Koen van Velsen

Architect Koen van Velsen, son of a building contractor, profoundly investigates the questions posed to him by his clients, reformulates them, and responds with unexpected answers. 

In 1997 he won the Gerrit Rietveld prize for his Museum of the University of Utrecht, and in 2002 he won the prestigious BNA Kubus prize for his entire oeuvre. 

One of his latest projects is this new entrance of a museum complex. While the original request was to simply re-design the building entrance, he found that relocating it would be key to a entirely new master plan.

Recently Van Velsen has been working on a huge plan for the Central Station of Breda, aiming to better integrate the station in the city. He was commissioned to singlehandedly design every element of the project himself, and was asked to pay special attention to how the buildings blended with their surroundings. This integrated approach can also been seen in Groot Klimmendaal, a Medical rehabilitation centre, for which he won several prizes.

Commissioning editor: Geert van de Wetering, Producer: Olivia Sophie van Leeuwen, Produced by Submarine, Femke Wolting & Bruno Felix, Commissioned by DutchDFA, Research: Liselotte Francken, Director: Noud Holtman, Camera: Pierre Rezus, Sound: Eric Leek, Editor: Noud Holtman, Colorcorrection: Maurik de Ridder, Music Sound Design: Big Orange