March 1st, 2017 starting at 16.00 during a press conference at the restaurant "2 Potes au Feu" in the presence of Pascal Chessé, President and Chief Executive Officer of Groupe Chessé; Michel Giboire, Chairman of the Board of Groupe Giboire; Alain Robert, Deputy Mayor of Nantes in charge of urban planning, trade and major urban projects; and Kees Kaan, co-founder of KAAN Architecten.

The Provinciehuis of North Brabant in 's-Hertogenbosch is a dynamic structure, with its inhabitants serving as the engine of this efficient governmental apparatus. The iconic building, originally designed by Hugh Maaskant, stands prominently in a countryside landscape and hosts a multitude of daily personal interactions.

Filmed by Dutch director Marcel Ijzerman, Today is a short non-fiction film consisting of seven recorded conversations within the building. These dialogues reveal the complex social structure of the administrative body, accompanied by a unique visual overview of the spaces as experienced by its users.

Launched in 1987, the Mies van der Rohe Prize is co-funded by the EU Culture Programme and the Fundació Mies van der Rohe. By recognizing outstanding architectural works completed over the last two years, the Prize highlights the contribution of European professionals to new ideas and technologies, as well as the cultural significance of architecture in shaping our cities.

In the coming months, the jury members will shortlist 40 projects and select 5 finalist works. The process will culminate with the Award Ceremony on May 26th, 2017, at the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion, coinciding with several days of Open Doors across Europe, during which the sites of the shortlisted projects will be open to the public.

More updates on the award's website.

A photographic walk by Karin Borghouts through the former patios of the museum reveals concealed layers of earlier configurations while accommodating the new double-height staircase structure, preserved in wooden cases until the new roof’s completion.

Verticality is a defining feature of the New Museum, reflecting the intention to connect the new exhibition areas while seamlessly blending them into the historical heart of KMSKA.

Last summer, the installation of the copper roof began, accompanied by the restoration of the internal stucco decorations. New ceilings appeared in the bel-etagé rooms, revealing the original height of the spaces. Demolition of the most recent 1970s ceiling uncovered multiple historic layers, including a ceiling from the 1920s.

The New Museum will feature a new roof composed of custom-made prefab modules, designed to provide optimal daylight distribution in the top-floor exhibition hall.

"One Mould" will illustrate KAAN Architecten's projects starting from an enlightening retrospective on the history and the actual planning and development of the Dutch urban landscape. Put a shovel in the ground and the hole will fill itself with water immediately. The permanent relation with the water throughout the history has settled in the DNA of Dutch culture.

Building Dutch cities implied making or reinforcing the land, keeping it in place and making foundations in the water. There is little stable and dry land available so not only buildings are constructed but so are the streets and the canals. The section canal, street and house are inherently related and intertwined: one "mould" (synonymous of build, form, shape, structure, nature, character, quality).

If architecture is supposed to reflect shared values the question is raised what extend contemporary buildings can actually represent fundamental principles of the organizations they facilitate.

13 December 2016 - h 7 PM

Galería Tiro al Blanco, Juan Alvarez 833, Col. Sagrada Familia, Guadalajara (Mexico)

Last year the city committee decided to close the actual premises and to build a renewed and contemporary building in the same location, Bruges' Beursplein. After an intense selection phase, five teams have been chosen to run with the "design & build" formula that sees each team composed by an architect, a developer and a contractor.

KAAN Architecten will closely work with PSR Brownfield Developers NV and Jan De Nul NV in the Forum Brugae team.

Other participants are: Besix Red NV (Atelier Kempe Thill + Architecten Groep III, Besix Red NV, NV Besix S.A.); Samenwerkingsverband BRUGGRES (OMA + U-define, BCS Investissement NV, Willemen General Contractor NV); Beursgenootschap Souto de Moura – META – CFE (Souto de Moura + META architectuurbureau, D&E NV + CFE NV, CFE Bouw Vlaanderen NV) and BC&EC (BIG + Salens, CIT Blaton NV + Extensa Group NV, Van Laere NV).

Results will be released in July 2017.

KAAN’s new De Bank office occupies the piano nobile of a historic building designed by Prof. Henri Timo Zwiers between 1950–1955, on the site of a former synagogue destroyed during WWII. The brick façade along Boompjes Street stands out against the river skyline, with an entrance hall adorned by a mosaic from Dutch artist Louis van Roode, known for his post-war public space works in Rotterdam.

“The notion of sharing knowledge is at the core of the division of spaces and the interior design of the new office. This rough space has the special gift of an industrial yet monumental aesthetic, a beauty that we decided to exalt through a solid balance between two simple materials: wood and concrete.” — Dikkie Scipio

The building’s wide, bright spaces provided the ideal base for KAAN Architecten to design their new office. The central working area, flooded with daylight from both sides, offers unique views of the waterfront. Its rectangular floor plan connects working, meeting, and leisure spaces through long, monumental corridors, promoting fluid interactions among employees, visitors, and partners.

Spatial rhythm is highlighted by the restored industrial concrete structure, balanced with elegant dark walnut wood used throughout the interiors. The warm wood complements the raw concrete, creating a graceful yet monumental atmosphere. KAAN Architecten’s design revitalizes the building, merging functionalism with added value, and showcases both the raw and refined qualities of the space.

Images © Simone Bossi

'Where Modern Justice Lives', curated by architect Elsie Owusu OBE of the Supreme Court Arts Trust, will encourage visitors to reflect on the role that court buildings have in supporting public confidence in democracy and the rule of law.

The projects on display, together with the Supreme Court of the Netherlands, are: the Singapore Supreme Court (Foster + Partners), the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg (Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners), the South Africa Constitutional Court (Janina Masojada, Andrew Makin and Paul Wygers), the Palace of Justice in Tirana (Grimshaw Architects), and the Supreme Court of Albania (Studio Sadar+Vuga).

Exhibition details:

Dates: 21 November – 16 December 2016

Hours: 9:30 – 16:30, Monday to Friday

Location: Supreme Court UK, Parliament Square, Little George St, Westminster, London

The jury, composed of Marlies Rohmer (Architectenbureau Marlies Rohmer), Ninke Happel (Happel Cornelisse Verhoeven), Sereh Mandias (De Dépendance), Fransje Sprunken (VORM), and Harm Tilman (de Architect), selected as the winner the building that has delivered more than the client requested and that convinces in every aspect.

The jury’s motivation for choosing the Supreme Court of the Netherlands: "A building that will be excellent in the next fifty years and that can become a classic. A building anchored in a sustainable way to the city and carefully chiseled. A building giving a recognizable typological answer and that performs the program sublimely. A building that amazes, is unconventional, and rises above its mere task."

The ARC16 Architectuur Award is promoted by Gira and de Architect.

The Fleur Groenendijk Foundation, in collaboration with the Rotterdamse Academie van Bouwkunst and with Dikkie Scipio as founder, created “De Meester.” The prize aims to promote the work of young Dutch architects and urban planners.

Dikkie Scipio is part of the jury evaluating the works in a live and dynamic discussion, together with Frits van Dongen (architect and former Rijksbouwmeester), Arjen Knoester (senior architect at Stadsontwikkeling Rotterdam, Morfis architecture and urbanism), Hans Lensvelt (design expert of Lensvelt Contract Furniture), and Merel Pit (architecture journalist).

Candidates for the 5,000 euro promotional prize are Alex de Jong with Water vernieuwt!, Barend Mense with Inclusive Hackney, and Martins Duselis with Roseform.

De Avond van de Meester 2016 at Het Nieuwe Instituut, Rotterdam Wednesday, November 16, 2016 – 20:00 to 23:00, free entrance

The Learn'd, the short film about the Education Center Erasmus MC, has been chosen by Marco Brizzi and Davide Rapp, curators of The Architecture Player, to take part in Fictional Humanism, an original video project.

Fictional Humanism looks at architecture from a different point of view. In videos, architectural projects change, both in their identity and in their ontology, together with the human presences featured in them.

