April 24, 2022
On the 22nd of April architect Serge Schoemaker and theater producer Femme Hammer, the initiators and driving force behind the renovation and reuse of Fort Hoofddorp, were awarded the Pieter van Vollenhoven Prize. The ceremony took place in Fort Hoofddorp and was personally presented by the former chairman of the National Restoration Fund, Pieter van Vollenhoven.
March 9, 2022
In the Dutch town of Lijnden, on the outskirts of Amsterdam, we are realising a free standing single family house. Consisting of two interconnected volumes with pitched roofs, the proposed brick house presents a distinct, contemporary character while also searching for continuity with the surrounding residences. While the external form adapts to the scale and architectural language of the context, the overlapping volumes create a surprisingly spacious interior.
February 10, 2022
Fort Hoofddorp is the winner of the 2021 NRP Golden Phoenix Award in the category Transformation! We are honoured by this recognition and are proud to share this Dutch award with the many people that contributed to the project. The annual prize was awarded today in The Hague by Government National Architect Francesco Veenstra. “Fascinating slow architecture at its best.”
2021 NRP Golden Phoenix jury rapport
December 18, 2021
Balancing on the edge of a steep valley in the Swiss canton of St. Gallen, this house is composed of a light geometric concrete structure resting on the solid volumes of the grond floor that emerge from the hillside. The building provides space for a couple whose children have left the house, along with guest accommodation for their large extended family to gather.
September 20, 2021
Our first book publication, featuring essays from Kirsten Hannema, Hans Ibelings and Jolanthe Kugler, is out! Published by The Architecture Observer and designed by HallerBrun, the book ‘Strategic Interventions’ documents our careful transformation of the nineteenth-century Fort Hoofddorp. The interventions are captured in the photos of MWA Hart Nibbrig. Available for purchase in both Dutch and English.
September 16, 2021
Serge Schoemaker’s transformation of Fort Hoofddorp received an Honourable Mention in the ‘BNA Best Building of the Year’ competition. This annual prize celebrates the best architecture in the Netherlands. The 2021 winners were announced today by the jury of the Royal Institute of Dutch Architects (BNA) during a festive ceremony at Het HEM in Amsterdam.
August 20, 2021
Situated in the heart of the city, this seventeenth-century corner house offers views of two Amsterdam canals. At the request of the owners, the designated state monument has been modernized and made more sustainable. Serge Schoemaker Architects transformed the five-floor home into a new visual composition that enhances the historical qualities of this remarkable building to the full.
May 26, 2021
For over 30 years ‘Architecture in the Netherlands’ has provided an indispensable overview of Dutch architecture for everyone with a professional or more general interest in the subject. The Yearbook is the international showcase for Dutch architecture. Published by nai010 publishers, the 2020-2021 edition features one of our recent projects: the transformation of Fort Hoofddorp.
January 30, 2021
Since the 1990s the former warehouses along the Entrepothaven in Amsterdam have been repurposed for living space. We converted an existing maisonette inside ‘Dinsdag’, a nineteenth-century warehouse, into a comfortable and stylish urban apartment. The result is an oasis of calm in a vibrant residential neighbourhood. A consistently applied palette of colours and materials unites the two floors into a single architectonic composition.
December 6, 2020
Aalsmeer town council last week approved a change of its local zoning plan, paving the way for the transformation of Fort Kudelstaart into a vibrant and pioneering venue for water sports. Serge Schoemaker Architects, the design office working on the scheme, is responsible for the definitive master plan. The World Heritage Site is situated along the West End Lakes, which makes it a perfect base for water sport activities.
September 30, 2020
Fort Hoofddorp has been nominated for the Dutch ‘Interior of the Year 2020’ award by the jury of Architectenweb. The award nomination is a beautiful recognition for all who worked on this transformation project. Jury statement: “The process from the first design up to completion took a decade and did not always go smoothly; the jury has great respect for the tenacity of the architect.”
September 15, 2020
Fort Hoofddorp has been nominated for the ARC20 Architecture Award. The fort has been partly restored and partly left untouched. We designed sleek new additions and integrated them carefully, consciously preserving the historical details and distinctive atmosphere. Our approach sets up a lively dialogue between past and present, with both entities enhancing each other.
September 3, 2020
Exhibition ‘Contemporary Heritage’ at Galerie De Meerse in Hoofddorp deals with heritage as chance for the future. The exhibition showcases among other things, photos, models and drawings of Fort Hoofddorp. It is a visual documentation of ten years of work. Organised by Podium voor Architectuur, to be seen until the 30th of October.
May 31, 2020
The process of redeveloping and converting Fort Hoofddorp took a decade. Some 8,100 m2 in size, the world heritage site has been transformed into an urban park with space for a restaurant as well as cultural and educational activities. Serge Schoemaker Architects tackled the landscape, architecture and interior in an integral manner, fusing past and present into a new entity.
May 1, 2020
Last one and a half years, video production company 5gradenoost has been following us during the renovation of the UNESCO fort island in Hoofddorp. The full documentary video on the transformation of Fort Hoofddorp will be launched later this year, but you can already enjoy this short trailer: ‘Hoofddorp Fort Island – Opening soon’.
April 21, 2020
The coronavirus pandemic is affecting businesses in a variety of ways. Dutch centre for architecture Podium voor Architectuur in Hoofddorp interviewed Serge Schoemaker on doing business during the current pandemic: What are the consequences of the crisis for SSA? How to benefit from this situation? And: what’s next?
January 25, 2020
The renovated fort island in Hoofddorp will open for public Summer 2020 – ten years after Serge Schoemaker made the first sketches for the redevelopment of the Dutch defence structure. Our design transforms the 8’100 square metre world heritage site into a public park, encompassing among others a restaurant, a small open air theater and a wild garden.
November 30, 2019
Alley of Light by Serge Schoemaker Architects & DigiLuce opened at the renown Lugano Arte e Culturale (LAC), today. The LAC art center is one of Switzerland’s most important cultural institutions, dedicated to the visual arts, music and the performing arts. LAC showcases Alley of Light on its front square, Piazza Bernardino Luini, from December 2, 2019 to January 6, 2020.
April 30, 2019
This series of landscape objects in the province of Antwerp is designed to enhance the quality of the walking area around the ‘Grote Gracht’, to the east of the Belgian municipality of Retie. Serge Schoemaker Architects interpreted the rich local agricultural history with a poetic, minimalist design which is at the same time functional in character.
December 5, 2018
Our minimalist light installation Transmission is currently on display in Amsterdam as part of the 7th edition of the Amsterdam Light Festival. The floating installation consists of nineteen lines made of Plexiglas that respond architecturally to the festival theme ‘The medium is the message’. The light artwork can be visited at Westerdok until January 20, 2019.
October 25, 2018
With the rise in both land prices and numbers of people working from home, high-quality insulated garden studios have become a big trend. In Hoofddorp, Serge Schoemaker Architects used limited architectural means to design a sleek multifunctional garden studio. The result is a small and versatile structure, in which exterior and interior are one.