Francine houben

In the city centre of Delft runs a railway viaduct that divides the city in two. The planned construction of a railway tunnel will remove this barrier. In its stead will be an expansion of the inner city including a park and a promenade. A station foyer in combination with offices for a thousand municipal employees will be built on top of an underground railway station. The inner city of Delft reflects its past. The campus of the Delft University of Technology on the edge of the inner city holds the promise of future development. The starting point for Mecanoo’s design is an interweaving of this history and the future. The result is a building where each elevation is designed in relationship to its context. The building is compact and it... More

Arriving in Delft is an unforgettable experience. From the outset, Mecanoo’s idea was to design a station that makes it clear to visitors that they have arrived in Delft. The station, in combination with the new city hall, sits atop a new train tunnel built in place of the old concrete viaduct that divided the city in two since 1965.Coming up the escalators, the impressive ceiling with the historic map of Delft unfolds (in collaboration with Geerdes Ontwerpen). When you look outside, you see the city and the old station as a contemporary version of Johannes Vermeer’s painting 'View of Delft’.A vaulted ceiling features an enormous historic 1877 map of Delft and its surroundings, connecting the station with the city hall. Within the stat... More

The Hilton Hotel Schiphol Airport is located near Amsterdam’s international airport. With its diagonal patterned facade, curved corners and strategic location, the building is a recognisable icon at the airport and is prominently visible from the motorway. From its spacious plinth, the cube-shaped hotel is rotated 45 degrees to establish a dynamic position. Rounded corners accentuate this dramatic effect so that the hotel contrasts strikingly with its neighbouring, rectilinear buildings. The entrance, reception and restaurant are located on the ground floor, while the conference centre on the first and second floors adjoins a passageway that leads to the airport. As the heart of the hotel, the impressive atrium has a clear identity fe... More

As China’s first special economic zone, Shenzhen has brought miracles in urbanization, industrialization and modernization in the last 30 years. The overall competitive power of Shenzhen is second to Hong Kong, ranking first in mainland China. In this setting Mecanoo designed a 260,000 m² ecological urban building complex. Situated at the foot of the beautiful Tanglang Hills, Tanglang Towers are perfectly placed to capture the busy flows streaming along the number 5 Huan Zhong metro line and major new roads circling downtown Shenzhen. Programme: Eco urban building complex, with metro station feature. 4-star boutique business hotel of 25,000 m², medium class A offices of 49,000 m², One-stop experience-based thematic shopping mall of 52,... More

The Waterfront Museum is to become a new urban icon and cultural destination for Abu Dhabi, reflecting its rich cultural traditions. The design concept is that of a ‘Culture Pier’, a logical and flowing continuation of the popular and prestigious Corniche Boulevard. The urban route flows along the promenade, through the sculptural dune landscape, to the cultural plaza and the Waterfront Museum building beneath. To create a sense of freedom within the site, the gallery building has been lifted. Because the site is at the end of Corniche Boulevard, it is possible to generate quality public places which are intimate, shaded and designed for cultural activities and relaxation. The elevation of the building creates beautifully framed vie... More

‘Challenge the future’ is the motto of the Delft University of Technology, one of the most prominent universities in Europe. And that is exactly what the faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science (EWI) is working on. Here the future is challenged with numerous researches on finding alternative ways of generating energy. The EWICON (short for Electrostatic WIndenergy CONvertor) is a wind mill without moving parts, designed by Mecanoo. The technology is developed by the EWI faculty in a consortium with Wageningen UR and commercial companies in an economy-ecology-government partnership program. The breakthrough wind convertor transforms wind energy into electricity without the use of moving mechanical parts. The r... More

With such a beautiful mountain landscape surrounding the golf course, it was only natural that this be our design inspiration for the clubhouse, start house and tea houses. The clubhouse reflects a careful balance between a luxurious golf clubhouse with environmental consciousness and site sensitivity. With the existing ridge as a backdrop and the cultivated landscape beyond, the building sits gently on top of the junction between these two diverse landscapes. Formally in contrast with its undulating and lush surroundings, the rectilinear, white clubhouse appears as a beacon from across the golf course. The building concept consists of two strong white stone slabs floating above the surrounding landscape. A composition of internal and ex... More

