Netherlands Architecture Institute
Jo Coenen
Compact Urban Ensemble
The commission for the Architecture Institute – after a competition that was limited to six firms – marked the start of Coenen's international recognition.
The institute is conceived as an ensemble of relatively autonomous architectural elements, which are above all important as a whole. They transform what used to be an amorphous gap in the city into a piece of compact, significant urban design.
Jo Coenen
The institute comprises four main components with different functions:
- the banana-shaped concrete archive building as a new wall for the south side of Rochussenstraat 2. a box-shaped, brick-covered exhibition hall as a pendant to the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen opposite
- a transparent (glass and steel) block on a series of columns for the library and administration, overhung by an enormous steel canopy that turns it into a landmark
- a socle (concrete in combination with glass and glass bricks) that accommodates a café and lecture room as well as placing the NAi on a pedestal. The moat and bridge over it make an essential contribution to the monumental quality of this complex.
Jo Coenen
Jo Coenen
Jo Coenen
Jo Coenen
Jo Coenen
Jo Coenen
Jo Coenen
Jo Coenen
Jo Coenen
Jo Coenen
Jo Coenen
Jo Coenen
Jo Coenen
Jo Coenen