The Letter H

Portraits, the first monograph on KAAN Architecten, offers a comprehensive survey of their most important projects to date. The fifteen buildings documented in the book are presented as different characters with varying physiognomies, but which belong to the same family and feature similar traits. Lavishly illustrated with photographs, visualizations, plans and drawings, and through essays by architectural critics Pierre Chabard and Ruud Brouwers, Portraits explores this body of work through different lenses. By mapping out their complex genealogy, the buildings and their designs are revealed to be parts of a shared vision, rather than single autonomous entities.

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.”

The building features a fully timber construction with a concrete stability core. With wooden floors, columns, and beams, the timber construction is progressing at an impressive pace — nearly one floor per week. Soon, the full structure and façade will be visible. Once completed, Matchbox will be KAAN Architecten’s first timber building. 

Matchbox will offer space for living, working, and shopping. The building will feature 36 apartments and the new offices of Trudo on the first and second floors. The ground floor will be home to small businesses and entrepreneurs. 

A significant construction achievement in the construction of the new Visitor Center at the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten: the completion of its remarkable concrete fascia, achieved through a unique and complex multi-day process.

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.

Richly illustrated with original drawings, archive material, and unique images, Bridging Time documents the result of an extensive restoration and renovation of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp. Since 1890, the museum has been home to a rich collection of art and more recently has been refitted with a new extension that underlines the strength of the original building and its role as heritage within the rapidly changing city. The renovation and extension bring together the past, the present and the future in a layered ensemble of time, architecture, history and art.

Await is a visual essay about the transformation of grief. Captured in and around the Heimolen Crematorium in St. Niklaas, Belgium, the symbolic architecture of the building reflects on moments of loss, acceptance and finding relief. These moments often seem to flow into each other and therefore raising the question of whether this takes place in past, present or near future. Filmed on 16mm Kodak film, the making of Await presented a technical and logistical feat done in the span of 10 hours.

Entirely produced and compiled by the building’s architects, The Courthouse ‒ Architecture for the Public Good takes readers behind the scenes to unveil the Amsterdam Courthouse as the ultimate gesamtkunstwerk – both a project and a process. Complete with original essays, articles, and interviews, and supplemented with visually rich illustrations, construction photographs, and technical drawings, this book offers the first and most comprehensive look at the courthouse. Beyond this, it exists as a statement and a call for more open, collaborative designs made to last in the community they serve.

Reflections: Renewing Paleis Het Loo tells the story of the renovation of Paleis Het Loo, the largest seventeenth-century palace of the House of Orange, and its new underground extension. Spectacular photography and captivating texts showcase the design for the project, the history of the palace, the convergence of old and new, and the palace's current role as a museum. Reflections is the fascinating account of a successful transformation in which past, present, and future intersect and reinforce one another.

Static architectural imagery exhibits icons that visually manipulate space and time to create an idyllic perception. Faceless, empty forms are designed to define the 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 generalizations and monoculture blind us from the purpose of architecture we all become aliens navigating static worlds of isolation.

Placed in the artwork freight elevator of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp, the camera charts a route full of surprising experiences within the historical and the new museum. 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 shots take the viewer 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.

This short, non-fiction film consists of seven recorded conversations collected in the Provinciehuis of North Brabant. These conversations reveal the complex social structure of the administrative body, paired with a specific overview of the spaces as seen through the eyes of its users. As a quiet observer, the viewer can enjoy a discreet play unfolding within the monumental structure.

Flores i Prats Arquitectes and KAAN Architecten present a joint thematic conference on natural light at the Centre for Fine Arts. 
Video recording of the A+ talk with Flores i Prats Arquitectes and KAAN Architecten. Organised by A+ Architecture in Belgium and Bozar on the 23rd of November 2021. Recording by Gogolplex.

The subtle and elegant design of the Institut des Sciences Moléculaires d’Orsay, ISMO, building is mirrored through several of this publication's features. The duality of ISMO’s programme is reinterpreted through two types of paper sewn together with the aptly-chosen Swiss binding technique, often used in scientific publishing. Meanwhile, the recognisable concrete facade is referenced in the colour and texture of the cover paper, using genuine pulverised cement to give it a rough and chapped feel. An original essay by architectural critic Ruud Brouwers expresses the essence of the building, accompanied by rich photographs by Fernando Guerra and Sebastian van Damme.

Crafted is a short poetic depiction of craftsmanship that holds hands with architecture and lends a direct link to the humanity of the buildings we occupy. Narrated by Mozambican architect, José Forjaz at age 83, Crafted takes the wisdom behind his words and becomes a thought-provoking call to action for our era. Crafted was filmed primarily within The Netherlands Embassy in Maputo, Mozambique, and within various building sites and workshops around the eccentric city. The contrast and similarities between these worlds are bridged when the textures and sounds underscore a beautifully crafted black and white film.

A Background Intrusion commemorates the completion of the Visitor Center, part of the monumental ensemble of the Netherlands American Cemetery. Situated in the Limburg region in Margraten, the centre provides visitors with a dedicated place for both learning and reflection, amid the tranquility of the surrounding landscape. The natural tones of the cover evoke the stone material of the building and the ample white space of the interior layout gives the reader space to rest and reflect, just as the building itself aims to provide for visitors. 

Issue 326 of World Architecture Magazine (China) features an interview by Tian Ni in which Kees Kaan reflects on his role as the Chair of Complex Projects at the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment at TU Delft and the connections between architectural space and education. 

The pure geometry and balanced proportions of the Crematorium Siesegem are captured in this publication's narrow dimensions and clean interior layout. The soft, ivory colours of the cover and interior pages are evocative of the calm, natural palette of the building and its surrounding landscape. An original text by Marc Dubois, interspersed with serene images by Simone Bossi and Sebastian van Damme, walks readers through the space of the building and its deliberate situation within the encompassing topography, revealing a building capable of internalizing the landscape such that its tranquility consoles visitors and provides them with strength.

Inspired by a local anecdote of a puma sighting in the forest, DYNAMO weaves a mysterious tale of a creature wandering around the empty CUBE. 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?

Notes On An Immortal Being is a constellation of works by filmmaker Jaime Levinas set out to explore the narrative boundaries between architecture and film through a vampire tale. It was made in collaboration with multiple artists such as Tina Makharadze, Ruben Hamelink, Nadia de Vries, and Noah Chevan. As the centerpiece of the project, Levinas developed the short film, On An Immortal Being, for the Minutes platform.

On a recent visit to the De Zalmhaven building site, photographer Sebastian van Damme captured the ongoing construction progress. 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. 

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