This thesis responds to the brief of the miscarried 2021 competition for a new architecture and archive center for the VAi (Vlaams Architectuurinstituut). Instead of placing the archive in an existing century old church in Berchem, as proposed in the competition, this project reuses existing infrastructures - both built and institutional. Now, the project is situated in deSingel, an international art campus located on the fringes of Antwerp, where the current offices and exhibition spaces of the VAi are situated.

The project proposes a “strategic reuse and densification” of DeSingel to clarify and intensify its spatial logic through two phases (phase 1: densification and phase 2: strategic reuse).

First, a new 5,500 m² volume is added at the southeast edge of the site, adjacent to the terraces. It houses the main archive depot along public-facing programs such as a new restaurant, a reading room, office spaces and a seminar room for the different publics of deSingel. The second phase consists of a series of smaller interventions that repair the existing circulation loops and enhance the continuity and legibility of the West-East axis. This renewed axis connects the new archive in the East to the West by distributing the functions of the VAi along that line. Accordingly, a new entrance is created on the western side. Further along the promenade toward the East, exhibition spaces are reintroduced in the southern corridors, leading to the newly added volume, which redefines the end of this promenade architecturale by transforming a former dead end into a new interior crossroad.

The project offers a dual benefit: it addresses circulation issues while defining a previously underused area. At the same time, it engages with the existing context by reusing elements of the deSingel program (Black Hall, Offices, Library, Exhibition Corridor).
In this way, the project becomes a dialogue between the new and the old.

Between modernity and the present stakes.

In the interiors, the materiality reinforces this conversation. The existing exposed aggregate concrete walls, designed by modernist architect Léon Stynen, are layered with a new rammed earth core for the depot storage. Both materials convey a sense of mass, but in the context of an archive, rammed earth offers additional benefits over concrete: providing thermal mass and natural humidity control.

The graduation project of the studio "Interiors Buildings Cities 24/25" resembles a potential extension of the Art Campus DeSingel, located in Antwerp, Belgium accommodating the VAi. The design proposal represents an innovative and creative manner to identify the notion of archiving and displaying. Repairing the dialog between Léon Stynen and Stéphane Beel is thus one of the main strategies in order to re-establish a new connection between archive materials from the VAi and the city of Antwerp. By bringing people in, archives are brought on a display to the public and the urban corner of DeSingel is activated.

This graduation project proposes a building design as a solution for the relocation of the Flanders Architecture institute. The institute collects, stores and shares the archives of Flemish architects and have a mission to be pro-active in their interactions with the public. The VAi has been wanting to relocate their entire institute to art campus DeSingel, located on the edge of Antwerp’s city center. In this new building, they want to house both their public and private functions; a storage depot, processing ateliers, public spaces and offices. This design reconsiders the dichotomy of public and private the VAi deals with in their policy and architecture. Concepts like nature-inclusive design, sustainability, identity and representation are key in the proposed design, which comprises the addition of a new building wing to the existing volume of DeSingel. Furthermore, a landscape design including a large pond -a restoration of DeSingel’s original pond, is proposed.

The VAi (Flanders Architecture institute) is in urgent need of a new archival building in Antwerp, Belgium. This project is about designing that very building, and explores how an archive can become more public and take on a stronger role in the city.

The Flanders Institute of Architects (VAi) collection in Antwerp has outgrown its current building in the city’s historical center, which no longer meets the needs of the collection, staff, or public visibility. VAi is exploring the possibility of relocating and uniting with its counterpart, the VAi office, at deSingel—a modernist cultural campus designed by Leon Stynen and expanded by Stephan Beel. Currently home to multiple institutions, including the Royal Conservatorium and deSingel Art Campus, this fragmented site on the city’s outskirts offers an opportunity to reimagine its state.

The design proposal aims to reorganize, adapt, and extend deSingel, enhancing the performance of this cultural campus, respecting its architectural qualities, and integrating a 4,000m² architectural archive with its affiliated programs.

