Versatile monument friend celebrates his 83rd birthday on Saturday
— ‘If a monument is to survive, it must be repurposed’, says Prof. Mr. Pieter van Vollenhoven, who turns 83 on Saturday. Simply restoring when it is still unclear what function a former mansion, castle, church building or fortress should have is pointless in his view: “Without repurposing, a monument is doomed.”
The Pieter van Vollenhoven Prizes were established by the National Restoration Fund to underline this awareness and to appreciate good initiatives. The former fund chairman and namesake of the prize came to present this award himself in the Fort of Hoofddorp, one of the four winners and part of the former Defense Line of Amsterdam.