"Are we human?" – 3rd Istanbul Design Biennial; 22 October – 20 November 2016

The jury composed by Alexander Rosemann (TU Eindhoven), Jeroen van Schooten (Team V Architectuur), Paul van Bergen (DGMR), Peter Lindeman (Rodeca Systems), Kees van der Hoeven (ArchitectenWerk), Sander Mirck (Mirck Architecture) made a choice based on specific criterias like experience, function, vision and building physics.

"Processes" focuses on types of architecture that address the concept of processes, either because they affect their surroundings in some vital way, or because of the singularity of the design and construction process itself.

The renovation and extension on the original design led by Dikkie Scipio is aiming to achieve an open yet monumental architecture thanks to new openings, gardens and an artistic intervention on the atrium’s floor. Karin Borghouts gives us an insight of the building currently in its delivery phase.

A new reading of the building offered by award-winner photographer Fernando Guerra highlights the balance between the original structure designed by Arie Hagoort in collaboration with Jean Prouvé and the new extension design. Protagonists are the light triangles of the roof projected in the central square, the lively spaces generated by the book wall library, and the articulated working spaces.

The photographic reportage highlights the design and its relation with the vivid landscape which is achieved thanks to the prominent horizontal façades, the exceptional cantilever, the ability of blending with the vegetated background and the broad interiors.

The reportage shows a sneak peek of the interiors: the main atrium with the new roof carried out in accordance with the structural decorative coffers of the old building and the new workspaces of the upper floors.

Designed by Dutch artist Rob Birza, the atrium floor in mosaic recalls the outdoor gardens of the building. Big circles are the frames of the art piece that the artist will realize together with Van der Zande Terrazo.

KAAN Architecten’s intervention achieves an extensive openness of the three levels of the horizontal plinth; in the office tower, rooms are replaced by a flexible working space and clustered in three floors each.

The dualism of then and now, the contemporary renewal by KAAN Architecten in the Maaskant spirit, has been captured in both photographs by Sebastian van Damme and words by Ruud Brouwers. Sebastian van Damme is permanently searching for the essence of the built environment. Ruud Brouwers is an architecture critic and a consultant on urban development and architecture policy.

Their complementary works are now combined in the book, published by KAAN Architecten.

The city requested: “A library for Aalst that will become an open and accessible place, a home for information, knowledge, culture and leisure opportunities.” Other, no less important stipulations included that the design by KAAN would be an impetus for the fulfilment of a vibrant city centre and a place where all of the different communities within Aalst can meet each other.

The preliminary design, which won KAAN Architecten the commission, is a complex with lively, urban allure. Precisely because its plan is functionally driven, it achieves a sense of spatial freedom that enriches the experience of the building. The so-called Pupillenschool, with its grand presence and eventful history, is being used as a ‘cornerstone’ to anchor the new complex in the surrounding urban fabric and in the hearts of the people of Aalst.

The irregular street pattern of the historic centre of Aalst was a source of inspiration and forms the foundation for the new complex. At various points the streets converge erratically, leaving small open spaces – tiny public squares that dot the old city centre. By inserting a rectangular edifice loosely against the back and part of the side of the Pupillenschool, Aalst has gained two more of such small public squares: one serving as the entrance area for the complex and the other as terrace to the reading café.

The combination of a library and arts academy may not at first seem very logical. The performing arts involve movement and noise, while reading is a static and quiet activity. The blending of the two, however, is also infectious and gives greater impact to the idea of a meeting place. KAAN Architecten believes the combination sets them a challenge to design a building that lets each complement the other in an ideal way. Aalst dances, plays and reads – a motto that speaks to the imagination.

The city has chosen to perform a public private partnership (PPP) for the municipal library by means of a Design & Build contract. This DB has been procured as one single entity to the private party of Groep Van Roey NV. Subsequently, Van Roey has configured a consortium for this very purpose of which KAAN Architecten is a member, next to ABT, Studiebureau R. Boydens NV, Util Structuurstudies and Dutch Light Pro.

Combining both urban and local scales, the complex presents a more stately and formal façade overlooking the city in the North side, while meandering balconies characterize the South front, introducing a more private and intimate dimension.

A transparent grid façade relates to the traditional surroundings and binds the various elements of the block together in a unique and recognisable system. The towers include a wide range of apartments in different sizes, while the plinth comprises units with rooftop gardens or directly relating to the surroundings on the ground level.

On the occasion of the book launch, Dikkie Scipio has signed an essay about the relation between sculptures and public spaces in the city of Rotterdam.

"While public space used to be defined as space that wasn’t privately owned and was delineated by building facades and entrances, and where on occasion the space might have been entrusted to artists when conceded by the generosity of a builder/owner, today the line between public and private is slowly blurring. A new generation has emerged that no longer aims for possession, not on account of political ideals but because they do not see the point of ownership.

KAAN Architecten's preliminary design is a stately, open structure which offers both employees and visitors views over the city, and passers-by the opportunity to engage with the building. Natural design consequences of this are the big windows at the ground floor as well as the entrance courtyard intended for public use. The city’s streets merge with the layout of the building. The forecourt, the central hall and its foyers, and the waiting areas for visitors are an extension of urban space.

Inside, just off the central hall, the building will have two independent structures with 50 courtrooms and council chambers, all provided with daylight.

Gardens will also be protagonists of the New Amsterdam Courthouse. The central hall with escalator will border an enclosed garden, shielded by a glass wall. Vertical gardens will climb through the building among the offices. And in the western part, a sunken garden will supply daylight to the lower floor, while a large terrace will also provide 50 workstations with connections.

The new building is to be completed in 2020.

KAAN Architecten is undertaking works for the New Amsterdam Courthouse as part of a consortium which includes Macquarie Capital, ABT, DVP, construction companies Heijmans and M.J. de Nijs & Zonen, and Facilicom. A 30-year DBFMO contract, established upon commission by the Rijksvastgoedbedrijf, forms the basis of this public-private partnership (PPP).

A reportage by photographer Sebastian van Damme is following all the steps of the renovation process, below the latest shots.

The interactive microsite shows the vertical museum design and simulation of the new rooms and museum spaces, alongside regular updates on both the renovation and new museum works. A timelapse camera is screening the constant changes of the construction site.

The launch coincides with the second renovation phase involving the six museum courtyards: two small ones containing technical installations and four bigger ones welcoming new exhibition spaces designed by KAAN Architecten. Big voids and a new roof are at the core of the design, while the original routing of the museum is restored.

The main entrance part will feature a public library, a museum shop, a café, an auditorium, a cloakroom, toilets, and workshop rooms. The renovation of the facade will start in late 2017, and the new Royal Museum of Fine Arts will open again its doors in 2019.

An extensive interview with Dikkie Scipio, "Two worlds inside one museum," illustrates the design process and the vertical museum design.

The design of the OZC by KAAN Architecten has a square shape and is relatively low, like several other buildings on the campus. This ensures a good fit within the surroundings and among the trees. Yet it also differs significantly from the square central university building, the Cobbenhagen, formerly the Catholic Economics College that became the first university building in the early 1960s. Designed by architect Jos Bedaux (1910-1989), this closed edifice pulls the outlying landscape into the interior through two patios. The building by KAAN Architecten however, is nestled in the landscape. Ample daylight and quite marked openness with radical views through the structure make the building merge with its environment. The study spaces are enclosed in a green setting, as an opening in the woods.

The OZC will support all faculties within the university and so will be continuously busy with up to 2500 students and educators all connected to each other thanks to the new building spaces. In order to safeguard its openness and avoid feeling crowded, the building has been given extra berth. All the spaces, including the corridors, are wide, light and tall – up to six meters high. The plans include a large number of study coves and group areas of different dimensions, as well as various lecture rooms that will be equipped with all the necessary IT and communication tools. The auditorium has been given a central and sunken position so that the building retains transparent passages from one end to another.