Mecanoo Architecten, together with Code Arkitektur and Buro Happold, won the design competition for a Knowledge and Cultural Square in the center of Kongsberg, a former mining town about 75 kilometers southwest of Oslo, Norway. The project comprises of a design for a cultural and teaching building totaling approximately 24,000 m², and includes future expansion of other functions, such as student housing, sports facilities and businesses. More

Mecanoo designed the winning competition entry for a new 83,500 m2 cultural complex with a public art museum, science museum, youth centre and a bookshop, public square and parking in the Shenzhen district. The new cultural and commercial complex will provide the district with its own landmark and destination and transform the existing Longcheng Park into a lively destination point. It will form a dynamic link between the commercial business district, a formal park and gardens and one of the district’s main thoroughfares. The new museum complex will unify the evolving urban fabric and generate a vibrant downtown. Programme: Cultural complex of 83,500 m2 with public art museum (13,500 m2), science museum (16,000 m2), youth centre... More

Mecanoo has won the international competition to design the new campus of the National University of Science and Technology (MISiS), one of the leading technical universities of Russia. The 100-acre campus will be located in a new district of Moscow, where 300,000 new residents are expected over the next 20 years. The campus includes housing for 10,000 students and 3,000 academics, and is home to seven departments, several research institutes, a library, business center, hotel, sports park, cinema, cafes and shops. As a condition of the project’s financing by President Medvedev, construction must begin by year’s end. More images and architect’s description after the break. The National University of Science and Technology (MISiS) is o... More

Science Park Amsterdam, the international knowledge centre in the Watergraafsmeer neighbourhood is the new home for the Liberal Arts and Sciences program at the Amsterdam University College, a joint institute of the University of Amsterdam and VU University Amsterdam. Science Park is located in the eastern part of the city, close to Amsterdam’s historic seventeenth-century city centre. In September 2012, international students and professors started at the new school of 5,800 m², that can accommodate 900 students. Surrounded by other science buildings, the Science Park provides an interesting environment for the AUC with optimal opportunities for cross fertilization of ideas and talent. The park has an urban character in which build... More

The Bijlmer area is the result of a large expansion of Amsterdam in the late sixties and seventies. The utopian modernism that underpinned the plans for the neighbourhood envisaged a metro system, a road network free of crossings, uniform thirteen-story housing blocks coupled with parking garages and extensive green space. In practice, it delivered an unsafe neighbourhood with problems and an unforeseen multi-cultural population. Now re-branded Amsterdam Zuidoost, the neighbourhood has been urged to provide a differentiated housing stock and to improve its management of the public realm. Part of this strategy is the transformation of the Bijlmerpark into a new urban park with seven hundred homes and six hectares of sports facilities... More

While designing the new Sterren College, Mecanoo also created a cohesive plan for the entire location. The design concept is that of a green village imbedded in the surrounding landscape. The school is composed of four diagonally positioned building components, the alternating rhythm of which creates a park with walking paths and schoolyards in the front of the building. The park is tilted on one side and stretches over the entire school forming solid green slopes, moss-sedum roofs and green façades, creating a unique roof landscape with two large school yards. On the side of the spacious park, the school has a more intimate, landscaped appearance, which was important to the residents of the surrounding neighbourhood. The buildi... More

Rotterdam’s port has shifted closer to the sea, freeing up the old inner harbours for new urban developments in the city centre. As a result the warehouses on the Wilhelminapier are making way for new high-rise residential and office buildings with restaurants and cultural facilities at street level. The pier was once the gateway to the New World as ocean steamers took emigrants to America; now cruise ships moor here. The former headquarters of the Holland America Line at the head of the pier have been strikingly transformed into the Hotel New York. The northern quayside contains mainly freestanding office towers; designs by Norman Foster and Renzo Piano are already complete. In 1999, Mecanoo was commissioned to develop a masterplan for the... More