Netherlands: The Latest Architecture and News

The public art depot for the Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, designed by MVRDV is nearing completion in Rotterdam. Scheduled for opening in September 2021, recent images showcase the installation of the first of 75 trees on the roof garden.

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The Netherlands is the world’s second-biggest exporter of agricultural products. This is remarkable when one considers that the only country which tops the Netherlands, the United States, is 237 times bigger in land area. Nevertheless, the Netherlands exported almost $100 billion in agricultural goods in 2017 alone, as well as $10 billion in agriculture-related products. The secret to the Netherlands’ success lies in the use of architectural innovation to reimagine what an agricultural landscape can look like.

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Part of a bigger vision and a master plan by Peter Zumthor, Studio Akkerhuis’ new 55.000 square meter project in Leiden’s 19th-century flour mill complex is under construction. With a landscape by Piet Oudolf and Lola, the development that recently won the "Future Project - Commercial Mixed Use” at WAF, will include shops, galleries, apartments, workspaces, a hotel, and a spa.

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OMA have completed their construction works on their latest addition to the Dutch Skyline. The building composed of stacked three shifted triangular volumes will host the Nhow Amsterdam RAI Hotel, expected to become the largest hotel of the Benelux union once inaugurated.

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In collaboration with Being development, OMA has won a competition to redevelop Van der Meulen-Ansemsterrein (VDMA) in central Eindhoven, in the Netherlands. The central site will be rehabilitated into “a vibrant urban hub with housing, offices, and public spaces.”

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Between advances in autonomous technology and urban population growth, transit is being reimagined on the street and in the air. From public transit transforming to more user-centric mobility services, to rethinking regulatory and organizational status quos, advances in technology are expanding transit opportunities in cities around the world.

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MVRDV has designed with local neighborhood organizations, a proposal to regenerate the canals of the city of The Hague, in the Netherlands. Filled-in during the 20th century, the canals will be reopened in order to revive the historic center and improve the city on the sustainable, economical and infrastructural levels.

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MVRDV has designed an office and residential building on a corner lot next to the Dommel river in the Dutch village of Sint-Michielsgestel. Made with a facade that takes the form of potted plants, the project uses a gridded “rack” system to cover the building’s entire exterior in a variety of plants. Designed with MVRDV’s co-architect, Van Boven Architecten, the team wanted to create a landmark project for the village while also being socially conscious and environmentally progressive.

The City of Utrecht Council, in collaboration with advertising agency Clear Channel, has transformed 316 bus stops across the city into “bee stops.” The adaption involved installing green roofs onto the bus stops, creating bee-friendly spaces for the endangered species.

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By some estimates, cities consume over two-thirds of the world’s energy, and account for more than 70% of global CO2 emissions: a figure sure to increase as the global migration from rural to urban areas continues. In the pursuit of exploring new models for how healthy cities could more effectively sustain these demands, Dutch design and research studio FABRICations has investigated how cities of the Netherlands can reduce carbon emissions through new design-led approaches.

321 graduation projects designed by 407 young architects, landscape architects and urban designers were submitted for the 2019 Archiprix International / Hunter Douglas Awards. Among 22 finalists announced in December 2018, an international jury selected 7 winning projects which spotlight international trends in architecture, urban design and landscape architecture.

For ten consecutive years, Vienna ranks first in the Mercer survey on cities with the best quality of life in the world. In this edition to the global ranking, eight Western European cities join the top ten, even when "trade tensions and populist undercurrents continue to dominate the global economic climate", as Mercer points out in its report.

Dutch design practice Mecanoo has created a masterplan for the world's largest man-made nature park at Nieuw Land in the Netherlands. Last month, the Provincial Government approved the plan with an overwhelming majority. The National Park is located near the metropolitan region of Amsterdam and covers over 29,000 hectares. The new masterplan integrates four nature reserves to secure and protect the future of the National Park.

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Dutch design practice UNStudio has created a new urban vision to create the world's smartest neighborhood in the Netherlands. Located in Helmond’s Brandevoort District, the project was imagined as a flexible grid that will be developed per users’ demand. Dubbed the Brainport Smart District, the project explores ​​social cohesion and safety, health, data, new transport technologies and independent energy systems. The BSD is designed to be a living lab that embraces experimentation and ‘learning by doing’.

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The OMA / Reinier de Graaf-designed Nhow Amsterdam RAI Hotel has topped out at its 91-meter height. The main hotel for the RAI Amsterdam convention and exhibition center, the scheme will offer 650 hotel rooms across 25 floors. Formed of three shifting triangular volumes, the scheme draws from a triangular advertising column on the Europaplein that once stood prominently on the site.

OMA was chosen ahead of eleven practices to design the project, which will operate as a hub for business travelers, tourists, and Amsterdam locals. The project has been 15-years in the making, as a larger 800-room proposal was once rejected by the city a few years back.

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