In collaboration with KAAN Architecten and VORM, the consortium that obtained the contract also includes Pieters Bouwtechniek, J. van Toorenburg BV, Bosch Slabbers, Buro Bouwfysica, OPPS, ABT, A.de Jong Installatietechniek, Steegman Electrotechniek, De Groot & Visser BV, Oranjedak, GWS dé schoonmaker and Caspar de Haan Groep.

In early 2014, KAAN Architecten asked Dominique Panhuysen to follow the construction of the Supreme Court of the Netherlands in The Hague, confident that her peculiar view would have offered an insightful documentation of the building process. Focusing her attention on people, traces of life and gesture, this voluminous compound is able to depict, at the same time, the beauty and the roughness of this high court complex.

Dominique Panhuysen is a photographer and visual artist. She has a keen eye for the extraordinary of the ordinary. A prominent feature of her oeuvre is to capture and document everyday situations. The materials and subjects generally appearing in her work are found casually, during daily explorations. Her photography projects often consider series, spanning over several years.

The book is available as a paperback 38x30cm/320 pages, with ISBN 978-90-324843-1-1, published by KAAN Architecten.

For more info please contact dominique.panhuysen@online.nl

Two distinguished high courts have just been built in the city of The Hague (NL): • the Supreme Court of the Netherlands on Korte Voorhout, designed by KAAN Architecten (Rotterdam, NL) • the International Criminal Court on the corner between Oude Waalsdorperweg and Van Alkemadelaan, designed by Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects (Copenhagen, DK)

Constitutional law usually requires that court proceedings, and therefore the court buildings as well, are open to the public. Openness must be guaranteed by providing a suitably accessible location in an urban environment and by ensuring appropriate security measures. Additionally, these buildings must also offer sheltered environments allowing comfortable working conditions. The buildings need to be both inviting and secured, with separate routes and accessibility for the public, the judges and the defendants. Can these seemingly contradictory requisites coincide architecturally in an appealing and contemporary way? Queries about the power of architecture can also extend to further issues. A classical building exhibiting a personified Justitia on its pediment is easily identified as a courthouse, however this does not necessarily give expression to state democracy. In these times of terrorism, can the Rechtsstaat (Rule of Law) find an appropriate interpretation through contemporary architectural methods?

Garage Rotterdam, Goudsewagenstraat 27, Rotterdam Friday April 22nd, 2016 18:00 – 21:30 Free entrance

Programme: 18:00 opening and welcome speech 18:40 Kees Kaan introduces the Supreme Court of the Netherlands, The Hague 19:00 Bjarne Hammer introduces the International Criminal Court, The Hague 19:20 the moderator will animate a debate with the speakers and the public 20:00 drinks

Supreme Court of the Netherlands As the highest court of law in the land, the Supreme Court passes researched and reasoned judgements on everyday affairs in civil society. It is a public institution that supports a state based on justice and integrity, and is at the same time an organisation that operates in retreat in order to formulate well-grounded rulings and findings. The dualities of the Supreme Court on several levels, the real-world yet also fragile aspects, the public yet also closed character – these were used as a source of inspiration for the design. A majestic gateway is formed by the plane trees of the royal route and the row of six bronze statues of legal scholars. This space flows over into the entrance hall of the building. The inviting hall and its courtrooms seem to have been chiselled from a solid block of stone. It serves as a sturdy base for a superstructure of glass panels and slender steel latticework. Distinguished and functional, heavy and light, sturdy and refined – all exist alongside routine business, on which rulings are passed with great clarity of mind. With light wells over centrally located atriums, the interior achieves the elegance of an urban palace, appropriate to the status of the Supreme Court.

International Criminal Court The ICC is not just a building or a headquarter, in every aspect it has integrated the security that is required of one of the most secured buildings in the world, either built into the landscape or within the building itself. It is a statement of an independent architecture, open-minded and accessible. The new permanent premises appear as a sculptural abstraction, a composition of six volumes, firmly anchored to the site and rising from the surrounding dune landscape. The tallest of the volumes is the Court Tower that rises up as a green element. The architectural idea is to continue the cultivated parterre gardens from the ground floor level, as a cladding on the Court Tower. Historically, gardens have always existed as part of all cultures and all religions. With flowers and plants from each of the regional groups of states, the parterre garden rises up as a symbol of unity, regardless of nationality and culture. The remaining volumes, the office towers, are draped in a tapestry grid, almost like embroidery.

Design, construct and operate

A special purpose company will be created for the implementation of the project with Macquarie Capital as the sole shareholder. KAAN Architecten, together with ABT, Heijmans and Facilicom, will form a combination that will design, construct and operate the court house. Demolition work for the construction of the new court house along the Zuidas in Amsterdam is expected to commence at the beginning of 2017. The court house is expected to be occupied in November 2020. The 30-year operating period will commence once the building has been occupied.

NACH Consortium The NACH Consortium is initiated by Macquarie Capital, ABT, DVP, KAAN Architecten, BiUM, and Bouwbedrijf M.J. de Nijs & Zonen. Additionally, the consortium has been extended with Heijmans and Facilicom.

Read the official announcement

Museum Director Michel van Maarseveen about this choice: ‘As museum, we are very pleased that KAAN Architects presented a draft design that fully matches our wishes and ambitions and respects the historic palace complex. The underground extension has considerable allure and is both hospitable and functional.’

Architect Dikkie Scipio: ‘We explicitly sought for a form with which we, without competing with the monument, could highlight the grandeur of museum Paleis Het Loo in a surprising way and extend it further. I am delighted that the selection committee has acknowledged this fact.’

Museum Paleis Het Loo will be ‘open at revised times’ during the Renovation and Extension. The renovation covers the replacement of technical installations, climate-control installations and the removal of asbestos. While this major repair is taking place, an underground extension to Paleis Het Loo will be created. This extension will provide more space for temporary exhibitions and the large-scale collection will be presented better. The facilities for the public will also be improved.

The building, which measures 18.000 m2 and houses a staff of 350, is located in the elegantly historic city center of The Hague. It is situated along the Korte Voorhout, a royal route connecting several institutional buildings to the Parliament building, and adjacent to Malieveld park; in this location the new design, with the measured vibrancy of its facades, interacts with the trees across the street announcing the city gateway.

The main entrance is flagged by six bronze statues of legal scholars seated on pedestals, with a single pane of glass subtly marking the transition from the street to the interior. The transparency of the building signifies both accessibility to the public as well as the soundness and clarity of judgment.

The entrance hall (where the courtrooms and the press room are located) forms the public area; it has double height ceilings that span the full length of the building. The floors and walls are of a light grey limestone that exudes a velvety texture. The large and small courtrooms, which hold 400 and 80 visitors respectively, are distinguished by brown-veined translucent alabaster walls. In the middle of the entrance hall, in between the two courtrooms, hangs the artwork “Hoge Raad” by Dutch painter Helen Verhoeven. It was commissioned specially for the Supreme Court.

The upper floors accommodate offices, a library with study places, a restaurant, and council and meeting chambers. Daylight permeates the building through several skylights, forming the core of the distinct domains of the Council (Raad) and Procurator General Office (Parket). The two departments are identified by the use of different materials: a vertically striped Marmara Equator marble in the Council, and an organic Skyline marble in the Procurator General Office area. At the circumference of the openings each floor has pantries with coffee machines, seating, and bookcases. The light, the sightlines throughout the space, and the open perspective inspire social interaction, encourage the exchange of ideas and opinions, and allows for informal gatherings.

Three sides of the building are exposed to sun over the course of a day. These facades are climate controlled through the use of a spacious cavity in the glass casings: glass boxes that not only keep out the heat and cold, but also the sound of traffic outside. Nonetheless, the windows can be opened if desired, while the sun blinds and light filters can also be individually regulated. This controlled double protection produces a layered facade, flat and yet canted, a subtle nuance that adds even more elegance to the whole.

On Saturday April 23rd - 2016, the Supreme Court of the Netherlands will welcome visitors on the occasion of its first open day.