The project juxtaposes the site's conditions with the vision for a contemporary archive. It was about finding alignment between the two and balancing the necessary compromises. The design borrows features from the existing building while also giving qualities back. It is about asserting a clear identity for the VAi and fostering integration within deSingel’s existing ensemble.

i designed a 180m-long bridge building and a compact, integrated archive volume. academically, i explored a space type that extends public interiors into landscape and infrastructure. it requires imagination across city and spatial detail scales.
socially, i created a visionary infrastructure. as an extension of the original spatial spine, it reconnects parcels separated by roads and opens up new axial possibilities.
its translucent volume expresses an open archiving attitude. its position avoids altering the front of deSingel, respecting collective memory. at the same time, it confronts car-dominant infrastructures and expresses urban spatial justice.

The Stockholm City Library project involves refurbishing and extending the building, incorporating nearby Annex buildings, Observatory Hill and the city itself. Inspired by Gunnar Asplund’s design principles—spatial harmony, material quality, and poetic expression—the project honors the library’s role as a cultural landmark and storytelling space that resonates across cultures. Drawing on Sweden’s values of political neutrality, hospitality, and cultural inclusivity, it aims to create spaces that welcome minority communities, immigrants, and diverse narratives.

The intervention is organised into four key components: the enhancement and extension of a bazaar area, including the creation of two new courtyard gardens; the refurbishment of the existing library with new, light-filled covered spaces; new functions to the Annex building, connected to the library via an underground passage; and the addition of a dedicated storytelling room with a cloister, creating a unified space that bridges both buildings with an outdoor garden. The design reflects the evolving role of modern libraries as community hubs where people feel a sense of belonging and connection, addressing social isolation by fostering communal interactions. Drawing inspiration from traditional living rooms—where art and decor often narrate cultural stories—the project establishes a platform for storytelling and knowledge exchange.

Ultimately, this project seeks to restore the library’s historic character while introducing new architectural elements that harmonise the Library, Annexes, Hill, and the surrounding cityscape, enhancing infrastructure and creating welcoming spaces that celebrate community narratives.

The project “Other Traditions” explores diverse knowledge systems, emphasizing oral traditions and ecological knowledge exchanges. Set in Stockholm, Sweden, the project focuses on the Stockholm City Library, a significant architectural landmark, and its surrounding areas, including Observatory Hill. The initiative addresses three key issues: optimizing library spaces for informal meetings, creating inclusive spaces for minority groups, particularly refugees, and enhancing biodiversity.
The project proposes connecting the library with a nearby annex using small workrooms, creating an urban forest as a living laboratory, and incorporating culturally resonant spaces like the Qa’a for storytelling and language learning. The urban forest expansion aligns with Stockholm’s environmental goals, enhancing air quality and providing leisure space. The design integrates with the local landscape, ensuring accessibility and monumentality, while also respecting the historical significance of the site.

The Stockholm City Library, designed by Erik Gunnar Asplund and completed around 1928, sits just outside the bustling center of Stockholm. The design task was to adapt or add to the existing building, in a way that it’s to meet the needs of a modern public library in Sweden. My design proposal emphasizes the relationship with the surroundings, as the building is nestled between a park and the city. I carefully consider what’s already there, what works well, and what needs adaptation. While the current building holds significant historical value, it presents a somewhat monumental, static appearance. To accommodate modern library functions, such as maker spaces and lecture spaces, I propose an additional building next to the Stockholm City Library. This addition would allow for a more flexible and modern design while respecting the historical and architectural significance of existing buildings on the site, such as the three annex buildings and the bazaar. The new design functions primarily as a
separate building, contrasting with the existing Stockholm City Library. While the current library, with its high-placed windows and monumental appearance, creates a separation from its surroundings, my building aims to be open and welcoming. It sees the library as an integral
part of the city and local community, blurring the boundary between where the library starts and ends. These contrasting buildings will complement each other, with one representing the traditional library, and the other emphasizing the role and needs of the modern library. I drew inspiration from Asplund’s earlier design proposals and the existing bazaar which connects the library with the city. I also borrowed some features from the existing library. In my design, I repeated the visual motif of the Stockholm City Library’s base (bazaar). However, my building is intended to be less imposing than the monumentality of the original Stockholm City Library. Hereby, the monumentality of the existing building is kept or even strengthened, while it keeps
functioning as an institute of knowledge for the city. The new addition enhances the connection between the park and the city, while also providing a sense of belonging, focusing on the importance of the library for the local community.

