Work The A(ke)rk — Museum Architecture and Interior

Research

Type: Architecture and interior design
Phase: Preliminary design
Client: Akerk, Stichting Oude Groninger Kerken
Engineering and sustainability consulting: ABT
Location: Groningen, The Netherlands
Year: 2023 -

Design for Aa-kerk continues the winning Dutch national competition Sublieme Schoonheid | Sublieme Duurzaamheid (Sublime Beauty | Sublime Sustainability), initiated by the Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed and the Rijksbouwmeester. The competition explored innovative strategies for the sustainable transformation of three monumental churches in the Netherlands: the Oude Kerk in Amsterdam, the Der Aa-kerk in Groningen, and the Grote Kerk in Naarden. Design teams were challenged to integrate energy systems, climate strategies, and architectural interventions while preserving the spatial and cultural integrity of these historic buildings.

The Akerk, with its iconic yellow church tower at the heart of the city centre of Groningen, holds a special place in city's identity. Together with the Martinikerk Church and hundreds of smaller, historically significant churches in the province of Groningen, it forms a vital part of our cultural heritage.

One of the central questions driving this Design Research is how to revitalize the Akerk as a true city church: a place that is open and welcoming, where people come and go freely, and a church that deepens the bonds within and between communities.

Research is being conducted on various scales to explore how the redesign can foster a strong connection and exchange between the Akerk, its local residents, the city center, and the other churches across the province of Groningen. At present, the Design Research is focused on examining the relationship between the Akerk, the Akerkhof square, and the surrounding area in greater detail.

Central to the concept is the River Aa, historically hidden from view yet giving its name to the church. The design envisions the river flowing through the building and extending outward into a new pavilion, shaping a landscape of functional spaces—an educational tribune, exhibition areas, offices, and a museum extension—while maintaining a dynamic connection to the monumental building. The river serves as a narrative thread, linking the history of the church and the province to the urgent contemporary issue of climate change, guiding visitors through a journey of memory, place, and environmental awareness.


The proposed pavilion extension is designed as a compressed water droplet, inspired by the River Aa that flows through the church interior and continues outward into the space between the two historic buildings. As an extension of the church, the pavilion creates a strong connection between the historic structure and the contemporary landscape. It symbolises the urgency of climate change while giving new meaning and relevance to both the site and the church.

The proposal preserves and strengthens the building’s historical and architectural values while revealing hidden layers of its history through new spatial routes and interventions.

Inspired by the verticality and rhythm of the Gothic interior, the design combines refined contemporary interventions with materials, colours, and details derived from the existing architecture. An iconic yet respectful spatial intervention celebrates the monumental character of the church while creating an atmosphere of openness, wonder, and adaptability.

Project

Biography

The Prix de Rome is the oldest and most prestigious Dutch award for visual artists and architects below the age of 35.

Lesia's work has been published in ArchDaily, E-Flux, STIRworld, NRC, Het Financieele Dagblad Persoonlijk, Metropolis, Mister Motley, Blauwe Kamer, AD, and more.

Honors & Awards:

2024 - Residency at The Savannah Centre for Contemporary Art (SCCA) and Studio of Ibrahim Mahama (Red Clay), Ghana

2024 - Residency on Governors Island, New York

2023 - IABR Agent of Change

2023 - Financieele Dagblad Top 50 Talent 2023

2022 - Winner Prix de Rome, the Netherlands

2020 - Talent Grant, Creative Industries, Netherlands

2020 - Young Talent Architecture Award, nomination (by the Fundació Mies van der Rohe and the EU Commission)

2019 - Winner Archiprix Nederland

2019 - Winner Archiprix International

2019 - Winner Tamayouz International Award

2014 - AHK Talent Grant

Selected Exhibitions:

2025 - Solo exhibition at MAGAZIN, Vienna, Austria (upcoming)

2025 - Lisbon Architecture Triennale, Portugal

2024 - Work presentation at RedClay (Studio of Ibrahim Mahama), Ghana

2024 - Mobile installation, exhibition, Governors Island - Lower Manhattan, New York

2024 - OMI, "Rotterdam Culture City", alongside significant works by OMA and West 8.

2024 - International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam (IABR)

2022 - Prix de Rome, NI, Rotterdam

2022 - Architecture Triennale, Lisbon

2022 - New European Bauhaus, Brussels

2021 - Dutch Design Week

2021 - Biennale, Venice

2020 - Dutch Design Week

2019 - Biennale, Santiago

2019 - Archiprix International

2019 - Archiprix Netherlands

Portrait for Prix de Rome 2022

Lesia Topolnyk is a licensed architect and recipient of numerous Dutch and international awards for design and research — including the Prix de Rome and Archiprix. Named an agent of change by the International Architecture Biannale Rotterdam for her work on energy transition and places that require a new vision, she brings more than ten years of experience working at internationally acclaimed Dutch practices. Her projects span the Netherlands, New York, North Africa, and her native Ukraine.

Her practice operates across two registers: spatial design — buildings, interventions, interiors — and strategic research consultancy for municipalities, developers, and NGOs engaged with transition themes including energy, landscape, and heritage. The two are not separate disciplines but a single sensibility applied at different scales and in different forms of collaboration. Her work does not stop at the building — it contributes to the shaping of the spaces and systems we inhabit.

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