Date: September - December 2021
Course: MSc1, Heritage and Architecture TU Delft
Rethinking Zonnehof
Renovation and Extension of Rietveld’s Zonnehof Kunsthal
The Zonnehof Pavilion in Amersfoort is one of the earliest public “Kunsthallen” in the Netherlands. Designed by Gerrit Rietveld in 1959 as a follow-up to his pavilions in Venice (1954) and Park Sonsbeek in Arnhem (1955), the building represents a key moment in Dutch modernist architecture. Despite its central location, the pavilion has gradually lost its role as an urban landmark and remains partially neglected today.
This project proposes the revaluation of the Zonnehof Pavilion and its surrounding square, transforming it into an active cultural and social environment. The ambition is to reconnect the building with public life and to cultivate an open artistic community that extends beyond the museum walls.
It feels important to note that, since 2021, I have grown increasingly critical of modern and contemporary art museums and their often sterile modernist architectures. Nevertheless, this project marked the beginning of my research trajectory in museum architecture: a starting point I continue to engage with critically rather than deny.
The extension is carefully positioned and designed to enhance these qualities, bringing daylight deeper into the interior and emphasizing visual connections between different exhibition spaces.
The project reimagines the Zonnehof as a place for learning, experimentation, and knowledge production. It questions how contemporary museums can become inclusive spaces where diverse audiences feel welcome and comfortable, both inside the building and in the public space around it. To support this vision, the exhibition programme is complemented by peripheral functions such as workshops, a rooftop garden, a youth cultural centre, and a children’s museum.