On Tuesday 16 May, Queen Máxima opened the new Van Gogh Village Museum. This happened in the presence of several hundred guests. Director Simone van der Heiden proudly showed the Queen the new museum in the center of Nuenen.

Van Gogh Village Museum highlights the painter’s personal and artistic development that led to his first masterpiece The Potato Eaters. Queen Máxima also visited Vincent’s Light Lab, which focuses on the effect of color and light. At the end of her visit, the Queen, together with the director and 200 volunteers, posed in front of the new museum (photo: Bart Verkuijlen)

Diederendirrix has been working on the renovation of the museum since 2019. We realized the building in close cooperation with Banbouw. The design is a contemporary longitudinal farmhouse as a reference to a farm that stood at this spot in the 19th century. Design agency Van Eijk & van der Lubbe designed the central reception area, including the coffee corner and shop. Tinker Imagineers designed the exhibitions and Bruns produced the exhibition materials.

The renovation and expansion of the museum has been realized thanks to grants from, among others, the province of North Brabant and contributions from funds and certificate holders.

The Archeologisch Depot Nijmegen and the Archeologisch Depot Gelderland will be merged. The existing building on the Nieuwe Dukenburgseweg no longer meets the needs and wishes of today and is therefore being expanded with a new entrance building and depot. This creates the largest archaeological treasure house in the Netherlands: het Archeologisch Depot Nijmegen en provincie Gelderland.

The three-storey new building consists of a compact, efficient depot building against an entrance, office and reception building. The depot provides high-quality storage and management of the collection according to the building physics concept of the Pausebox®. The counterpart of the closed depot building is the more transparent three-layer office volume in which all processing of the material to be deposited can take place in a professional, pleasant working climate.

We are endlessly fascinated by the archive photos of archaeological excavations, in which the special graphic power and color palette of excavated layers is intersected by straight cuts and sections, provided with markings and measurements in the archaeological field research. We make the facade as if it were a ground section; a gradation of different colors of masonry in varying connections and varied jointing. In these facades we make small showcases in a free composition, scattered over the facade. The display cases show the unearthed treasures as small glimpses into the depot to visitors and passers-by.

The new depot is part of the major urban area transformation of Winkelsteeg into a lively residential area, in which greening and biodiversity of the existing context are also of great importance in creating a climate-proof urban living environment.

After an intensive tender process, the municipality of Nijmegen and the province of Gelderland selected the plan of Giesbers, diederendirrix, Croes, Peutz and Bink as the winner. The DO and the environmental permit application are currently being worked out. Construction is planned to start around the summer of 2023.

As a design and engineering firm, we have the ambition to achieve a circular and inclusive construction practice. That is why diederendirrix and bureauEAU have joined Cirkelstad Eindhoven as of 2023.

Cirkelstad is a platform for any organization that wants to be informed about circular construction. The goal is to accelerate the transition to cities without waste. To achieve this, Cirkelstad is building an ecosystem of public and private parties to develop, unlock and share knowledge.

We see design (diederendirrix) and structural engineering (bureauEAU) as a two-unit. In new construction and redevelopment projects, we offer an integrated approach that leads to feasible sustainable solutions at an early stage. Our designs are timeless and open to dynamic use in the future. We create a responsible built environment through well-considered use of materials and energy-efficient construction methods.

The office in Eindhoven is our main location. The city will face a huge densification task in the coming years. We believe that we can help the city of Eindhoven to make the right choices for the future together with Cirkelstad. Participating in Cirkelstad is a logical next step in the development process for us.

We look forward to several inspiring meetings planned for this year with producers, consultants, developers, clients, builders, and designers: together we will close the circle!

The Eindhoven city council has appointed partner and creative director Rob Meurders as chairman of the Spatial Quality Committee (CRK) as of 1 June. In this way, together with a multidisciplinary team, he will contribute to stimulating and safeguarding the spatial ambitions of the city and the Brainport region.

The CRK advises the municipality on the integral quality of the residential and living environment. She advises on urban planning, public space, cultural history and monuments and the design of buildings.

Rob has been working at diederendirrix since 1999 and has been a partner since 2018. He has extensive experience in advisory committees, including for the municipality of Nijmegen, where he is currently also chairman of the RKT Spoorzone.