Underneath the museum site, archeologists found the Fernando bastion, one of the five ones belonging to the old citadel, and the flank of the main wall made of bricks and stone is now lying bare. Archeological finds include the bastion's gun emplacement, a discovery that enrich the understanding of Antwerp's military past.

The excavation will be carried out along with the renovation works of the museum.

The Royal Museum of Fine Arts will open its doors in 2019.

Novi Fokus Niš is founded by Sanja Cvetković and Djordje Jović of Biro4321, a non-profit organization, established by two architecture students, determined to change and challenge architectural education, in Niš, Serbia.

Together with this expansion, the installation system will be updated and asbestos will be removed. The exteriors won't face any change and the entrance will remain in the same position. According to the competition planning the renovation should start in 2018 and the new Paleis Het Loo be delivered by 2021.

KAAN Architecten is on the run with four other candidates: Architect Koen van Velsen; Next Architects + AL_A; Felix Claus Dick van Wageningen Architecten; and Neutelings Riedijk Architects.

Results are expected for mid-March 2016.

The Fleur Groenendijk Foundation, in collaboration with the Rotterdamse Academie van Bouwkunst and with Dikkie Scipio as founder created “De Meester”. The prize aims to promote the work of young Dutch architects and urban planners.

Dikkie Scipio is part of the jury evaluating the works in a live and dynamic discussion, together with Frits van Dongen (architect and former Rijksbouwmeester), Arjen Knoester (senior architect at Stadsontwikkeling Rotterdam, Morfis architecture and urbanism), Hans Lensvelt (design expert of Lensvelt Contract Furniture), and Merel Pit (architecture journalist).

Candidates for the 5,000 euro promotional prize are Alex de Jong with Water vernieuwt!, Barend Mense with Inclusive Hackney, and Martins Duselis with Roseform.

De Avond van de Meester 2016 at Het Nieuwe Instituut, Rotterdam

Wednesday November 16, 2016 - h 20.00 / 23.00 - sign up for free entrance

The building is a State monument located close by The Hague central station, the city park and the institutional area comprising ministries and governmental buildings.

From the XIX century onwards, the structure has undergone many changes, loosing its identity and not suiting the contemporary working standards anymore. The renovation project is a re-interpretation of the essence of the original design aiming to achieve an open and transparent architecture thanks to new roofs and ceilings, patios and an easy way-finding.

First appointment is with the New York "Short Films Walk", preview of the Architecture and Design Film Festival; followed two days later by the AFFR Architecture Film Festival Rotterdam and lastly by the Milanese Design Film Festival.

Oct. 7 - h 18.00: Short Films Walk in SoHo (New York)

Oct. 9 - h 13.30: AFFR at Lantaren Vester (Rotterdam)

Oct. 16 - h 15.00: Milano Design Film Festival at Anteo spazioCinema (Milan)

The offices were chosen within the nominees of the EU Prize for Contemporary Architecture - Mies van der Rohe 2015. Rotterdam and its architecture are the protagonists of the video together with the Education Center Erasmus MC and Kees Kaan reflection on the history and characteristics of the Dutch city, therefore its European identity.

Kees Kaan points out that: "If we live as European, if we behave as European, we automatically make European architecture, because architecture is the reflection of our culture, of who we are and how we live". And then focuses on the city of Rotterdam as a perfect example of a city embodying the European identity: "Rotterdam was bombed during WWII and a large part of the city was burned down. The 90% of the city is built after WWII at the same time when Europe was reconstructed as an entity".

The video-project is promoted by Fundaciò Mies van der Rohe and Creative Europe, and filmed by Nihao Films.

A short reportage by photographer Karin Borghouts has recently featured the installation process of the steel staircase, part of the museum of the 21st century. The new staircase will be integrated into one of the four patios, crucial elements of the vertical museum concept, allowing the full height view from the lower point of the museum site to the new light scooped roof.

At this link the gallery from the blog and up here an unreleased image of the new space.

The building is part of the new development of Paris-Saclay campus in Orsay, Paris; and under construction since July 2014.

The event will take place from 2.00pm at the Campus de la Faculté des Sciences d'Orsay, Bât. 520 in rue André Rivière at the presence of Mr. Bourguignon - director of the Institut des Sciences Moléculaire d'Orsay, Mr. Bittuon - president of Université Paris-Sud, Mr. Ros - Orsay mayor, Mr. Veltz - president/general director of Établissement Paris-Saclay, Mrs. Castelnot - Palaiseau deputy prefect.

After the ceremony, from 2.30pm the building will be presented at the Amphitheatre Blandin du LPS with an short discourse by Kees Kaan.

The Cité de Métiers et de l’Artisanat is located at the edge of the old city fortification of Lille, in correspondence of one arterial road defining the city center and the new suburban areas. The building is surrounded by a distinctive landscape featuring infrastructure of rail and motorway, embankments, lush greenery with diverse botanical species and artificial topography, in a mix of landscape and horizontality.

The design developed in collaboration with PRANLAS-DESCOURS Architect & Associates (Paris, France), is based on the site’s history and geography and merges sustainability, landscape, architecture and interior design. The monolithic look of the building results from emphasizing horizontality and highlighting the site on two levels: the landscape and the surrounding neighborhood.

The multipurpose building has three main floors with various program: a public ground floor, an educational first floor and a second floor with office spaces enclosing the auditorium at the core of the building. The different areas are separated one from the other by two independent level entrances, by an articulated program division and a clear circulation system giving shape to a solid and simultaneously compartmentalized building.

The auditorium can be used in various ways as well as the magnificent main lobby. Modern and robust materials have been used, while the spaces have been designed with special attention to the human scale. CMA’s transparency and integration of green patios drive visitors through the building thanks to an easy and natural way-finding.

On Friday May 22nd, 2015 from 2.30pm in Rue Abélard (Lille, France) the first stone laying ceremony will be held together with the presentation of the project in the presence of the Ministre du Travail, de l'Emploi et du Dialogue social, M.François Rebsamen, the Président de la Chambre de Métiers et de l'Artisanat du Nord-Pas-de-Calais, M.Alain Griset and the architects Kees Kaan and Jean-Pierre Pranlas-Descours.

The building will be delivered in March 2017.

For more information, please contact KAAN press (Maria Azzurra Rossi): press@kaanarchitecten.com.

The Education Center is part of the Rotterdam academic hospital Erasmus MC, originally designed in 1965 by Arie Hagoort (OD205) in collaboration with Jean Prouvé, and recently extended by EGM architecten. Since its completion in 2013, the new building has merged all medical student programmes under one column-free roof.

The narrative bonds the poetry of light and space of the Education Center with Walt Whitman’s written lyric one. A deep voice reciting “When I heard the learn’d astronomer” from Leaves of Grass meets the sharp harmony of forms, diverse material’s temperatures, and ethereal light of the roof geometry in a crescendo of tension. The discreet presence of two young figures, running and hiding themselves, is changing the focus of the stills and gives shape to an unconventional reading of the building’s structure and its elements.

“The Education Center is part of an imposing medical city, a post-war concrete jungle shaped by pragmatism and cost-cut” says Vroegindeweij. “I was surprised to come across this oasis of humanism and softness, at the very heart of it”.

The short film has been realized in recognition of the shortlist nomination for the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award 2015. It is part of the exhibition that opened its doors on May 8th, 2015 at the MUHBA Oliva Artés centre in Barcelona.

Synopsis: The Learn'd

In an empty building, a temple of knowledge, movement is detected. Two people in their youth, desperate for meaning, are looking for human contact in a world of facts and figures. The beautiful words of “When I heard the learn’d astronomer”, Walt Whitman’s poem, accompany the stunning imaginary and convey the need to explore reality rather than science, to be human first, and a learn'd after. The same values are embodied by the architecture of the Education Center.

The museum official magazine Zaal Z has interviewed KAAN Architecten partner, Dikkie Scipio together with Jan Severyns and Nathalie Vandebrouck, team and project leaders of the Government of Flanders Facility Management department.

Dikkie Scipio says: "We want to preserve the 19th century museum, so to experience it as it was. The new museum is organized in a very different way and it should lead to a different perception of space".