The protagonist of this year’s graduation studio is the Stockholm City Library. It was deesigned by famous Scandinavian architect Erik Gunnar Asplund (1885-1940) and opened in the spring of 1928. It is a modernist building located in Vasastaden, a very diverse neighbourhood on the Northern Island of Sweden’s capital Stockholm.

The graduation studio, organised by the group Interiors Buildings Cities, started on the premise of two failed competitions that were written out for the Stockholm City library. The project aims to reintegrate the Library into the urban fabric and the city life of Stockholm. It does this by bringing the Bazaar into the building, creating a public, inviting route on the level of Svaevägen Street, and connecting this central city axis to a lowered square that finishes the route throughout the building. While following this public route, the visitor can go up to more focused areas within the library and discover its beautifully kept reading room and Rotunda centrepiece.

The aim is to create a library that not only allows for the individual consumption of knowledge but also facilitates the exchange of knowledge between the inhabitants and visitors of Stockholm.

The Observatory Hill forms a cohesive ensemble with the City Library and its three Annex volumes. The new extension aims to unify the ensemble formed by the Stockholm City Library, the Annexes, and the Stockholm School of Economics into a collective campus. This integration strengthens the educational significance of the site and enhances the monumentality of the library within its urban context.

The project acknowledges the Library’s existing structure and its recent additions, introducing a contemporary layer that complements the original design. By reinforcing the established architectural elements, the extension bridges the site’s constraints through the introduction of a continuous roof assembly, a decentralised reading hall and a methodical colonnade, creating a harmonious link between the different volumes.

These features are designed to expand the library's current offerings, creating a more dynamic and versatile environment. The sectional organization of the space introduces a linear pathway that extends from the Rotunda of the existing library into the mezzanine of the new addition, effectively bridging the library’s existing functions with the newly integrated spaces.

As a complex public institution that accommodates life and architecture at different scales, the Stockholm Public Library was the focal point for the studio this year. Around the turn of the century, libraries were confronted with increased digitalisation, privatisation of public space and questions about their role in society. The institution has gradually transformed - from a place dedicated to lending books to a complex public space that promotes inclusivity and diversity.

The starting point of the studio is the architectural competition launched in 2006, which sought the expansion of the Library and the possibility of a renewed urban strategy. The challenge then became addressing the identity of the monumental building and the integration of a wide range of programmes, as well as discussing and embracing issues of equality and multiculturalism.

The graduation project aims to extend Asplundhuset, by enhancing existing qualities and connecting the detached, the library and its closest annex. To facilitate a connection between the buildings, a delicate intervention is added, a screen that is able to negotiate the differences between the two buildings, as well as act as a filter between the street and Observatory Hill.

Internally, the intervention aims to relieve unbalanced spaces that are housing several functions that are colliding with each other, allowing for continuity and accessibility. Embracing the challenging aspects of all the different activities that can take place in the library, the proposal is looking at carefully introducing a generous range of social spaces as well as individual ones, contributing to the overall complexity of the institution - a complexity that can rarely be found in the more dispersed and fragmented spaces in the city. Overall, the addition would be valuable in establishing a compelling and logical portrayal of the Public Library as a uniquely inclusive space.

The "Right to the City [Library]" project aims to expand and modernize the historic Stockholm Public Library, designed by Gunnar Asplund and completed in 1927. This initiative addresses challenges posed by digitization and evolving library roles while preserving the building's architectural heritage, creating a welcoming, accessible space that respects Asplund's design and introduces versatile areas.

Located in the Vasastaden neighborhood, the Stockholm Public Library is known for its unique atmosphere and architectural features, especially the rotunda. As Stockholm’s first public library, it was modeled after American libraries where patrons could freely access books. Today, it is a cultural landmark.

However, the library's current design no longer meets modern spatial and functional needs. The extension project, informed by research into Asplund’s work and contemporary library design principles, aims to create an inclusive space that fosters intellectual growth. By restoring the library’s relationship with the city, the design seeks to counteract the imposing nature of the original structure, promoting accessibility and community engagement. This aligns with Henri Lefebvre's idea of "The Right to the City," where urban spaces are designed for and by the people.

