Designs from the National Collection for Dutch Architecture and Urban Planning are brought back to life using Virtual Reality. Within the design studio The Virtual Architecture Museum at TU Delft, students explore how architecture, media, and history intersect. Using VR techniques, they make these designs experiential once again.
Pavilions
The students focus on historical examples of exhibition architecture and unbuilt designs, including panoramas, pavilions, and structures from world exhibitions. Through analysis and interpretation, these projects are translated into three-dimensional virtual environments. In this way, new methods of storytelling emerge, with archival material as the starting point.
Three projects are highlighted in the presentation:
- Philips Pavilion, Brussels World’s Fair 1958 – Le Corbusier and Iannis Xenakis
- Dutch Pavilion, Hannover Expo 2000 – MVRDV
- HAL Pavilion, Paris World’s Fair 1937 – Hendrik Wijdeveld
The Virtual Architecture Museum (2023–2025)
This TU Delft design studio combines design practice and research. Students engage with historical references while also developing their own media pavilion, exploring the relationship between virtual and physical space. Digital techniques give the work a distinctly multimedia and experimental dimension.
Image: Wikimedia - Wouter Hagens
More information and ongoing results:
https://virtual-architecture.cargo.site/
Bureau Europa collaborates with TU Delft and the Nieuwe Instituut on new exhibition models and the reuse of research and exhibitions. In this context, this exhibition was previously presented at the Nieuwe Instituut.
Colofon
VR Experiments in the Archive has been realized in collaboration with the research group Architecture Archives of the Future (TU Delft), the VR Lab of the Faculty of Architecture (TU Delft), and het Nieuwe Instituut / Jaap Bakema Study Centre.
TU Delft Architecture Archives of the Future Groep
: Dirk van den Heuvel | Eytan Mann | Alejandro Campos Uribe
VR Lab: Hans Hoogenboom | Thijs Kroft | Diederik van Leeuwen | Jessica Monahan | Ákos Sárkány
Students 2024-2025:
Lianne Bronder | Roos ten Cate | Bisher Ghadri | Deimjanas Gološčiapovas | Sophie Kunst | Evanthia-Maria Vassi | Koen Weber
Students 2023-2024:
Nikoletta Kyprianou | Katarzyna Prokopiuk | Shanice Soeroredjo | Ziyue Yu | Shuyu Zhang
Nieuwe Instituut
: Stef Dingen - Projectleider | Elena Genesio - Producent | Lara Garé - Collectiebeheerder | Emily Wijns - Collectiebeheerder | Jacob Hoving - Grafisch ontwerp | Petra van der Ree - Tekstredactie | Jane Szita - Tekstredactie | Robin Menheere - AV ondersteuning | Stefan Prins - AV ondersteuning | Lucía Garay - Stagiair Collectie
Special thanks to Re-Centre werkgroep:
Eva Lintjes | Frank Verkade | Joke van Brakel | Manuela Zammit | Setareh Noorani | Stefanie Korrel
Date Wednesday 22 April - Sunday 31 May 2026
Location Bureau Europa, platform for architecture and design
Admission regular rates