You can find the full article from page 18 of the PDF.

The citadel was a pentagonal fortification build in the 16th century as a Spanish means of repression against the rebellion of the Habsburgs Netherlands, in particular the city of Antwerp.

1830 marked another Belgian - Dutch historical event when the site was the last rampart of the Dutch before they were forced to leave by French armies, finalizing the inevitable Dutch – Belgian split.

The citadel was leveled to make the 19th century extension of Antwerp: Het Zuid. One of the central buildings of this extension was the KMSKA.

More information can be found in the museum blog. photo credits: cover Jesse Willems, 2. Heritage archive, 3. Antwerpen Stadsarchief

The reportage of photographer Dominique Panhuysen is following the building process since its start in 2013. The third construction phase shooting focuses on the different glass façades: a full transparent ground floor for the most public part of the new building, flush openings for the courtrooms floor and aluminium slabs structure for the integrated cooling system of the upper floors façade.

40 projects have been shortlisted within the 420 nominees announced last December comprising projects completed in Europe in the last two years.

The jury composed by Cino Zucchi (Chair of the Jury), Margarita Jover, Lene Tranberg, Peter L. Wilson, Xiangning Li, Tony Chapman and Hansjörg Mölk will, by the end of February, decide the 5 project finalists and declare the winner during the exhibition opening and official ceremony in London next May 7-8th, 2015.

To read the full press release, follow the link to Mies van der Rohe Foundation website.

The three-days opening symposium invited all the Paris-Saclay's new development designers to introduce the several projects for the academic area result of a competition held in 2011.

Marco Lanna (KAAN Architecten) gave a short Pecha Kucha presentation on how ISMO will become a transparent factory for science, research and communication activities. The building on the South-East side of the Paris-Saclay area will pay great attention to the surrounding landscape and natural environment presenting itself as a glass show-box in direct dialogue with the campus.

To learn more about the project, please follow this link to KAAN work.

Launched in 1987, this Prize is co-funded by the EU Culture Programme and the Fundació Mies van der Rohe. By highlighting excellent architectural works that have been constructed over the last two years, the Prize draws attention to the contribution of European professionals in the development of new ideas and technologies, as well as the cultural importance of architecture in the construction of our cities.

The winner and special mention projects will be released in the next months, the news will follow on the prize website.

The Paris-Saclay exhibition will present the progress of the project in all its scientific, economic and urban sides, and where the operational phase of urban campus is engaged.

Models, projections, panels and timeline will be organized next to round table discussions, conferences and a PechaKucha of about thirty architects, in which ISMO will be introduced by KAAN Architecten on the 29th of November from 14h30 until 20h.

An exhibition under the high patronage of Madame Geneviève Fioraso, Secretary of State for Higher Education and Research, in partnership with the University Paris-Saclay, the Maison de l’Architecture en Ile-de-France and the Order of Architects of Ile-de-France.

“Paris-Saclay. Le Futur en Chantier(s)” Maison de l’architecture en Ile-de-France, Paris Exhibition: November 28th to December 20th, 2014 Round tables and conferences: 28, 29 and 30th of November 2014

The tenth edition theme was focused on the relationship of architecture with natural and urban landscapes. The District Water Board project fulfilled the requirements thanks to both renovation and newly built architecture and to the importance given to the complex of the estate with its historical garden and the new walnut production garden.

Philippe Rotthier Prize 2014 exhibition Foundation pour l'Architecture - CIVA (Brussels, Belgium) October 18th, 2014 – November 23rd, 2014

A full on-site reportage by Dutch photographer Dominique Panhuysen is following the developments since the beginning of the excavation process, and it will keep following in the next months all the different construction phases of the new building.

Times puts everything in place - Kees Kaan

The field covered by architecture seems to be without boundaries. Architecture is present everywhere, and as a result the subject of public debate. The profession has a long tradition. Depending on the stance taken by the observer, either this tradition or the latest fashion in building dominates. Most commissions emerge from the societal desire to build, but within a framework of economical and political culture.

It is very tempting to label oneself as an architect with a specific trademark or speciality. The use of an extreme style makes you more easily recognisable as an expert or an extravagant designer. Personal branding has become the standard. Architects like to see themselves as boosters of innovation. This is the most inappropriate and undeserved self-image of our profession. By its very nature, architecture is a slow profession, so trendsetting or being ahead of social changes is a contradiction in terms.

Time is a constant and puts everything in its place. Jerzy Kosinski describes this beautifully in his novel Being There. The story is about Chance, a gardener, who spends his entire life in a walled garden, isolated from the surrounding world. Behind this barrier, time passes without any reference but the seasons.

"What was nice about the garden, was that at any moment, Chance could start to wander, never knowing whether he was ahead of or behind his previous steps. All that mattered was moving in his own time, like the growing plants".

There is an unbreakable bond between the material from which a building is made and the zeitgeist enclosed within it. But in time the object can liberate itself from the idea from which it emanated. The idea was just the cause, a means to the end of having a building. When the circumstances in which the building emerged change, the spaces and bricks remain and may harbour new activities. I consider an essential aspect of architecture to be its generosity in cutting itself free from its lead position. At the end of the day, a building is nothing but a tool facilitating human activity. The quality of a building is measured by its conveniences, durability, ergonomics and functionality. Contrary to what happens in society, the physical reality and thus the fundamental requirements of human life hardly change.

Form is not the aim of Chance’s garden, but the result of a series of actions performed with care and attention. Quality and universal wisdom are the implicit consequences in this metaphor. This goes for the creation of buildings too. We produce good buildings through dedication and concentration.

When the physiognomy of a building is right, its appearance will correspond in character, function and essence. Beauty in the conventional sense is irrelevant. A building that is correct in its physiognomy might very well be unattractive but its appearance and character correspond. In order to achieve this we follow a conceptual and programmatic path. Our architectural designs are rid of all elements that do not contribute to the conceptual essence of the project. What remains is the most direct, intense representation of the fundamental idea behind the project.

The large new gallery will not be visible from the streets and square adjacent to the museum. The gallery space will only be seen, amidst the old roofs, from a more distanced perspective in the diagonal streets that delineate the 19th-century star-shaped urban plan, in which the museum is the central point.

From inside as well, the new gallery will not be immediately visible because the focus is primarily on re-establishing the routing of the original layout.

The new museum is anchored in the building’s four patios and has a large upper gallery above that. Perhaps it’s easiest to visualize as a big table, with four legs standing in the patios and with a hole in the middle of the tabletop that penetrates the roof of the central Rubens and Van Dyck galleries. Of course, you are likely wondering how this looks from the inside and how you can travel from one table leg to the other. The new space cannot be seen from the old museum space at any point. Yet you can go from one leg to the other. This will be made possible by doubling the wall, over the whole height, between the Rubens & Van Dyck galleries and the two small anterooms. Because the rooms of the new museum are at a different level to the old rooms, one can walk – unseen – between the two walls, above the entrance to the Rubens and Van Dyck galleries to the other side of the new museum.

In this renovation there are no changes planned to the largest room, the Rubens gallery, but the Van Dyck gallery will change since it is being shortened by 2.9 meters. This involves contracting the space by precisely one bay and merging the new wall with the existing space without disrupting its pattern. Designed by architects Winders and Van Dijk and considered significant, the proportions of light admitted into the interior at a height of 14.7 meters over 12-meter widths are being maintained.

The recesses that make the hidden passageways possible have now been made. Parts of the cornice have been carefully dismounted and are being saved to re-use in the reconstruction. In this way, the new museum infringes as little as possible upon the character of the old museum. The new museum remains invisible to the old.

