Though surely not as great a source of significant contemporary architecture as cultural institutions, places of worship — in one form or another — continue to generate invention and cutting-edge design. The reuse of places of religion for other purposes sometimes poses the problem of deconsecration, with the reticence some users may have when asked to dine or party in a former church. — Published 2009.0916
Willem Jan Neutelings of Neutelings Riedijk Architects spoke with Emiliano Gandolfi, a correspondent for The Plan magazine, about the Dutch firm's design approach as exemplified in the Shipping and Transport College in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. — Editor
Emiliano Gandolfi: Part of the gradual revitalization of the port of Rotterdam, the Shipping and Transport College is the ultimate "urban icon," not at all what one would expect of a school building. How did it come about? — Published 2009.0520
Durability through transformation. That was the architects' vision for the DOK Library Concept Center in Delft, the Netherlands.
The multimedia library occupies part of the overhauled Hoogovenpand, a 1970s mixed-use building facing a public square. Architects Liesbeth van der Pol of Dok architects (no relation) and Aat Vos of Aequo BV revitalized the gloomy building, creating the library space among existing commercial and residential functions. — Published 2009.0128
Sometimes a building is so well suited to its use, to the client, and to the site that it is hard to imagine it designed any other way. The Atlas Building at Wageningen University in the Netherlands, designed by New York City-based Rafael Viñoly Architects, is such a building — once you get to know it. — Published 2008.0625
Nestled on the edge of a dike in the southwestern Netherlands, the compact Punt House addition completed by Geen Punt Architecten (GPA) in summer 2007 carefully reconciles no fewer than three disparate architectural philosophies within its slender wood frame. — Published 2007.1205
Glass, as a building material, offers a special interlayer between our outer and inner space and has opened up and contained, as well as sheltered and revealed, the architecture of its time. Architects' pursuit of the minimal environmental envelope has created an evolutionary and reductionist approach, whereby glass has become a predominant and essential cladding material of contemporary architecture. — Published 2007.0228
Can a parking garage be sexy? The new Veranda Parking Garage in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, with its soft curves and elegant detailing, seems about as sensuous and inviting as a garage can be. Designed by the firm of Architectenbureau Paul de Ruiter b.v., part of the Veranda's allure, like most things sexy, is in what you can't see. In this case, it's the extraordinary story of the building's construction. — Published 2005.1012
A building can outwardly but subtly express the functions it shelters and express institutional regard towards its surrounding context. An example of this is the new office building for Rijkswaterstaat Zeeland, the Department of Water Management and Transport (RWS), in Middelburg, The Netherlands. Through its many sustainability features, it shows deference to energy and water conservation and to the well being of its occupants. — Published 2005.0413
As part of a construction project at Amsterdam Central Station, a temporary parking garage has been built, not for cars but for 2500 bicycles. The remarkable structure near the Hotel Ibis overhangs a canal, allowing touring boats to maneuver below.
Open to the weather and shaped by its sloping ramps, the project is the product of the young Dutch firm VMX Architects under the leadership of project architect Don Murphy. — Published 2003.0409
Two expansive dockland peninsulas on Amsterdam's eastern waterfront have been transformed into landmark residential neighborhoods. Without compromising the traditions and character of the Dutch city, the striking Borneo Sporenburg housing project emphasizes the importance of open space within a high-density environment. The project, its master planner Adriaan Geuze, and his firm, West 8 Urban Design & Landscape Architecture of Rotterdam, have been awarded the seventh Veronica Rudge Green Prize in Urban Design by Harvard Design School, where the project is on exhibit. — Published 2002.1120
Architecture Design and Building in The Netherlands
