ARC20 INTERIOR AWARD - FELIX MERITIS

The ARC20 Interior Award was presented for the Felix Meritis project. The jury greatly appreciated the compassion with which the interior of the national monument was handled, and praised the way the architects approached multifunctionality of Felix Meritis. Sometimes when combining many different functions, things can get bogged down in uniformity and anonymity or in a disjointed cacophony. In this design, however, each room dazzles, with the renovated central stairwell serving as well trought-out breath of fresh air. Within this concept, each room was given a different degree of freedom of adaptation. As it turns out, this was a great idea, especially in relation to the strict requirements involved within a national monument. It provided a wonderful result: the new parts respect and enrich the monumental halls. The architects show bravado by making expressive, colorful choices while leaving certain parts unchanged.