WAM architecten was established by architect Wilfried van Winden in 2009. WAM architecten is a young and dynamic bureau which can nevertheless rely on more than 25 years experience in the domains of public and private buildings and infrastructure. In conjunction with a team of committed professionals, WAM architecten works on a diversity of projects that make an essential contribution to our built surroundings and society. Besides his design for the Inntel Hotel, Wilfried van Winden’s major projects include the Essalam Mosque in Rotterdam, De Oriënt residential complex in the Transvaal district of The Hague, and De Marquant residential development in Breda and currently the Embassy for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in The Hague. Each project embodies his idiosyncratic outlook on the profession. Fusion architecture The bureau is distinctive for its exploratory approach, inventiveness, focus on pleasure and enthusiasm, with which it strives to realise beautiful buildings and surroundings, summarized in the concept of Fusion. “Fusion architecture is a mindset rather than a style, a strategy that stands for an inventive way of mixing and interconnecting present and past, East and West, tradition and innovation, abstract and figurative architecture and high and low culture. The increasing diversity of cultures in our society calls for a new approach in architecture. ‘For me it revolves around the production of an environment that people find pleasurable – call it an architecture of enjoyment,’ says Van Winden. In order to accommodate the diversity in our society and facilitate the expression of the diverse identities that are present within it, it is necessary to have a command of different architectural styles and to devise novel expressions where needed. The foundations of this lie in a mindset that is heterogeneous, hybrid, a way of thinking that ‘encloses’ and ‘includes’. With Fusion Wilfried van Winden wants to shift the accent of the current architectural discourse and create leeway for an imaginative and innovative architecture. Co-makers WAM architecten performs the design and construction process in teams of varied composition that involve a diversity of specialists: from design to specification drawings, from management to communications. The role of all these experts is stipulated in advance, in the same way the expectations of client and architect are clearly defined. The outcome is considered to be teamwork of co-makers.
