Location: Veenhuizen, Netherlands.

Architect: Atelier Kempe Thill.

Veenhuizen, a prison village in the Netherlands, was founded in the 19th century as an open reformatory for the “disorderly underclass”. However, it soon became a hermetically closed prison village, with more prisons and adjoining functions built in the surrounding region. Veenhuizen is a classicistic master plan, with city planning and architecture forming a Gesamtkunstwerk. The Crafts Centre, a cluster of buildings meant for specific crafts where prisoners were put to labour, was transformed into a museum as part of the effort to preserve the unique character of the former prison colony. The restoration of the Crafts Centre involved the strategic demolition of non-fitting building parts, with almost 40% of the existing building mass demolished. The new façade elements were added to strengthen the coherence between the buildings within the urban plan. The façade elements are part of the strategy to achieve a maximum ‘arrangement of history’. The original brickwork buildings are exposed behind the façade elements similar to a display window. The former blacksmith’s working-place was transformed into a museum, with the floor opened over the full width of the building over a length of 10 meters. The entire project is designed according to the strategy of the ‘arranged history’. The historical building complex is not simply shown, but in itself tells a story about history with the elements of architecture.

Photo credit: Ulrich Schwarz