UNS updates design created in the 1990s for a new era

The Valkhof Museum in Nijmegen has officially reopened this week, following a renovation led by Tenderstream member UNS. Queen Máxima attended the opening ceremony on June 4th, meeting with architects, designers, and artists involved in the transformation. Originally designed by UNS in 1995 and completed in 1998, the building has been reimagined for a new era, one in which the museum functions as a cultural destination, as well as a meeting place in the heart of the city.

The renovation presented a particular challenge: revisiting, rather than replacing, a building that UNS itself had designed nearly thirty years earlier. The ambition was to identify what made the original design distinctive and to reinforce it. Two new entrances have opened up the building, with one connecting the ground floor and basement, bringing daylight down to the lower level. The other, between the restoration workshop and the museum shop, allows visitors to see how artefacts are studied and restored. The façade is now entirely glazed, flooding the interior with natural light and creating a visual connection between the square and the exhibits within.

Inside, the multifunctional staircase has been animated using bold colour, which has also improved accessibility by increasing visibility and walkability. The basement is now dedicated to the permanent collection, while the upper floor is used for temporary exhibitions. This layout allows visitors to move through the museum in a continuous loop. The cafe, previously tucked to the rear, now sits at the front of the building, visible from the square outside and opening onto a new exterior terrace. At the back, the educational spaces sit alongside a new auditorium. 

Ben van Berkel, founder and principal architect at UNS stated: “Returning to a building you designed 30 years ago is an incredible experience for an architect. You have to be honest about what worked, decisive about what needs to be updated, and disciplined enough not to simply replace the familiar with the new. The renovation of the Valkhof Museum gave us the rare opportunity to rethink what we started — and to design with the next 30 years, and beyond, firmly in mind.”

Lucy Nordberg
Tenderstream Head of Research

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