Practice

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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