The show pays tribute to historian and critic Michel Ragon who, in his books Où vivrons-nous demain? [Where will we live tomorrow?] (1963) and Prospective et Futurologie [Forecasting and Futurology] (1978), gave an introduction to the issues of experimental architecture – a field that lies at the heart of the Frac Centre’s collection. The exhibition will be divided in two sections: an historical one, and a prospective one featuring the City Hall Park. Here a little cut of how the curators (Marie-Ange Brayer, Emmanuelle Chiappone-Pirou and Aurélien Vernant) presents the prospective section: “The projects presented all answer the necessity to rethink new uses for cities, to generate resources and connect the micro-scale of the individual with the macro-scale of the expanding urban territory".

The City as a Vision: tribute to Michel Ragon Frac Centre – Les Turbulences (Orléans, France) September 19th, 2014 – February 22nd, 2015

Together with Kees Kaan, participants to the discussion are: Giovanna Carnevali (director Fundació Mies van der Rohe, Barcelona), Gus Tielens (Korth Tielens Architecten, Amsterdam), Jaap Gräber (PLAN, Amsterdam), Sabine Lebesque (Development Corporation of the City of Amsterdam).

The discussion is part of a two-day workshop involving the participant architects and city developers to explore a specific case in Moscow - the area situated in Moscow city center, directly opposite Zaryadie area, between Raushskaya and Sadovnicheskaya embankments.

The series "Rethinking Europe – European experience in the city development" is part of the summer program of the institute and realized in partnership with the Fundació Mies van der Rohe.

Follow this link for more information.

Asbestos is a collective term for several naturally occurring minerals that are comprised of very fine, microscopic fibres. There are two kinds of raw asbestos: one with a spiral fibre structure (white asbestos) and the other with a straight fibre that can be blue, brown, grey or green. Actually, these colours can only be seen in the raw state. Once the asbestos has been worked, the type used can only be detected through lab research. It was thought that the biochemical composition of asbestos is what causes cancer, but now it is believed that its cancer-inducing properties lie in the length to diameter ratio of inhaled fibres. As long as the fibres stay bound, they are not dangerous.

Asbestos has an infinite number of applications, from protective clothing to building materials such as roof coverings, sewage pipes and chimneys. In times of need, even holes in cooking pans were repaired with asbestos plates and who hasn´t felt the cold of those vinyl floors laid over asbestos tiles that were very popular well into the 1980s. When office and public buildings were fitted with climate control installations, spray-applied asbestos was invented to provide an easy solution to coat pipes and wires with a fire-resistant and insulating layer. However, sprayed coatings of asbestos damage easily causing a greater dispersion of fibres. Asbestos in this form is what first led to the discovery that it is a cancer hazard. The use of spray-on asbestos has been prohibited in the Netherlands since 1978 and all other asbestos products were prohibited in 1993. A 2001 royal decree in Belgium ensured a ban on manufacturing, using and offering for sale products that contained asbestos.

Nearly all old buildings have some amount of asbestos. So, too, the museum. Much asbestos has been found around the pipes of the out-dated climate control installations. It has been removed in containment. For security’s sake we did some extra investigating. What we found was not ideal. Around the roofs and shafts more asbestos was uncovered. We cannot proceed before this is removed as well.

You can download the PDF version via the link down here and you'll find Dikkie Scipio's article from page 27.

PLANTA, the exhibition is not an attempt to explain nor capture PLANTA, nor is it an artistic installation demanding attention or gaze…simply a loose choreography of discrete elements which will give insights into an environment, which can never truly be known. The building PLANTA by KAAN Architecten, which will find its home within the quarry “La Plana del Corb”, in Balaguer (Spain), exists in an environment of constant flux. The exhibition PLANTA shall reside in a similarly complex environment: Conservatorio di Musica "Benedetto Marcello” di Venezia. The Quarry and the Conservatorio are environments layered in both physical and cultural texture, and like the Quarry, the Conservatorio demands full engagement of our secondary senses; most importantly each site is dedicated to the concept of performance. One is the performance of agricultural and material manufacturing, the other the performance of the education and instruction of music. As the building does not try to compete with the context of an active quarry, as it would surely lose, PLANTA the exhibition is a respectful visitor in a space with its own purpose and need. However, both PLANTA the building and the exhibition provide a datum amid the sublime chaos of performance.

PLANTA is a building designed by KAAN Architecten. “PLANTA” is a project exhibition organized by Fundació Sorigué and curated by DOMAIN. Where: Conservatorio di Musica “Benedetto Marcello” di Venezia, San Marco 2810 (Campo Santo Stefano), Venice (Italy) Presentation and Press Conference: June 6th, 2014 – h 10.30am at the Conservatorio – Cloister and Salone Monumentale Press Preview: 5, 6 June 2014 (10.00 - 19.00) Public opening: 7 June - 31 October 2014; Monday - Sunday (10.00 - 18.00)

For more information, please contact KAAN press (Maria Azzurra Rossi): press@kaanarchitecten.com.

www.kaanarchitecten.com www.fundacionsorigue.com www.domainoffice.eu www.planta-project.com

A full on-site reportage by Dutch photographer Dominique Panhuysen followed the beginning of the excavation process, and it will keep following in the next months all the different construction phases of the new building.

From page 440 you can find an in-depth article with details and images of the whole design.

Here a short overview.

Here you can read an extract of the article featured in the printed magazine from page 29 on.

Our Supreme Court of the Netherlands (The Hague) will be enriched by these impressive stones and soon we'll share more images of the building process.

The design organizes the site into a series of archipelagos dedicated to leisure and performance, each island is reinforced with an icon dedicated to performance. The icons form a continuity of irregularity, each with unique spaces and functions, and varying in typology, density, and landscape.

Adjacent to the performative landscape is the existing neighborhood. Whereas islands and supporting icons provide difference and diversity, the existing neighborhood provides cohesion and unity. By reorganizing the adjacent streets vehicular traffic to one-way flow, and consolidating infrastructure and logistics to the center of the site, the existing roads are transformed into commercial boulevards. The site is no longer a residual geological junk space, but the physical and programmatic center of the neighborhood.

The masterplan consists of five programmatic anchors: creative industries, automotive industry, film, technology, and performance. The anchors are closely related through innovation and research, and provide the basis for strategic and economic cooperation for the metro region.

This National Heritage Site, built for the Department of Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries in 1917 and subsequently occupied by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation until 2013, will soon be converted into the Dutch government’s premier new knowledge centre. In 2016, the renovated B30 building will serve as the joint premises for the Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis (CPB), the Netherlands Institute for Social Research (SCP), the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL), the Dutch Data Protection Authority (Dutch DPA) and the Council for the Environment and Infrastructure (Rli).

KAAN’s winning design is characterised by a shared ground floor area that serves as a ‘public area’ at the intersection of city, woodlands and public gardens. The seemingly unapproachable edifice will be transformed into a succession of attractive, transparent spaces. The bright, airy expansions will be carefully interwoven with the massive architecture of the monumental building to create a new, clearly defined and unified complex.

The aim of the design is to transform the closed-in, hierarchical building – with an atmosphere representative of people’s perception of the State in the early 1900s – into an open, transparent and inviting setting that is in line with a modern-day government think tank.

The Facilicom PPS B30 Consortium is made up of Facilicom, KAAN Architecten, Braaksma & Roos Architectenbureau, Deerns, Pieters Bouwtechniek and Rebel Group.

Kees Kaan was part of the first talk, of the series presented during the Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture of Shenzhen (China), together with South African, Lindsay Bremner; Algerian, Zinedine Seffadj; Chinese, Li Xiangning; and Swiss, John Palmesino.

© 2014 Fundació Sorigué - www.fundaciosorigue.com

The project's main goal is to expand the capacity of the area dedicated to research and innovation of ca. 500.000 to 800.000sqm.

Within more than 100 applicants, BMW Group chose 12 firms. KAAN will run along with: agps architecture (ch), AllesWirdGut Architektur ZT (at), AS&P - Albert Speer & Partner (de), BIG - Bjarke Ingels Group (dk), Clive Wilkinson Architects (usa), DP architects (sg), ernst niklaus fausch architekten (ch), gmp International (de), HENN (de), West 8 urban design & landscape architecture (nl) and White arktitekter AB (se).

Here the link to the official release.

