The renovation undertaken by UNS was guided by a clear set of objectives, including creating more space for temporary exhibitions, improving circulation and visual spaciousness throughout the building, enhancing the visitor experience and interior ambiance, and giving the museum's public functions a more prominent role within the overall composition.
“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 updating, 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 in mind.”
Ben van Berkel, Founder and Principal Architect of UNS
The “Grand Detail”
The multifunctional staircase remains the building’s organizational backbone, but it has been transformed into something bolder. The colorful steps now bring the staircase to life, while the existing wooden balustrades have been repainted on the inside, making the entire element feel like a unified whole. This intervention also improved accessibility, as the added color increased visibility and made the route easier for all visitors. At the entrance, the removal of the original lock and its replacement with a revolving door has transformed the old, narrow lobby into a spacious and bright area.
In addition, the museum's layout has been simplified. The basement now houses the permanent collection, while the upper floor is used for temporary exhibitions. This organizational change allows visitors to explore the museum in a continuous circuit, and the views of the former reservoir further enrich the experience.
The ground floor was also reorganized. The café, previously located at the rear, is now on the main façade, visible from the plaza outside and with access to a new terrace. At the rear, the educational spaces are located next to a new auditorium. Both spaces can be opened up and used together, with a shared area between them, creating a clearer relationship between the café and the learning spaces.
Two additional openings have made the building more open and easier to navigate. At the rear of the museum, a passageway connects the ground floor to the basement, allowing natural light to illuminate the lower level. The other, between the restoration workshop and the museum shop, allows visitors to observe how the pieces are studied and restored. The result is a building that the public can use, not just visit. This openness is reinforced by the façade: previously partially closed, now fully glazed, flooding the interior with natural light and creating a direct visual connection between the plaza and the exhibitions.
“The museum has not only been physically renovated; we have also redefined what a museum can be today. It is a place where unexpected connections are discovered and where history engages in dialogue with the present.”
Hedwig Saam, Director of the Valkhof Museum
Edit rather than add
Sustainability was addressed through precision rather than addition. Working with a carefully managed budget, UNS and the project team prioritized conservation and selective enhancement over complete replacement. Therefore, the 30-year-old façade was carefully dismantled, the insulation removed and replaced with a higher-performance alternative, while the original glass panels were cleaned and reinstalled. In the main public spaces, the distinctive undulating suspended ceiling was replaced with PET felt sheets, improving acoustic comfort and facilitating long-term maintenance. In the exhibition halls, the suspended ceilings were eliminated entirely, reducing material usage and creating a greater sense of spaciousness and sophistication.
The renovation was also a thoughtful exercise in co-creation. UNS established a framework centered on a bold color palette and the introduction of circular forms as a new geometric language, creating a clear foundation for contributions in architecture, interiors, and graphic identity. Interior designer Ineke Hans, responsible for the café and shop interiors, drew directly from this shared vocabulary, while Thonik developed a new visual identity based on the building itself, referencing the façade and staircase in the logo design and the broader style of the house. The color palette runs through each of these elements, linking the museum's spaces and its public face with clarity and coherence. The result is a renovation in which architecture, interiors, exhibition design, and identity work together as a single project.
The Reopening
The revamped permanent collection, Mens op de grens (People on the Frontier), traces stories from prehistory to the present, rooted in Nijmegen's position on the ancient northern frontier of the Roman Empire. In addition to its permanent collection, the museum opens with the exhibitions Making a Museum, Museum in the Classroom, and Power of the People. Fernando Sánchez Castillo, the artist behind Power of the People, will also furnish the newly designed public square, Kelfkensbos, with custom artworks.
The Valkhof Museum brings together archaeology, cultural history, and contemporary art. Located on the former northern frontier of the Roman Empire, the museum presents stories at the intersection of periods, people, cultures, and ideas, connecting the past with the present through unexpected relationships.
