KAAN Architecten

Aurora is finding its proportions again! At the corner of Stadhouderskade and Overtoom in Amsterdam, the Aurora building, designed by Piet Zanstra in the 1960s, is being restored to its original state. KAAN Architecten’s renovation unfolds through four careful interventions, each restoring what the building had quietly lost over time. The main façade comes first. Slender new frames, wider glazing, and concealed detailing allow the openings to return to Zanstra’s original proportions, while the natural stone once again becomes the dominant presence. More daylight enters the building, and fixed and operable windows are unified into a single expression. At street level, the façade steps back to its original recessed line. The columns are released, allowing the building to rise again as it was originally intended. Above, an additional floor settles discreetly behind the main façade. Present yet deferential, its steel frames follow the rhythm already established in the architecture. At the south corner, a new glazed volume extends toward the green courtyard at the heart of the block. A circular staircase rises through the space beneath a skylight that brings daylight deep into the building. Inside, the dialogue between old and new remains clear. Raw concrete columns and exposed services are retained, while the new interventions respond more subtly with wooden ceilings, light gray steel, and a calm atmosphere around the central void. The office floors, each nearly 1,000 m², are flexible and filled with daylight, complemented by an active plinth at street level. Sustainability underpins the entire transformation. Aurora targets BREEAM Excellent certification and an A++++ energy label, while meeting the CRREM 2040 and Paris Proof ambitions. The building integrates geothermal energy, electric storage systems, 214 solar panels, and green roofs. Completion is scheduled for this summer. Discover more about the project: https://lnkd.in/eYDwj7ZZ Client: Being Team: KAAN Architecten, UBS, Van Wijnen, IMd Raadgevende Ingenieurs, DGMR, Building Services BV, Koninklijke Ginkel Groep, Beyond Space, AMSTELIUS Green Building Group ♻️, Drees & Sommer Photo by Magdalena Wierzbicka

On 21 May, Associate Partner of KAAN Architecten Antony Laurijsen will present & take part in an exclusive double interview at Architecten Showroom Amsterdam, alongside curator and creative strategist nicole uniquole. ‘Zonder wrijving geen glans’: Drawing from projects including Museum Paleis Het Loo, Area 19 Eindhoven and The Dock in Aan het IJ, Antony Laurijsen will reflect on architecture as the art of negotiation, collaboration and craft. nicole uniquole will share her vision and experiences from 10 years of Masterly | The Dutch in Milano, as well as her role as Creative Director of Paleis Soestdijk. Moderated by Marc Müskens, the conversation will explore the relationship between design, culture and the role of architecture today. More information and free registration via the link below. https://lnkd.in/eRqyvGip

KAAN Architecten and Complex Projects Delft University of Technology present Building Narratives.   Join us for the Building Narratives book presentation on 4 June at 19:00 at the Nieuwe Instituut.   KAAN Architecten, in collaboration with Complex Projects Delft University of Technology, presents Building Narratives, published by nai010 publishers. Building Narratives opens a window onto the processes, decisions, and conversations through which buildings come into being. Projects unfold across years, through shifting coalitions of clients, institutions, engineers, and regulators. Designing buildings under these conditions demands maintaining coherence across a process that is always in motion. The book examines how design communication operates within this condition. Narrative is the connective tissue of a project: the structure that keeps collective work legible across disciplines, procurement phases, and changing stakeholders. Architecture is approached as a form of collective intelligence.   Drawing on three Amsterdam projects by KAAN Architecten, it explores how narrative functions as an operational instrument: a structure that keeps collective work legible across disciplines, procurement phases, and changing stakeholders. Through SPOT’s design as negotiation in a market driven context, the New Amsterdam Courthouse’s design as integration of competing institutional demands, and Schiphol Terminal’s design as activation within continuous transformation, the book develops a framework grounded in Dutch practice and rooted in the realities of contemporary architectural production.   The first part of the evening features presentations by guest speaker Salomon Frausto and the Building Narratives team Manuela Triggianese, Alice Colombo and Yağız Söylev, and Kees Kaan. This is followed by a round table moderated by Georg Vrachliotis with Janna Bystrykh, Sofie De Caigny, Jan Nauta, and Hrvoje Smidihen. The programme concludes with Q&A and closing reflections.   RSVP to the Event: https://lnkd.in/ehwuqHfC Buy the Book: https://lnkd.in/esDsQ7N8

The Netherlands American Cemetery Visitor Center is nominated for Architizer’s A+Awards 2026. KAAN Architecten's Netherlands American Cemetery Visitor Center in Margraten has been selected as a finalist for the Architizer A+Awards 2026, in the Religious Buildings & Memorials category and the new Architecture + Craft category. Situated in the Limburg region in Margraten, the Netherlands American Cemetery Visitor Center provides visitors with a dedicated place for both learning and reflection, amid the tranquillity of the surrounding landscape. Nestled within the frame of the fascia, the building is sunken into the sloping landscape, with the floor resting below ground level. Under a layered concrete canopy, the architecture frames a quiet relationship between structure, material and site. Public voting is open until 15 May 2026. Vote for the Religious Buildings & Memorials category here: https://lnkd.in/e7izcGZ5 Vote for the new Architecture + Craft category here: https://lnkd.in/enE3zVRS Discover more about the project: https://lnkd.in/eAf-nP4g Photo by Simon Menges