The design process ensured a harmonious connection with the existing library while introducing new functional spaces, resulting in three primary components: the hallway, the stairs, and the observatory.

The Hallway: This transition and circulation space links various parts of the library, facilitating movement and access.

The Stairs: A complex set of interior and exterior stairs enhances connectivity between the library, observatory, and hill, integrating the new addition with Asplund’s design and connecting the library to Stockholm.

The Observatory: Mediating between the rotunda and the hill, the observatory provides additional library space. The reading room at the top contrasts with the grand, introspective rotunda of the original library, designed to be intimate and outward-facing with eye-level views. The design emphasizes a domestic, inviting atmosphere, embodying the idea that everyone has the right to be part of the library's community.

The extension increases the library’s usable floor area by 6630 square meters, including more educational and group study spaces, an auditorium, a café, and back-of-house facilities. The observatory's reading rooms provide panoramic views, creating a more inviting and accessible environment than the original library's formal reading spaces.

Using local materials like granite and ceramic ensures the extension's durability and aesthetic harmony with the existing building. This thoughtful blend of old and new addresses modern needs while respecting the Stockholm Public Library's historical value, creating a more inclusive and versatile environment that enhances the site's overall coherence.

Stockholm Public Library, as a library from the 1920s, pioneered the use of architectural elements such as the Rotunda and open bookshelves, which softened the oppressive nature of traditional library architecture at that time. It embraced a humanistic approach, fostering a sense of active participation and community vitality among its visitors. However, after a century, the original library's space and knowledge dissemination methods are no longer sufficient to meet the diverse needs of society. This project, based on a failed competition held in 2006 for the expansion and renovation of the library and the advisory brief proposed in 2014 based on the 2006 competition, explores the new social functional positioning and service direction of the library in the face of a multicultural audience and is rooted in the unique political and cultural context of Stockholm. Considering the real conditions of the site and the developmental needs, the project aims to construct a new library to make a supplement of the existing library. It will encompass diverse functional spaces such as an Immersive E-media room, a multilingual reading room, and an urban activity lounge to cater to a variety of audiences. The design also involves the transformation and activation of the overground plaza and underground spaces, facilitating communication and connection between the new and old libraries. The goal is to create an interactive entity that radiates into the urban space.

The Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp (M HKA), is in search of a new building. Influenced by the anti-museum philosophy of the ICC, M HKA aspires to integrate itself into a network of regional museums while concurrently positioning itself within a broader global context. The institution has identified a promising site within a suburban neighbourhood in Antwerp, strategically positioned between the Scheldt quays and the city park, the site commands a central and strategic position, seamlessly connecting two crucial urban spaces.

Recognizing the global trend towards the increased need for financial independence among museums, M HKA is adapting its approach to ensure long-term sustainability. This adaptation involves enhancing visitor experiences and diversifying revenue streams while maintaining to enricht cultural engagement.

The redesign of the museum is informed by this growing need for financial stability. Interactive displays will be integrated to facilitate visitor engagement and bridge the gap between art and the public. Additionally, the inclusion of a publicly accessible roof terrace, known as the forum, will offer panoramic views of Antwerp and can be used for a range of cultural events.

A notable architectural feature of the museum’s redesign is the suspended white cube which is exclusively dedicated to art exhibitions. The suspended construction enables the creation of unobstructed floor plans, affording significant flexibility in exhibition layout design.

By this redesign the museum seeks to inspire, educate, and engage visitors while strengthening its ties with the city of Antwerp.

Humankind has always made art. Through its appeal to the human senses, it has helped to shape the ways in which we perceive the world around us and, in its varied forms, offers a means beyond language through which we have become able to articulate our relationships with one another. Throughout the ages art and architecture were facilitators of societies’ development and transformation, of which the peak was embodied by the 19th century palaces of culture: public museums and galleries. Later, as modernity rapidly adapted the world to human needs and subsumed sublime nature within its own image, art became means of resistance. Expanding out of the studio and the gallery it moved outside, to portray and critique the relentless industrialisation against its own backdrop. Artists co-opted and adapted redundant structures left behind by the contemporary city’s rampant process of change.

