Serge Schoemaker Architects

Amsterdam Coopery Museum transformed into school

May 21, 2023

The former Coopery Museum in Amsterdam is an extension to the Mill of Sloten, a polder mill and provincial monument. Economic conditions forced the museum to close its doors in 2020. It turned out to be the perfect building to house the Democratic School Amsterdam, which was looking for new accommodation. The school invited Serge Schoemaker Architects to design the crowdfunded museum conversion, which has been completely executed by volunteers.

Democratic School Amsterdam

Work in progress: a light installation for Fort Hoofddorp

April 13, 2023

In close collaboration with artist Siba Sahabi, we developed a proposal for a permanent light installation in the canal of Fort Hoofddorp. The sculptural art work will be placed on the pillars of the former bridge. The design highlights the historical connection with the fort island and visualises the site’s dynamic relation with the past and present. Commissioned by the municipality of the Haarlemmermeer and supported by the Province of North Holland. To be completed 2023.

Hoofddorp interior renovation reveals hidden qualities

March 5, 2023

Serge Schoemaker Architects takes great pleasure in giving spaces an architectural character. In the process of renovating this detached house, the spaciousness of the floor plan and the tactility of the materials also became central to design. With a number of small incisive changes, the new design reveals and emphasises the hidden qualities of the house. This restraint in the use of materials has led to a simple yet elegant interior.

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New project: renovation of a 19th century state monument in Utrecht

February 15, 2023

This month, we start with the challenging renovation and conversion of a designated state monument in Utrecht, designed by Dutch architect Houtzagers. Built in 1898, the 400m2 large town house full of authentic details is part of his representative housing block at Emmalaan. Serge Schoemaker Architects will modernize the five-floor building and make it more sustainable. Construction starts in spring. To be completed 2024.

Serge Schoemaker Architects celebrates 15th anniversary

January 5, 2023

Preliminary Design for Fort Kudelstaart (1906) completed

September 16, 2022

Serge Schoemaker Architects completed the Preliminary Design for the envisioned transformation of Fort Kudelstaart. The designated state monument will be transformed into a high-quality nautical centre including a hotel, spa, restaurant, meeting spaces and cafe. To safeguard the cultural-historical values, the extension to the fort is completely integrated into the embankments and covered in earth.

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Work in progress: freestanding villa in canton St.Gallen, Switzerland

August 1, 2022

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. The two levels provide very different living conditions; enclosed and protected below and expansive and airy above.

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Architizer features Amsterdam Canal House with interview article

July 27, 2022

The online architecture platform Architizer featured our Amsterdam Canal House renovation with an interview article, this week. At the request of the owners, the designated state monument has been modernized and made more sustainable. In the interview, Serge Schoemaker talks about the initial concept of the renovation project, the challenges of working with a monument as well as our way of working. Perfect read for the summer break!

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Serge Schoemaker awarded the Pieter van Vollenhoven Prize

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: “Thanks to these people and to the many people involved who have a passion fo heritage, the monuments of our Kingdom can be preserved.”

Design for single family house in Lijnden approved by authorities

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.

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Fort Hoofddorp winner of 2021 NRP Golden Phoenix Award

February 10, 2022

Fort Hoofddorp is the winner of the 2021 NRP Golden Phoenix Award in the category Transformation! We are really honoured by this recognition. The annual prize was awarded today in The Hague by Government National Architect Francesco Veenstra: “Fascinating slow architecture at its best. The jury members showed great appreciation for this private initiative which revived this ‘hidden treasure’.”

Read jury rapport

‘Strategic Interventions’ by publisher The Architecture Observer released

October 30, 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.

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BNA Honourable Mention for transformation of Fort Hoofddorp

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.

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Completed: redevelopment of Amsterdam Canal House

July 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.

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Dutch Architecture Yearbook 2020-2021 features Fort Hoofddorp

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.

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Completed: refurbishment of Amsterdam Maisonnette

February 28, 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.

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Fort Hoofddorp nominated for 2020 Interior of the Year award

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.”

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Fort Hoofddorp nominated for ARC20 Architecture Award

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.

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Completed: redevelopment of Fort Hoofddorp (2010-2020)

May 31, 2020

The process of redeveloping and converting Fort Hoofddorp (1904) 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.

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Alley of Light on show at LAC Lugano in Switzerland

November 30, 2019

Alley of Light by Serge Schoemaker Architects & DigiLuce opened at the renown Lugano Arte e Cultura (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.

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Retie Landscape Objects in Belgium completed

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.

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