Designed by Team V Architecture, The renovated House of Province of Gelderland in Arnhem (the Netherlands) has received this year the Best Building of the Year Award by the Royal Institute of Dutch Architects. The project called for the renovation of the existing building and the construction of a new extension, resulting in the creation of a sustainable and contemporary work environment while maintaining the monumental character of the original building.

“The beauty of the House of Province is how we have been able to incorporate design at every level, from the urban planning scale to the minutiae of the details”, says Jeroen van Schooten, who as architect and director of Team V Architecture is responsible for the architectural design. Photography: Jannes Linders
The design enhances the relationship between the market square and the Rhine river by means of an elevated plaza which encircles the buildings. Further connections to the public realm are created by new pedestrian routes which run across the complex, one of which passes through the new building where passers-by can see the Province at work. Links between the new building and the monumental House of the Province are made by bridges of mirrored aluminum whose reflections obscure the boundaries between building and bridge, old and new. According to Van Schooten, the bridges are exemplary of the overall design: “The House of Province surprises and connects”.
Photography: Jannes Linders
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