Marking the 5th anniversary of MINUTES with a year of revisiting 12 selected projects by KAAN Architecten! Film 4/12: AWAIT, directed by From Form, 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. Credits Directed and edited by: From Form Director of Photography: Hayo van Gemert Camera assistant: Ricky Belt Music: Ben Lukas Boysen & Daniel Thorne Producer: Liza Wolters Production assistant: Lara Bruggeman Color grading: Barry Clarke / Captcha! VFX! Featuring: Danielle van de Ven Visual identity: From Form Watch the full film here:
https://lnkd.in/eHVGXgmh Discover more about the MINUTES series: https://lnkd.in/enE3HZq8

KAAN Architecten appointed lead architect for Schiphol’s long-term investment programme Royal Schiphol Group has appointed KAAN Architecten as lead architect for the multi-year investment programme that will reshape the airport over the coming decade. The role carries responsibility for developing and safeguarding the design vision — the framework that gives coherence, continuity, and intelligence to the work of the wider team delivering it. The new role builds on KAAN Architecten’s ongoing relationship with Schiphol, beginning in 2017 in the KLAIR joint venture, with work on the Area South development. Schiphol is a one-terminal airport, and that idea is and remains the foundation of everything that follows. It is not a single building, but a system of halls, lounges, piers, baggage systems, security systems, passport controls, and the connections between them — operating as one and reading as one. The investment touches every part of that system, from check-in and security to the piers, and extends across the full landside passenger areas and parking facilities. The aim is to improve the quality of the airport and to provide more space and comfort for travellers. The task of the lead architect is to extract the DNA of Schiphol — found in its purest form in the original 1960s design — and to use that as the founding part of a narrative under which the work of the next decade, designed by different hands and delivered through separate contracts, comes together as a coherent whole. The work will be delivered alongside Paul de Ruiter Architects, LVZJA (luis vidal + architects, ZJA I Architects & Engineers, and DELVA Landscape Architecture / Urbanism ), and Beacon (NACO, Netherlands Airport Consultants and Benthem Crouwel Architects) as airport consultant. KAAN Architecten’s responsibility is to hold the whole — to ensure that the parts read as one continuous narrative. “Our role as lead architect is to give a decade of work, by several authors, a shared intelligence. A building narrative: an idea drawn from the place itself, that holds across time and across hands.” — Kees Kaan, founding partner, KAAN Architecten. KAAN Architecten congratulates Paul de Ruiter Architects, LVZJA, and Beacon on their appointments and looks forward to beginning the work together. The appointment follows a European tender. Work begins this year and will unfold over the coming decade. Photo: book Grensverleggend luchthavenontwerp 1967-1975, Paul Meurs en Isabel van Lent (Schiphol on the polder) p.12 Stadsarchief Amsterdam.

A new address for KAAN Architecten France What makes us move? Why does a practice move? Often, it is the work itself. It develops and expands, and at a certain point, the space no longer supports it. That is what led us to reconsider our location in the Marais. Work in France began with the first project in Rennes in 2012. What started as initial commissions grew steadily, and in 2020, we established KAAN Architecten France. Over time, a client-oriented service office has developed into a full practice, with a dedicated team in Paris, working in close collaboration with Rotterdam on projects across the country. Our new floor sits within the former Hôtels de Montescot and de Villeflix, built in 1647 and later subdivided. The ensemble still reads as a Parisian hôtel particulier: courtyard and garden, layered traces of use, rooms that remember what they have been. Over the centuries, the buildings have housed private residences and the workshops of craftspeople connected to the neighbouring maisons de haute couture. Domestic life and productive life, quietly side by side. That is the architectural intelligence of the Marais that made us stay within the neighborhood. We look forward to continuing the work from this new address and to welcoming you in Paris. KAAN Architecten France 72 rue des Archives 75003 Paris, France #KAANArchitecten #Paris #Marais #Architecture #ArchitectureOffice #AdaptiveReuse #HistoricBuildings #HôtelParticulier

Football stadium Humberto Souto to be designed by KAAN Architecten. The Humberto Souto Municipal Stadium in Montes Claros, Minas Gerais, Brazil is envisioned as a public football stadium with a capacity of approximately 20,000 seats. The programme will bring together training facilities, official competitions, youth academies, and spaces for cultural and social events. The project defines the ambition for a civic building that extends beyond football, accommodating concerts and cultural outdoor activities in and around the stadium. In this way, it will contribute to a broader public landscape, supporting a wide range of uses throughout the year. Renata Gilio, Associate Partner and General Director at KAAN Architecten, notes: “We approach this stadium as part of a larger civic landscape, shaped with clarity and care. By building with the existing terrain and climate, we aim for a minimal, passive approach that reduces impact while enhancing comfort. Beyond the football stadium, the project expands Montes Claros's green belt and future park and creates a place for everyday use, culture, and social exchange.” Client: City of Montes Claros, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Collaborators: TRIPTYQUE, ARH Consulting, Alexandre Gustavo Vieira, Estudio Vaca, Intertechne

A year of growth at The Stack in Amsterdam North! It is rewarding to see how The Stack in Aan het IJ has settled into its place in Amsterdam North one year after completion. The green spaces have developed over time, with planting maturing and the communal garden becoming a natural part of residents’ daily lives. The urban plan defined two distinct volumes with a central green space between them. Today, this landscape has expanded, framed by private terraces and directly accessible from the entrances. The green character shapes the neighbourhood’s atmosphere, while the placement of the buildings defines both public urban spaces and more intimate communal interiors. Aan het IJ introduces a new living and working environment for the city, with a strong urban identity. The area is part of the larger Overhoeks transformation. The Stack, designed by KAAN Architecten, forms part of Geurst & Schulze architecten’s 2003 vision, bringing together 120 apartments across two interconnected villas. The development of this new neighbourhood continues to unfold, with an increasing number of residents bringing it to life. Discover more about the project: https://lnkd.in/e_jfgUkn Photos by Sebastian van Damme