SCREENINGS
The film Let’s Talk About Aldo is touring the country and can be seen in combination with a post-screening discussion at:
ROTTERDAM October 10 2026 12.00 hrs.
Architecture Film Festival Rotterdam (AFFR)
World première with an introduction by Chief Government Architect Cécilia Gross and a follow-up discussion led by Tracy Metz.
MAASTRICHT November 5 2026 19.30 hrs.
Filmhuis Lumière Maastricht
In collaboration with Academy of Architecture Maastricht.
AMERSFOORT December 3 2026 20.30 hrs.
Filmtheater De Lieve Vrouw Amersfoort
In collaboration with FASadE, Amersfoorts forum voor architectuur, stedenbouw en landschap.
TRONDHEIM (Norway) December 11 2026 (private screening)
Faculty of Architecture and Design, Norwegian University of Science and Technology.
THE HAGUE December 15 afternoon (to be confirmed)
Including tour to Algemene Rekenkamer, Lange Voorhout 8 The Hague.
information will follow.
AMSTERDAM February 18 2027 20.00 hrs.
Academy of Architecture Amsterdam
1.Lecture in collaboration with Arcam.
LET'S TALK ABOUT ALDO
Marit Geluk 2026
The 1997 expansion of the Algemene Rekenkamer (the Netherlands Court of Audit) in The Hague, Aldo and Hannie van Eyck’s final major completed project, has become the focus of a debate on architectural heritage across generations. As a new generation of architects, Happel Cornelisse Verhoeven, adapts the building to meet contemporary demands, questions arise about authorship, preservation, and the status of late 20th-century architectural icons. Where does respect for an original design end and the necessity for adaptation begin?
Let’s Talk About Aldo follows the often polarizing discussions surrounding the project, where the dilemma emerges between safeguarding architectural heritage and responding to evolving social and ecological needs. Through one contested intervention, the film opens a broader conversation about who has the right to alter inherited architecture—and how striking buildings can remain relevant for generations to come.
DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT
Can architecture ever reach a rare beauty so transcendent that it demands to be seen as art: untouchable and autonomous, like a polished diamond?
Or is that a polluting thought? In a world where building materials are scarce and environmental pressures mount, shouldn't we exploit every ounce of potential? Shouldn't we push boundaries rather than preserve them?
Or is it the architects of a certain age, those who have weathered many trends and fads, who have the right to declare that today's obsession with 'flexible workspaces' is just another lifting whim, destined to fade like all other trends? Just wait, they might say.
Or is it time, instead, to turn toward the next generation? To dismantle the ego of the past, to shift from the posture of the teacher to one of equal collaboration?
Let's talk about Aldo.
And Hannie, whose efforts of the goes unnoticed in her husband's shadow.
And Ninke, who dares to question the sacred cows in architecture.
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VIEWER COMMENTS
The documentary takes no sides but highlights the contrast between preservation and transformation, as well as the tension between the experts of Van Eyck’s work and the forward-looking architects of HCVA.
I watched the wonderful documentary Let’s Talk About Aldo at the AFFR (Architecture Film Festival Rotterdam), which explores the reactions to HCVA’s proposed adaptations to Van Eyck’s final project: the Algemene Rekenkamer (the Netherlands Court of Audit). It features a movingly vulnerable yet fiercely determined Ninke Happel, delving into the debate between copyright and the careful design of modifications to the building.
Well said—this is about us and the mission we’re tasked with: to stop demolishing buildings and instead channel all our design expertise into their transformation, sustainability, and preservation of their value for this and future generations! Thanks for the nuanced documentation of this process.
Truly inspiring!!
de Architect on LinkedIN
“When I read the letter, I exploded. I felt stabbed in the back. These are the very people who trained us, now they’re letting us down hard.” That’s what Ninke Happel says in the documentary Let’s Talk About Aldo by Marit Geluk.
Geluk closely follows Happel throughout the research and design process of the transformation of the Algemene Rekenkamer (the Netherlands Court of Audit) in The Hague. She exposes the clash between heritage and functionality, between Aldo van Eyck’s radical architectural philosophy and the forward-looking ambitions of Happel Cornelisse Verhoeven. The Rekenkamer thus becomes the battleground for a fundamental question: Who does a building belong to?
The letter Happel refers to was written by the expert panel involved in the planning process and published in De Architect. It was signed by architects such as Izak Salomons, Rem Koolhaas, Kees Rijnboutt, and Kenneth Frampton.
“The Rekenkamer is Van Eyck’s final work, his testament, as it were,” says Francis Strauven, emeritus professor of architectural history and Van Eyck’s biographer. “You just have to keep your hands off it!” exclaims architect Herman Hertzberger, visibly emotional in the film. For him, the issue lies in the 1959 issue of Forum magazine (edition 7), which he co-shaped with Van Eyck and others within the design collective Team 10.
The pressure is immense. “And maybe we’re making a mistake too,” Happel sighs. “Anything is possible.” She understands perfectly well that the building is extraordinary—but she doesn’t understand why the experts are so devastating in their criticism of their transformation design. “We do have to prove ourselves,” she adds, almost frustrated. “We can’t just assume we’re allowed to tinker with a Van Eyck. That mindset is drilled into us.”
It is a film that reveals many peculiarities of Dutch architecture and that you could talk about endlessly.
What a fantastic film! It was incredible to get a glimpse into the design process behind the transformation of the Algemene Rekenkamer. The questions architects ask themselves—and the questions others ask. The doubts that arise, and the courageous struggle required. Thank you; it was incredibly insightful. Transformation is THE challenge we face!
I find it brave and powerful that Happel Cornelisse Verhoeven and everyone involved allowed themselves to be vulnerable to offer such an intimate look at the design process and the interests at play. What a valuable document!
A beautiful documentary.
BOOK A SCREENING & LET'S TALK!
Contact: info@maritgeluk.nl
Length: 53’48
Languange: Dutch | English, English subtitles
Format: DCP | MOV | MP4
Ratio: 16:9
Resolution: full HD (1920x 1080 px)
Funding: Creative Industries Fund NL | BPD Cultuurfonds
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ABOUT MARIT GELUK
Marit Geluk is an independent Dutch filmmaker working primarily in the documentary field. Trained as an architect, the built environment is a recurring focus in her work. Her films include a documentary on Almere Oosterwold, the Netherlands’ largest self-build development, projects on newcomers in European New Towns, a retrospective on politician Adri Duivesteijn and his interventions in The Hague’s Schilderswijk, and a film on the renovation of Museum De Lakenhal in Leiden.
Her oeuvre also includes numerous short films, mainly for museums and cultural institutions. Music plays a key role in her work, as in Wagner the Movie, a live performance of a symphonic orchestra combining contemporary journalistic footage with Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen.
www.maritgeluk.nl
