MVRDV exhibition ’20’ opens in Hamburg

Today a small retrospective exhibition of MVRDV opened at byUSM in Hamburg. The exhibition is the price given for being elected “A&W-Architect of the Year” by the readers and online users of Germany’s reputed magazine Architektur&Wohnen. Winy Maas, Jacob van Rijs and Nathalie de Vries accepted yesterday the award and opened the exhibition.

It is an overview of 20 years of the work of MVRDV in quotes, models, images, books and films. A small installation features a variety of models that have not been exhibited before. The show is open until June 11th and part of the Hamburger Architektur Sommer, it is planned to travel.

MVRDV is 20 years now!
The readers of German magazine Architektur & Wohnen have chosen MVRDV „A&W Architeckt des Jahres 2012“ against David Chipperfield Architects and Snøhetta. Part of the award is a small retrospective exhibition. At the same time that the exhibition opens, in Rotterdam and Shanghai 80 architects are developing concepts for buildings and urban plans of the future. These daily decisions impact the way we live, work and enjoy in the future. To research the impact of these decisions MVRDV has established together with Delft University of Technology The Why Factory, an independent research institute. As all the collective thinking is forward oriented, the task of a retrospective of own work seemed paradox, even more to do it on a small scale without room for a deeper analysis of the past.

The model city installation displays many never exhibited objects
Faced with the task of looking back onto their own work MVRDV decided to rely on the public verdict: Almost all texts in the exhibition are quotes from media. The models exhibited are favourites of the visitors to the Rotterdam office and the projected movies are the most wanted on social media. A selection of past and current work is visualised in a timeline illuminated as a giant advertisement, fitting to the showroom context, accompanied by critical comment from others. All this is backed by a small installation taken from the Vertical Village project, symbol for a more individualistic architecture and urbanism and in the exhibition an invitation to visitors to sit and read through a large stack of MVRDV and The Why Factory publications.

The exhibition is open until June 11th
A&W asked MVRDV to nominate a young architect for the USM Mentor Prize by A&W. The award was given to landscape architect Anouk Vogel and the exhibition features a small overview of her work. The exhibition was made possible by Architektur & Wohnen and USM. The Vertical Village installation was made by Sixinch and many of the models exhibited are by Made by Mistake, Delft.

About MVRDV
MVRDV was set up in Rotterdam (the Netherlands) in 1993 by Winy Maas, Jacob van Rijs and Nathalie de Vries. MVRDV engages globally in providing solutions to contemporary architectural and urban issues. A research based and highly collaborative design method engages experts from all fields, clients and stakeholders in the creative process. The results are exemplary and outspoken buildings, urban plans, studies and objects, which enable our cities and landscapes to develop towards a better future. Early projects such as the headquarters for the Dutch Public Broadcaster VPRO and housing for elderly WoZoCo in Amsterdam lead to international acclaim.

MVRDV develops its work in a conceptual way, the changing condition is visualised and discussed through designs, sometimes literally through the design and construction of a diagram. The office continues to pursue its fascination and methodical research on density using a method of shaping space through complex amounts of data that accompany contemporary building and design processes.

MVRDV first published a cross section of these study results in FARMAX (1998), followed by a.o. MetaCity/Datatown (1999), Costa Iberica (2000), Regionmaker (2002), 5 Minutes City (2003), KM3 (2005), and more recently Spacefighter (2007) and Skycar City (2007). MVRDV deals with global ecological issues in large scale studies such as Pig City as well as in small pragmatic solutions for devastated areas of New Orleans.

Current projects include various housing projects in the Netherlands, Spain, China, France, the United Kingdom, USA, India, Korea and other countries, a bank headquarter in Oslo, Norway, a public library for Spijkenisse , Netherlands, a central market hall for Rotterdam, a culture plaza in Nanjing, China, large scale urban plans include a plan for an eco-city in Logroño, Spain, an urban vision for Oslo or the doubling in size of Almere, Netherlands and Grand Paris, the vision of a post-Kyoto Greater Paris region.

The work of MVRDV is exhibited and published world wide and receives international awards. The 75 architects, designers and staff members conceive projects in a multi-disciplinary collaborative design process and apply highest technological and sustainable standards. Together with Delft University of Technology MVRDV runs The Why Factory, an independent think tank and research institute providing argument for architecture and urbanism by envisioning the city of the future.

More information > www.mvrdv.nl