Valkhof Museum Nijmegen building: UNS

Valkhof Museum Nijmegen Building News

5 June 2026

Design: UNS

Photos © Ossip van Duivenbode

THE VALKHOF MUSEUM REOPENS FOLLOWING UNS RENOVATION

The Valkhof Museum in Nijmegen officially reopens its doors this week following a renovation led by UNS. Originally designed by the Dutch design firm 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 not to start over, but to identify what made the original design distinctive and to reinforce it. That process began with strengthening the leading design principles of the building: the sweeping central staircase, the undulating ceiling, and the principle of 88 routes through the exhibition spaces. Each was retained, refined where necessary, and brought more clearly into focus.

As such, the renovation was guided by a clear set of aims: to create more room for temporary exhibitions, improve routing and visual openness throughout the building, strengthen the visitor experience and interior climate, and give the museum’s public functions a more prominent role within the overall composition.

Ben van Berkel, Founder and Principal Architect, UNS: “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.”

The ‘Big Detail’

The multifunctional staircase remains the organisational spine of the building, but has been transformed into something bolder. Colourful risers now animate the staircase, while the existing wooden balustrades have been refreshed with colour on the inside, making the whole element read as a single gesture. This intervention also improved accessibility, with the added colour increasing visibility and walkability for all visitors. At the entrance, the removal of the original airlock in favour of a revolving door has turned the previously cramped forecourt into a generous, light-filled arrival moment.

Additionally, the museum’s layout has been clarified, with the basement now dedicated to the permanent collection, while the upper floor is used for temporary exhibitions. This organisational change allows visitors to move through the museum in a continuous loop, and views into the depot add another dimension to that experience.

The ground floor was also reorganised. 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. The two can be opened and used together, with shared space in between, creating a clearer relationship between the café at the front and the learning spaces beyond.

Two added openings have made the building more open and easier to read. At the rear of the museum, one connects the ground floor and basement, bringing daylight down into the lower level. The other, between the restoration workshop and the museum shop, allows visitors to see how artefacts are studied and restored. The result is a building the public can use, not just visit. This openness is reinforced by the facade: previously partly closed, it is now entirely glazed, flooding the interior with natural light and creating a direct visual connection between the square and the exhibits within.

Hedwig Saam, Director of The Valkhof Museum: “The museum has not only been physically renewed; we have also redefined what a museum can be today. It is a place where you see connections you don’t expect, and where history speaks to the present.”

Editing rather than adding

Sustainability was approached through precision rather than addition. Working within a carefully managed budget, UNS and the project team prioritised retention and targeted upgrading over wholesale replacement. As such, the 30-year-old facade was carefully dismantled: insulation was stripped and replaced with a higher-performing alternative, while the original glass panels were cleaned and reinstalled. In the main public spaces, the characteristic rippling suspended ceiling has been replaced with PET felt lamellas — improving acoustic comfort and enabling easier long-term maintenance. In the exhibition spaces, suspended ceilings have been removed entirely, reducing material use and leaving the rooms feeling more spacious and considered.

The renovation was also an exercise in considered co-creation. UNS established a design framework centred on a bold colour palette and the introduction of circular forms as a new geometric language, creating a clear basis for contributions across 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 informed by the building itself, taking cues from the facade and staircase in the design of the logo and wider house style. The colour palette runs through each of these elements, linking the museum’s spaces and its public face with clarity and consistency. The result is a renewal in which architecture, interiors, exhibition design and identity work together as one project.

The Reopening

The Valkhof Museum opens to the public on June 6th, 2026. The renewed permanent collection, Mens op de grens (People on the Border), traces stories from prehistory to the present, rooted in Nijmegen’s position on the former northern border of the Roman Empire. Alongside the permanent collection, the museum opens with the exhibitions Making a Museum, Museum in de klas (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 bespoke artworks.

The Valkhof Museum brings together archaeology, cultural history and contemporary art. Situated on the former northern border of the Roman Empire, the museum presents stories at the intersection of periods, people, cultures and ideas, connecting the past to the present through unexpected relationships.

On June 4, Queen Máxima will formally open the renovated museum, meeting with architects, designers, and artists involved in the transformation.

Museum Het Valkhof, Nijmegen, The Netherlands – Building Information

Project credits:

Client: The municipality of Nijmegen

UNS team: Ben van Berkel with Tina Kortmann, Jaap Baselmans, Cristina Bolis, Kasia Ephraim, Hans Kooij, Machiel Wafelbakker, Shan Qi, Nawid Piracha, Juan Pablo Fuentes Rojas, Verena Lihl, Ka Shin Liu, Zhongming Fang and Tjaša Barič

Advisors:

Structure, Fire safety and Acoustics: ABT
Program coordination: Atelier Alkema
Climate and installation advisor: Nelissen
Contractor building team: Berghege
Interior and furniture design: Ineke Hans
Exhibition design: Opera
Branding and Graphic Design: Thonik
Wayfinding: Mijksenaar
Light Design: Studio Warmerdam

Photography © Ossip van Duivenbode

UNS

Nijmegen museum building text authorised by UNStudio Architects 040626

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Previously on e-architect:

15 May 2007

Date built: 1998

Design: UNStudio Architects

Stichting Museum Het Valkhof

Museum Het Valkhof, Nijmegen, 1998, UNStudio