Last week the Yearbook Architecture in the Netherlands 2021/2022 by NAi010 publishers was presented in Het Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam. The editors of the Yearbook #35 consist of Teun van den Ende (founder Werkplaats Erfgoed, independent researcher, writes for, among others, Vers Beton and is a consultant in spatial policy), Uri Gilad (co-founder and partner Office Winhov) and Arna Mačkić (co-founder of studio L A and winner of the Young Maaskant Prize 2017). The twenty-six projects in the yearbook have been selected from the more than 180 entries because, according to the editors, they can stimulate the conversation about architecture.

“The question often arose as to whether an architect can still make a difference, since his power is limited. Today’s unruly practice requires exceptional craftsmanship, expertise, or simply persistence and persuasiveness. Which of these properties are used by architects and what are the benefits? And how can clients, policy makers, developers, contractors and residents help make a difference together? If any conclusion emerged from the discussions, it is that architects desperately need these ‘enablers’, hence: Time to talk.”

The renovation of ‘t Karregat in Eindhoven fits in well with the Time to talk theme. The redesign for the existing building was made in collaboration with architecten|en|en. The building has been renovated with respect for the original design by architect Van Klingeren and the original color scheme by artist Van Soest. In close consultation with the owners (municipality, supermarket) and users (primary school, childcare, library and supermarket operator), the building has been given a different layout. Together with the technical advisors and the contractor, the building construction from 1973 has been carefully adapted to the current building physics requirements. With the renovation, ‘t Karregat is once again fulfilling its old promise as the radiant center of the district in the present.

Architecture in the Netherlands Yearbook 2021/2022 is now for sale.

The afternoon of March 31, we braved rain and snow with our colleagues from diederendirrix and bureauEAU to visit the construction of De Gebroeders in Eindhoven. Although they are two different complexes, it is visible that the blocks are ‘family’ due to the masonry and wood use. The homes are expected to be completed in early July. The location is fantastic, the PSV stadium can be seen from different apartments, and from the roof terrace you can see a beautiful skyline of StrijpS, with projects by diederendirrix and bureauEAU!

Partner and director of business development Theo Hauben has been appointed as a member of the BNA Members’ Council for three years. All office members of the BNA could vote for one of the thirty-seven candidates.

The Members’ Council is the supervisory body of the association. The Council is involved in the preparation of the strategic policy, supervises the board and approves the policy plan and annual reports. The twenty-four delegates of the Members’ Council together form a reflection of the membership of the BNA. Members of the Council are appointed for three years and can stand for re-election once.

‘t Karregat has won the Dirk Roosenburg Award 2021!  ‘A project that transcends the discussion about beautiful or ugly. In other words: not a particularly ‘beautiful’ project, but an inspiring project’, according to the jury.

The audience award for the Dirk Roosenburg Award was won by DomusDela. Both projects were developed in collaboration with architecten|en|en.

The biennial prize aims to contribute to improving the quality of the built environment. Not only the quality of the design counts, but also how it contributes to the experience and usability of the city and the identity of Eindhoven.

On Friday September 24, 2021, the Henri van Abbepenning was awarded to DomusDela. This prize is awarded every two years by the Henri van Abbe Foundation to a person or institution that means a lot to historical heritage in Eindhoven. The award was already in 2020, but due to corona it could only be handed over now. Diederendirrix developed the plan for DomusDela together with architecten|EN|EN. Both Bert Dirrix and Edzo Doeve (DomusDela) said they were very honored.

Bert Dirrix called the award ‘a nice acknowledgment’ for continuing on this path. “Because a compliment from a good friend is nice, but an award from the Van Abbe Foundation… that has a completely different impact.“

Supermarket Lidl in ‘t Karregat has been chosen as the most beautiful supermarket in the Netherlands 2020! The winning supermarket is located in ‘t Karregat, a building which is recently renovated by diederendirrix and architects|EN|EN.

The award is an initiative of professionals with supermarket and real estate backgrounds. Therefor the focus is not just the supermarket but especially the building itself. Because of the daylight which falls through the transparent facades and through the glass pyramids on the roof, the shopping is ‘very pleasant’ according to the jury. The jury is also ‘impressed by this form of sustainability, where the zeitgeist of the early seventies is fully integrated with the requirements of the supermarkets fifty years later. The building has been given a second life’.