Apr 24, 2015 -- Architect and MVRDV co-founder Winy Maas received the Order of the Dutch Lion in a ceremony this morning. Rotterdam Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb presented Maas with the royal decoration for his exceptional merit and contribution to Dutch architecture and for the Markthal, which was opened last October by Queen Maxima in Rotterdam.
Figure1 - The Netherlands Pavilion at the Hanover World Expo in 2000.
Image: Hans van Reeken
Winy Maas co-founded the international architecture and urbanism practice MVRDV together with Jacob van Rijs and Nathalie de Vries. Well-known projects by the Rotterdam-based office include the building for the Dutch broadcaster VPRO, the Netherlands pavilion for the 2000 World Expo in Hannover, and the Glass Farm in the village of Schijndel.
Currently Maas is working with MVRDV on the Floriade Almere, an urban plan for the world’s largest horticultural expo , the public art depot for Museum Boijmans van Beuningen in Rotterdam, and the transformation of a large scale shopping centre in Paris next to the Tour Montparnasse.
Figure 2 - Public Art Depot for Museum Boijmans van Beuningen in Rotterdam.
Image: MVRDV
For the past five years, Winy Maas has led The Why Factory at Delft University of Technology, an urban think tank that developed scenarios for the future of the city. Recent research units have included ‘BiodiverCity’, a vision of a city with as many plants and animals as possible, and the ‘Vertical Village’, a vision of a high rise with the spatial characteristics small village.
Maas is also an urban planner and landscape architect. Together with MVRDV he is currently developing a sustainable extension to the medieval city centre consisting of 3,000 new homes; and recently a plan for the reconstruction of Oslo’s government quarter was presented to the Norwegian public.
Figure 3 - Winy Maas receives the Order of the Lion from the Mayor of Rotterdam
together with urbanist Riek Bakker. Image: MVRDV
Earlier this year Winy Maas received the Rotterdam Marketing Award from Mayor Aboutaleb. The award recognized the importance of the Markthal Rotterdam, a building that has attracted millions of visitors and led to a rise in tourism to the Netherlands’ second largest city.
Figure 4 - The Markthal in Rotterdam was completed in
October 2014. Image: scagliolabrakkee.nl
MVRDV was founded in 1993 by Winy Maas, Jacob van Rijs and Nathalie de Vries in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The practice engages globally in providing solutions to contemporary architectural and urban issues. A highly collaborative, research-based design method involves clients, stakeholders and experts from a wide range of fields from early on in the creative process. The results are exemplary, outspoken projects, which enable our cities and landscapes to develop towards a better future.The products of MVRDV's unique approach to design vary, ranging from buildings of all types and sizes, to urban plans and visions, numerous publications, installations and exhibitions.
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