KVL is known as one of the most interesting historic industrial plants in the Netherlands. The old glory and rich history can still be found everywhere in the building.

The old red brick walls in the atrium, now covered with a glass roof, were the challenge for Alphenberg.

Regardless of the desire to use leather, we were asked to think along and come up with a proposal based on two clear wishes. It had to fit perfectly into the old industrial style, but it also had to have a strong acoustic effect. Because you can imagine that such a large space with hard materials produces an enormous amount of reverberation.

You have to imagine that in such a building, of more than 100 years old, no standard and straight dimensions have been used. And because the perforation of the leather, the dotted pattern, had to appear continuous, we had to make every tile to size. Well, every tile is exaggerated, but within the 400 panels there are at least 20 variants. The corners, in particular, were a very complex task.

The result is certainly worth seeing. As if it has always been this way. And for the keen observer, a world of surprise opens up in the discovery that leather not only played the leading role 100 years ago, but that it now again plays a leading role, albeit in a different way, in this ensemble of the past and the present.