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MVRDV APPROACH DATASCAPES PROTOTYPING COLLABORATION THINK TANK CLARITY ECONOMY GREEN URBAN
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WINY MAAS Professor Winy Maas Ir. Ing FRIBA HAIA (Schijndel, The Netherlands, 1959) is and architect, urban planner, and landscape architect, and one of the three founding partners of MVRDV. Maas lectures and teaches extensively around the world in both academic and professional settings, and is also a professor at the Technische Universiteit Delft (TU Delft), where he runs The Why Factory, a postgraduate research institute for the future city. He is also the official Urban Planner of the City of Almere in the Netherlands.
JACOB VAN RIJS NATHALIE DE VRIES Professor Jacob van Rijs Ir. FRIBA (Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 1964) is an architect and urban planner and one of the three founding partners of MVRDV. In addition to lecturing and teaching around the world, van Rijs is a professor at the Technische Universität Berlin (TU Berlin), and is also the Chairman of the Royal Institute of Dutch Architects‘ (BNA) International Program, working to globalise and support Dutch architects in their work abroad. Jacob also sits on the Dutch Trade and Investment Board (DTIB), working to represent architects in the fields of international trade and investment.
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Professor Nathalie de Vries Ir. FRIBA ( Appingedam, The Netherlands, 1965), is an architect and urban planner, and one of the three founding partners of MVRDV. De Vries has taught at many esteemed academic institutions, including Harvard‘s Graduate School of Design, and currently holds a chair in architecture at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf. In addition to her professional and academic work, de Vries is the Chair of the Royal Insitute of Dutch Architects (BNA), representing the interests of Dutch architects and lobbying on their behalf.
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APPROACH MVRDV pursues a fascination for radical, investigative spatial research focusing on the urban landscape, the public realm, and the influence of architecture on the everyday lives of its inhabitants and users. Our research-based approach drives spatial innovation in the fields of architecture, urbanism and landscape design, with a strong focus on the social and environmental integration and impacts of buildings. Research into contextual and site constraints and socio-cultural, economic and environmental issues is processed, tested, evaluated and optimized against the conditions and demands of the brief, and the desires of a client. Each design derives from in-depth analytical research, whilst also challenging existing thinking and seeking optimized and exciting design solutions.
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DATASCAPES MVRDV’s rational design process, refined across more than 600 projects to date, is shaped by explorations of the statistical spatial data, relating to contexts and constraints, which surrounds the contemporary design process. By understanding and strategically tapping into this data, we create highly informed and specific solutions which not only answer to today’s and tomorrow’s needs, but enable us to simulate future scenarios which in turn question our current perspective, values and behaviour. The fruits of this methodical approach range from product designs to architectural interventions and software programs focused on architectural solutions, participatory planning and large scale urban visions.
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PROTOTYPING Prototyping involves the exploration of multiple design options through extensive design testing to use and upgrade known typological and archetypal solutions. Design is the result of this rigorous iterative process, which allows the highest quality design to emerge through continuous discussion and assessment. MVRDV uses diagrams, visualisations, physical models and numerous other mediums to interrogate the design, the site, the brief, and the client’s wishes.
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COLLABORATION Our design process, for all scales of project ranging from objects to urban development visions, is deeply collaborative: we operate as a network of specialists in intense cooperation with the client. MVRDV collaborates extensively within the studio through flexible working groups, and externally with numerous advisors and experts, spanning every discipline from sociologists to programmers, engineers and artists. This strong collaborative model strengthens the dialectic environment in which projects evolve, and is the fundamental basis for excellent design results.
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THINK TANK Together with Delft University of Technology, MVRDV leads The Why Factory, an independent postgraduate research institute and think tank for the future city, founded by Winy Maas in 2008. The Why Factory studies the future of;urban development in a wide range of in-depth research and studio programs, fundamentally questioning current architectural and urban issues and investigating potential alternatives, including everything from collective housing models to new high-rise typologies and the opportunities presented by urban farming.
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CLARITY Clarity is the keystone of MVRDV’s work. Exemplary design solutions allow the public to understand the contribution and message of a project, so that design becomes a democratic and social product; architecture and urban design can directly influence the quality of people’s everyday lives. If the design of our built environments is cohesive, clear and understandable, both in its conception and its realization, the public and the local community can engage with a design, and place value in its quality.
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ECONOMY Economy is the driver of MVRDV’s methodology. A design should be the most efficient expression of the conditions under which it is created, whether they be lowcost or high value. Value encompasses the concept of addedvalue: the added value that good design brings to a product, building or urban environment as a long-term investment for the future. Creating this value requires asking questions such as ‚what can a project contribute to its users and context?‘ and ‚what will be the most important aspects of its successful realization?‘
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GREEN Sustainability is more than just hype or smart marketing; it means more than just adding solar panels. Sustainable development has been one of the office’s main agendas since its founding, with the aim to fundamentally respond to our collective responsibility to contribute to our society. It is a holistic concept which stretches far beyond energy-performance to include added-value, resilience, and even the quality of user experience. Quality is the motivation to change habits of consumption; not demanding less consumption but demanding a more intelligent definition of consumption through better and smarter buildings, urban environments and a positive balance between cities and nature. While continuously striving for integrated, intelligent concepts, BREEAM and LEED environmental assessment methods enable us to visualize the performance of our buildings; Marta Pozo Gil, MSc, in-house licensed LEED / BREEAM assessor, interprets specifications and requirements and liaises with our clients, advisors and project teams to achieve the highest sustainability rating possible within the given scope of work.
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URBAN We are living in an urban age. Cities are the heart of our societies, our cultures and our economies, and yet so many fall short of our expectations. MVRDV approaches our urban future with a progressive ideal: our urban plans offer high quality of life for their residents and users and create added value for their cities. MVRDV’s portfolio consists of 50% long term urban planning projects, ranging from urban designs to visions for regional development; projects in which MVRDV can be involved over decades.
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ARCHITECTURE FOR ANIMALS BEAGLE HOUSE
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BIRD FACTORY