Open Office Day Lecture | Reframing the existing

How do you work with a building that already exists? What does it mean to transform a monument, a museum, or a piece of urban infrastructure: to add to it, conceal yourself within it, or make it do something new?

This lecture by Antony Laurijsen, Associate Partner at KAAN Architecten, draws on almost 40 years of the office’s practice to trace an evolving approach to the transformation of existing buildings. Moving through three scales of intervention: monument, museum, and infrastructure, it presents case studies including Paleis Het Loo (Apeldoorn), the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp (KMSKA), and Central Post Rotterdam, and reflects on the decisions, constraints, and convictions that have shaped each project.

The lecture takes place within KAAN Architecten’s Open Office afternoon (13:00 – 16:00). Registered guests are welcome to arrive earlier to explore the office, browse KAAN publications, and visit the models and archival materials on display. Capacity is limited. Registration is free but required.