Thursday, January 28

MVRDV, Producing instead of Consuming Space... So Dutch.




MVRDV is a Rotterdam, the Netherlands-based architecture and urban design practice founded in 1991. The name is an acronym for the founding members: Winy Maas (1959), Jacob van Rijs (1964) and Nathalie de Vries (1965). Maas and Van Rijs worked at OMA, De Vries at Mecanoo before starting MVRDV. Visit their website at http://www.mvrdv.nl/

Frosilos, two silos converted into a Copenhagen apartment building

MVRDV is well-known for its philosophy of densification and multiple space use. Their Studies in Density implies a city that is not only in front, behind or next to, but also above and below. In short a city in which ground level zero no longer exists but has dissolved into a multiple and simultaneous presence of levels where the town square is replaced by a void or a bundle of connections; where the street is replaced by simultaneous distribution and divisions of routes and is expanded by elevators, ramps and escalators where far away is reduced to proximity; and the park is transformed into a stacking of public spaces. In this dense three-dimensional world, spatial quality is no longer translated into morphology or geometry, but in richness, diversity, presence, and proximity.

WOZOCO housing in Amsterdam, 1997 (also known as Oklahoma)

 Watch it at 

"We want to position our work outside of architecture, as a clear piece of sociology and ecology. But to do that in such a way that not only architects understand it, but also the other 99 percent of the population understands it, and can debate it.” - MVRDV.

El Mirador Building in Madrid. Learn more at 

Dutch Pavilion for Hanover, Germany’s Expo 2000

Silodam, Amsterdam. Learn more about the project at
and watch it at http://vimeo.com/8532835

Learn more about MVRDV browsing the slideshows at http://www.dwell.com/articles/the-placemakers.html and http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2008/06/06/magazine/0608-MVRDV_index.html Also watch the profile video bellow.


The office researches and debates global ecological issues such as the consequences of urban sprawl, the bio-industry and climate change. Large scale studies and provocative proposals have lead in many cases to a constructive discussion about issues often considered terrifying or to be solved by legislation rather than architecture. MVRDV seeks architectural solutions for ecological issues. Some of the most  know proposals are Pig City, the high-rise farm and the China Hills, currently at in Beijing Center for the Arts. The project aims to combine the city with agriculture and energy production. Learn more about these proposals at http://www.architectenweb.nl/aweb/archipedia/archipedia.asp?ID=7238 and http://www.dezeen.com/2010/01/05/china-hills-by-mvrdv/

Pig City

China Hills

One of their latest projects is the headquarters building for a bank in Oslo, Norway.  A 17-storey building with a particular pixelated design that adapts to the urban context and combines an efficient and flexible internal organization. Learn more clicking http://www.dezeen.com/2009/09/17/dnb-nor-headquarters-by-mvrdv/

The headquarters building for a bank in Oslo, Norway


Some of their Space theories have been published in books like "KM3 Excursions On Capacities", 2006 and "Skycar City", 2008. Preview some of the interior pages at http://www.actar.com/index.php?option=com_dbquery&task=ExecuteQuery&qid=2&idllibre=3264&lang=en and http://www.actar.com/index.php?option=com_dbquery&task=ExecuteQuery&qid=2&idllibre=3578&lang=en

1 comment:

  1. In a country where space is an issue, solutions like these are far needed and are also applicable to other parts of the world...

    ReplyDelete