The competition brief for the development of the M HKA, the contemporary art museum in Antwerp embodies many of the larger issues that arise from the forementioned shift. It emerged out of the activities of the ICC (Internationaal Cultureel Centrum), which was founded in the revolutionary spirit of the late 1960s, and had a long history of making place for itself in which an adaptation of an actual palace and an old disused office building were considered, until it finally settled in an old grain warehouse to become a full-fledged museum in 1982. The next step in its development, which is planned to move the museum into a new, purposely build location asks therefore to be consciously understood and developed. It is to be placed near the current building, as an urban figure in focus of undergoing conversion of a monumental former dock into a linear public park.

The proposal turns challenges of the competition brief: an existing building on site, the scale of the programme and limited budget into factors that generate quality. Efficiency is used to shape identity, linking to the legacy of Antwerp as a harbour city. It is a building that does not mimic the expression, but follows the logic of efficient structures for the industry. A museum that accommodates existing structure, the art, the general public, gallery visitors, and the neighbours. It creates environments, provides striking curatorial settings and versatile workspaces and does so with minimal means while fulfilling strives of the competition brief and reducing the carbon footprint. It welcomes the legacy of the M HKA as a pioneering institution that always appropriated spaces, exposes the back office to the visitors to contrast them with pristine gallery interiors, and becomes an icon by establishing its own league instead of trying to fit in. Yet it fits within the city.

MHKA, Museum of Contemporary Art in Antwerp seek to change its current building and re-establish itself on the wide arena of cultural institutions in Antwerp. Museum has a complex history, from its roots in the anti-museum of the ICC, via the “kunsthalle with a collection” up to today’s aspirations to be a part of a network of regional museums and seeking to take its place within a global context.

The layers of critique inherent in this trajectory are evident in the counterpoints established in the clients brief for the proposed museum: questions of material, abstraction, scale, and scenography underpin an oscillation between what it describes as anti-museum fascinations and technical museum requirements. Underpinning this are fundamental questions about contemporary art’s history and its relation to wider questions of culture, society and the world of art and artistic practice, embodied in its attitude to the very idea of the museum.

The MHKA's legend was built on contacts with avant- garde movements in art of the 1950s and 1960s, such as minimal and conceptual art. Their most prominent representative was Gordon Matta Clark, who worked in Antwerp at the time and whose artworks formed the foundation of the museum's current collection. Initially informal, the movement became institutionalized over time in the form of the Internationaal Cultureel Centrum (ICC), and decades later the Museum of Modern Art in Antwerp (MHKA) became its successor. The planned construction of the new museum also involves renaming the institution the Flemish Museum of Contemporary Art (VMHK).

The duality between the avant-garde past and the institutional present is an important part of the museum's identity. How does one think about the setting of the Flemish Museum of Contemporary Art in a way that respects its critical history and context in which it operates?

The museum institution, despite the drastic changes that happened in its understanding over the centuries, was always directly connected with the concept of archivization. The following work is an attempt to draw attention that this tendency has significant negative aspects related to a particular model of thinking about the concept of a contemporary art museum. It aims to be understood as a manifesto; an architectural provocation that questions the existing guidelines in thinking about the institutions that focus on art of today. Although, it is not a criticism of a concept of archive itself, it tries to point out substantial democratic values that seem to be lost due to the above tendency. Due to the Derridian theory of deconstructivism, the human endeavour to archive is extensively rooted into our existence. It is an artificial attempt to tame a fear of loss, a civilizational mechanism to preserve the presence and a cultural product aimed to create the collective memory. Although, over the course of ages the ethicality of archivization was not a subject of question, nowadays it is evident that this matter is inextricably connected with politics and social conditions. Understanding the role that the archive plays in creating a historical context and that it provides an effective reference point for the work of both artists and art historians, the thesis challenges the global practice of understanding museums as institutions primarily storing the past. Taking as its subject the relatively young institution of the Flemish Museum of Contemporary Art, the work suggests a new conception of the archive as a place that is primarily a transcript of contemporary trends in art. Simultaneously, following the anti-museum theory, it proposes a new vision for the museum as an open habitat, an organic catalyst of the present and a transparent institution that brings together both resident artists and the international community.