On the whole, the European consortium has managed to qualify out of 23 inscriptions together with 3 other teams: AIA architects, which will cooperate with the Portuguese Souto de Moura, the French-Belgian Art & Build which consists of Jean-Philippe Pargade, the Artelia study office and Signes Paysage for urban development and finally the French Reichen et Robert, which consists of Groupe 6 and the study offices Ingerop, Setec and Berim.

The project teams will have six months to submit a project proposal. By the end of 2014, a definitive choice will be made by Christiane Coudrier, the superintendent of CHU Nantes.

KAAN Architecten and EGM architecten cooperated before on the university grounds of the Erasmus Medical Center. EGM architecten is responsible for the new Erasmus MC, which will open its doors in 2017. KAAN realized the Education Center in 2012.

Kees Kaan took part in a conference together with other architects and architectural thinkers such as South African Lindsay Bremner, Algerian Zinedine Seffadj, Chinese Li Xiangning and Swiss John Palmesino to reflect on the new challenges facing global architecture.

These reflections will be published periodically till the start of the next Architecture Biennale in Venice La Biennale di Venezia, where the foundation will present its new project designed by KAAN Architecten.

More images through this link

The jury evaluated the entries on the basis of these criteria: the significant use of aluminium, the energy efficiency and consumption, the contemporary design, the socio-economic impact and the value added to the original building.

Dreamhouse is the renovation project of a corner shop of the Rotterdam’s Lijnbaan originally designed by Van den Broek en Bakema during the post-war years.

Jury chair Tracy Metz: "The interaction between the program and the high quality architecture puts Rotterdam on the map as home to a medical institution with an international appeal for talent." Rotterdam Architecture Award 2013

The office has completed the safe depot in the core of the building and, after moving all the artworks in there, has started with the demolition of the museum's public interiors.

The contractor has now been working on our museum for two years. Other than the large crane protruding out of the roofline, not much of this work is visible from the outside. It’s a different story inside, however. Despite the stripping and demolition work, which makes the building look and feel like a ruin, already the quality of the new space can easily be visualized. Later additions, both structural and in terms of climate control systems, have been removed, bringing the building closer to its original state. The suspended ceilings introduced in the course of time have also been removed. Many galleries have therefore regained their original dimensions, making the museum appear even larger. On the ground floor at the rear of the building, the removal of the grid ceiling has revealed an attractive arched space which, like the new art storage facility, feels like the space of catacombs. At the front, where the public will enter, the structure has been punctured at a number of locations to establish a relationship between the ground floor and the entrance on the first floor. The most prominent example of this is the removal of the floor of the old auditorium. The beautiful double-storey space thus created will be the library’s reading room and can be viewed from above through the new museum shop and bookshop. It is a simple spatial intervention with an exceptional effect.

The space immediately below the entrance has been far more challenging. Both here and at a number of other places in the building we encountered a few surprises, such as beams, walls and recesses that were different than we had anticipated and also asbestos at locations where we had not expected to find it. Although challenging, the construction and design teams have always managed to find a solution together to enable implementation of the design. Every building site has surprises. They come with the territory, certainly when restoring and refurbishing large old buildings, since it is not always clear how building work was carried out in the past and what changes were made to a given building. Surprises usually mean unpleasant setbacks, but sometimes we get lucky. In the skirting, we found a pair of old window decorations for the seawater aquarium that was displayed during the second World’s Fair. We can save at least one of these, the one best preserved, for posterity. So on occasion, surprises are genuine gifts.

You can download the PDF version via the link down here and you'll find Dikkie Scipio's article from page 36.

This is how the magazine introduces KAAN Architecten project: "In a constant dialogue with the new ZAC's landscape, the project joins together parallelepipeds shaped by inflections, holes and voids".

Journalist Eva Vroom defines itsthe study square: "A generous and light space able to connect the various programme's spaces in an elegant manner."

Although hard to imagine now, Antwerp’s ‘Zuid’ (South) district only recently emerged from a difficult period in its history. Things slowly began to improve for the run‑down area only after the arrival of the Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp (MUHKA) in 1987 and the Zuiderpershuis Cultural Centre in 1993. When we submitted to the selection process to design the museum’s master plan in November 2003, we were confident that the district would revitalize rapidly. Art, culture and the hospitality industry were already leading the way and architect Richard Rogers had already been commissioned to design a new court building that would be located at the former Zuiderplein on the site of Zuidstation, the railway station that was demolished in 1965. The arrival of law firms, which would undoubtedly take up residence within walking distance of the court building, would ensure that the South district would quickly regain its allure. And an urban district that gains in standing will reflect the spirit of the new era rather than be conserved. We were awarded the contract for our pitch that the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp should be conserved because a rapidly modernizing environment would increase its historical significance.

Ten years later and South is now a trendy district. It looks as though the court building has always been there and Zuidstation never was. The station, which was built in 1898 based on a design by the Ysendyck brothers, was part of the urban expansion at the end of the 19th century. The star‑shaped street pattern of the South district with its dramatic axes are characteristic of the urban planning ideas of the fin-de-siècle. The Royal Museum of Fine Arts is centrally located at Place du Peuple on the Schelde–Zuiderlei axis. It was one of the first public buildings and architects Winders and Van Dyck almost literally allowed the urban axis to run through the building as an extension of public space, reinforcing this with appropriate colours and materials now lost. For a long time, as was the case with respect to the district, the old museum building was not valued. To those in the second half of the 20th century, the 19th century was not that long ago and its architectural style was considered to be excessively monumental.

Re-establishing the experience of the urban axis in terms of colour and material now forms the foundation of the building’s restoration concept. Just wait a while and in the 21st century, sand grey will be beautiful again.

You can download the PDF version via the link down here and you'll find Dikkie Scipio's article from page 35.

Alongside with this nomination, the audience can vote for the 'RTV Utrecht Public Award' from June 23rd, 2013 on.

More information can be found here.

The blueprint for the refurbishment and extension of the museum is ready: over 150,000 m3 of monumental building have been entrusted to paper in flat and folded form. Sixteen boxes with forty archive boxes contain 150 drawings and approximately 100 structural detailing, along with 16 lever arch files that contain specifications (documents that specify exactly what and where materials will be used). Waiting in our corridor, they will shortly be sent to Brussels, where they will be used for the European tendering procedure to select the contractor that will carry out the project’s second phase, the actual refurbishment and extension works.

The 19th-century building is large, or perhaps better said: voluminous. Yet, one does not get the full sense of its scale when viewing the drawings. The historic building’s clear floor plans are symmetrical again and easy to read, and the old walls are between 60 and 80 cm thick which optically reduces the size of the building as drawn by half. Regardless of how well you know the building, the scale is deceptive and it is always the figures that remind you of the building’s actual size. The footprint is almost 10,000 m2, museum gallery space will total 7,400 m2 following the refurbishment and over 3,300 m2 of existing roof will be renovated, for example. Other figures are even more remarkable. For example, 15,000 m2 of thermal insulation is required for the channels and the construction’s rolled box beams will account for no less than 835,000 kg of steel.

Even so, the grand lady still stands tall beyond her stature for she was designed and built to impress. She was first showcased in 1894 during the second World’s Fair in Antwerp. Aquariums for subtropical fish were immured in the ground-floor corridors for the event. The map of the World’s Fair indicated the Musée des Beaux-Arts as attraction number 118 and the sous‑sol aquarium as attraction number 119. This was the 19th century. People were fascinated by technology, travel and discoveries. It was the century in which chemistry became a science and the principles of biology were established. It was also the century in which, for the first time, large collections of art were put on permanent display for ordinary citizens. Antwerp’s Royal Museum of Fine Arts is therefore more than a museum building. It is a building characteristic of its era and is therefore an important part of its own collection.

You can download the PDF version via the link down here and you'll find Dikkie Scipio's article from page 40.

All the inhabitants of Leiden and surroundings can vote from June 5th till June 19th, 2013 and the nominated projects can be seen in show at the RAP Architecture Centre, Nieuwstraat 33 in Leiden.

