IAA Architecten turned 50!

Last Saturday, we celebrated IAA Architecten's 50th anniversary in the festively decorated Great Church at the Old Market square in Enschede. After speeches by Harry Abels and Henk Gersen, all guests crossed the street to St. James' Church, where Fuse and trombonist Jörgen van Rijen played. Back in the Great Church, the celebration continued together with the Jazzpodium De Tor jazz ensemble.

ST. JAMES CHURCH AS A SPECIAL STAGE

St. James' Church, or in full, the church of Saint James the Greater, is connected to IAA Architecten in a special way: it was designed by the father of Hans Sluijmer, one of the founders of IAA Architecten in 1968. Sluijmer sr. designed the Neo Byzantine church on the Great Market square in Enschede, now a municipal monument but still in use by the Roman Catholic Church of Enschede, together with architect Valk in 1933.

Photography: Bernard Vink and Ko Gersen