Kees Kaan/Kaan Architecten

Founded by Kees Kaan, Vincent Panhuysen and Dikkie Scipio, KAAN Architecten brings together a cosmopolitan team of architects, landscape architects, urban planners and engineers, spread across their offices in Rotterdam, São Paulo and Paris.

The DNA of KAAN Architecten is based on the exchange between projects and disciplines, considered an essential driver for fostering dialogue and enriching the studio's practice. This methodology encourages a constant re-evaluation of ideas and an evolving sharing of knowledge with the various stakeholders involved in each project.

The firm’s portfolio is highly diverse, both in terms of scale and typology, ranging from urban development projects, housing, offices and retail, to cultural, institutional, healthcare and educational buildings, as well as interior architecture. KAAN Architecten also works on renovation and restoration projects. The common denominator in each project is the integration of functionality, responsibility and aesthetics in the service of users and their environments.

KAAN Architecten operates worldwide (Germany, Brazil, Spain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, etc.) and is particularly active in Belgium, most recently with the stunning renovation and extension of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp – a project that won the 2022 International Architecture Award and the European Award for Architectural Heritage Intervention in July this year. The firm has also just won a major 80,000 m² project in Brussels: the renovation of the National Bank of Belgium headquarters.

KAAN Architecten has particular expertise in concrete construction, as demonstrated in projects such as the Siesegem Crematorium in Aalst and the Institute of Molecular Sciences in Orsay, which won the “Trophée Béton” in 2019. The firm has also developed CIRCLE, an optimised concrete construction module designed in collaboration with industry partners. These prefabricated modules aim to enable faster, more sustainable and cost-effective construction. The concrete used is 100% recyclable, positioning CIRCLE as part of an environmentally conscious approach.

Kees Kaan is a professor of architecture at TU Delft and founder of the Complex Projects studio, launched in 2012, which focuses on large-scale projects characteristic of global urbanisation. Since 2019, Kees Kaan has been head of the university’s architecture department. He has also been a researcher at the Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions (AMS) since 2016. Kees Kaan frequently takes part in international conferences, juries and research groups, both in the Netherlands and abroad. Several books and exhibitions have been dedicated to his work.

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