The structure, next to Schouwburgplein, on the corner of Kruiskade-Karel Doormanstraat, grabs our attention by way of its unpretentious yet convincing architectural countenance. ‘Dream: your favorite steakhouse’, with half of a faux-prairie hut on its facade, has been reconditioned for jewellers Schaap en Citroen and fashion retailer COS, under the banner of Dreamhouse. Built in the early 1950s as Martin’s, a highly modern tea room offering the new trend of “selfservice”, the corner shop has been robbed of its character by various renovations over the last half century. Now the building, built by the then well-known architectural practice Van den Broek en Bakema during the optimistic early post-war years, has been given a new life through the new modernism of Claus en Kaan Architecten.

New modernism is still – unalterably – functional, but it is now discreetly distinguished and appropriately chic; no crazy shapes or bright colours, nor any pompous urbanity. Rectangular volumes have been stacked in balanced proportions over three floors on top of existing columns, and display a subtle differentiation of materials, window openings, colours and other details. The stacking presents unity in diversity. The first storey projects markedly, and as such clearly echoes the ‘millstone ruff’ of offices in the surrounding residential flats of The Cityhouse by renowned architects Maaskant en Van Tijen. The facade of the overhang is accented by a framework of windows. Perpendicular to the largely glass sheet windows are fixed vertical slats – deep, thin and cleanly lined within a framework.

The slats and their encasement prove the existence of a geometric Baroque for they manipulate the view and play of light just as traditional Baroque does, but now without the twists and curves; it is simply straight-edged. Apart from their rhythmic synchronisation with the protruding balconies on the facade of the opposite flats, they have a surprising optical effect. Seen from the side, the overhang appears quite closed. Seen straight on, the building emerges as a show-box and affords an unobstructed view inside. By extruding (pressing through a mould) and anodising the aluminium, the slats acquired their knife-sharp edges and pearl grey colour. They allow a soft reflection of light and colours from inside out and from the sun, clouds and trees outside in. For those willing to see it, it is a timeless delight.

Phase one consisted of removing a post Second World War nuclear bunker from the heart of the museum, restoring the museum to its original late 19th century design by Jacob Winders and Frans van Dijck, and accommodating a state of the art storage space. Once the bunker had been removed, the newly freed space left way to the original spacious arches that now house the KMSKA’s extensive collection that includes major works by Belgium Artists from the 14th to the 20th century, from Van Eyck to Rubens to Magritte. The completion of this space marks the beginning of the second phase; an extensive renovation and extension also to be carried out by Claus en Kaan Architecten. The renovation will go forward without removing the precious art works thanks to this first phase.

The newly refurbished museum and its extension will open to the public in 2017. The 40% extra surface area will be obtained by constructing a modern ‘vertical museum’ within the museums existing large interior patios without altering the neoclassical landmark from the exterior. According to architect Dikkie Scipio, the envisaged ‘vertical museum’ will be ‘suitable for both modest and monumental presentations. It will provide an equally bold setting as the 19th Century building, but without the architecture imposing itself on the art’.

It will be possible for the public to visit the depot on Saturday April 6th 2013, before the second stage of renovations gets underway.

The building work has been completed, demolition can begin. This statement seems to be paradoxical, so perhaps some explanation is in order. Up until now, the overriding focus has been on building the new art storage centre at the museum’s bomb-proof heart and then creating a route to transfer the works of art that were being stored in the museum to the new art depot. Although the museum’s original layout comprised of a sequence of rooms through which visitors could pass, its natural flow became blocked by the multiple uses that were added to the museum over the years. Directly above the entrance for example, one of the most beautiful and monumental wings became home to a number of very large works of art that, mysteriously had made their way into the space, but were now impossible to remove without cutting away parts of the walls. And so we sawed.

The paintings from the Rubens Gallery were able to be lifted through the hatch in the storage centre. For a few moments each painting, of tremendous value as a work of art, was no more than the sum of its weight and dimensions. Never before have so many of these works been seen from the back: a Rubens that was just a heavy colossus consisting of a number of wood panels – with a carved Hand of Antwerp – bound together by large iron bars. Its construction was like that of a building: monumental and solid. This is the ethos we will return to.

The galleries are now empty and, without the works on the walls, appear even larger than before. In the 19th century, a walk in the museum was like a walk in the park. There was no climate control, nor even electricity. The museum simply closed its doors when darkness fell. Systems were later installed for the comfort of the public and the well-being of the art, but these are now outdated. We are removing them just as we are removing everything else that has accumulated in the museum over the years. We are gradually revealing what has remained hidden for so long. Soon the museum will be completely stripped and exposed, showing us its true beauty before we dress it again for the 21st century.

You can download the PDF version via the link down here and you'll find Dikkie Scipio's article from page 17.

The serene scenery sets a quiet and calming background for the intense and retrospective moment of cremation. This serenity has been carefully transposed into the ostensibly modest design that puts emphasis on natural light and varying textures in which neutral and intelligible spaces are organized to comfort guests of varying cultures. The cohesive relationship between the building and the nature surrounding it is essential. Interior spaces are strategically orientated within the landscape to create enclosed patios blurring the distinction between interior and exterior. The seamless relationship between the building and the environment alleviates the threshold from impending solemnity.

“We wanted the design to fold around the landscape, that its calm appeases right to the core of the building” explains Vincent Panhuysen, partner and project leader. The clear structure is key to the design. Distinct paths for the public, the staff and the expedition are crucial as the three should not cross. The linear and rhythmic plan alternating patios, open courtyards and glass walls is softened in the curved ceiling of the chapel, bringing warmth and intimacy.

The social, environmental and economic factors are balanced through the integrated ecology of the project. Sustainability is the backbone of the design, through carefully thought out orientation, the use of renewable and low carbon impact materials, state of the art heat recovery systems, zero-energy consumption is achieved.

This month, the storage facility at the heart of the building is, at last, complete. The empty, cavernous space, vaulted like a cathedral, will soon be ready to receive its many valuable works of art. Once the space is filled, it will be the museum’s treasure trove. For now, and only briefly, it is a space of beauty, strength and security: a cathedral for art.

Strewn around the garden are 90cm-thick chunks of stone, remnants of the 125-year-old protective walls, sawed out to create access for the ventilation channels.

Storage racks will be installed and then the paintings will be ensconced, leaving little trace of all that went before to accommodate this. Only the initiated understand the long road travelled before a building is ready for use. Like the production of a painting, the public generally only sees the end result. People can sometimes catch a glimpse of the building behind the scaffolding, yet they are rarely allowed to enter a studio. This is where experimentation takes place, concepts are explored and compared, and skilled craftsmanship is exercised. In this protected environment, the artist does not have to account for his or her choices or explain his or her inspiration. This is where the work ripens until it is ready to be shown to the public.

On rare occasions, one gets the opportunity to view an unfinished work and consequently becomes more aware of the wealth and variety of layers that have gone into it. This is the case with respect to Jan van Eyck’s masterpiece ‘Saint Barbara’, which is currently on loan at Museum Boijmans van Beuningen in Rotterdam from our Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp. The story of a Syrian nobleman’s daughter who converted to Christianity is told by means of symbolism and drawing. More than that, however, the panel magnificently shows a gradation of detailing – from relatively undefined and sketchy to extremely detailed and coloured. Van Eyck placed Saint Barbara in front of a large Gothic tower that is in the process of being built, a construction site like ours. For now, ours is likewise a work in progress.

You can download the PDF version via the link down here and you'll find Dikkie Scipio's article from page 48.

The contract includes all phases of the life of the building, shortly: design, building, finance, maintaining, operating (DBFMO) over a period of 30 years.

The project will be executed by the consortium 'Poort van den Haag', an alliance between BAM PPP, Claus en Kaan Architecten, BAM Utiliteitsbouw, BAM Techniek and ISS Integrated Facility Services. ARUP The Netherlands and DGMR Bouw are involved as advisors.

To vote for KAAN Architecten's project please follow this link