Archinect - News

Mecanoo revives Scotland’s past into a new source of community pride

2024-04-08T17:26:00-04:00

Mecanoo has shared the news of its completed transformation of the Perth Museum in central Scotland.

The three-year construction yields 37,700 square feet worth of new public space inside of the Edwardian-style former City Hall that serviced the community from 1914 on. A specially carved Vennels-inspired intervention connects the two separate halls, framed by two new portals made from Black Isle timber and finished with a bronze casing.

Image credit: Greg Holmes Photography

Visitors will be welcomed into the brightly-lit new Main Hall archives space by a dramatic oak box container for the mythical returned Scottish Stone of Destiny. The adjacent Lesser Hall is thereafter recreated as a new communal space with larger windows and replete with a café and events venue.

Image credit: Greg Holmes Photography

This creates new panoramic views of the St. Johns Kirk church outside. Artifacts taken from the Jacobite period are on display within, including the silver broadsword used by Bonnie Pr...

This double-curved roof house by Mecanoo is covered in slick multicolored tiles

2023-01-12T15:41:00-05:00

Mecanoo has designed a distinctive residence with a striking double-curved roof and ceramic tile-covered façade in Schoorl, a village in northern Holland.

Image: Ossip van Duivenbode, courtesy Mecanoo.

Called Villa BW, it spans three floors, with an additional level within the hood of the roof. The roof comes together through two overlapping shapes: a gable roof and a horizontal roofline. According to the design team, the structure adapts to its natural, sloping surroundings. On its southeast side, the connection with the landscape along the sloped garden is enhanced by enclosing two voids with a curtain wall system.

Image: Ossip van Duivenbode, courtesy Mecanoo.

The building’s custom multicolored ceramic tiling reflects the strong connection between the home and the landscape. Its colors, five shades of gray, green, and blue, represent the transitions in the landscape, such as the dune landsca...

Construction to begin on 'energy-positive' brick tower by Mecanoo in Amsterdam

2022-10-07T12:07:00-04:00

Mecanoo is moving ahead with a 28-story tower in north Amsterdam. The mixed-use residential and commercial tower, whose inception we covered in 2020, has been formally approved by city officials and will now move forward to construction later this month. Completion is expected in 2025.

Named the Brink Tower after the Dutch word for open green space, the scheme is imagined as a ‘visual and social link’ between two existing residential neighborhoods in north Amsterdam.

Image courtesy of Mecanoo

The concept is defined by its rounded corners along the entirety of its 90-meter (295-foot) height. Clad in a warm red brick to reference the influential Amsterdam School of the 1920s, the tower’s 28 stories are interspersed on the façade by brick and concrete bands. Between the bands, each level benefits from full-height glazing broken by slender brick elements.

Image courtesy of Mecanoo

When viewed from the north, the tower adopts a wide, robust form in response to neighboring towers in Amste...

New photos of Mecanoo's refurbished Mies-designed Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in D.C.

2021-11-19T17:47:00-05:00

Mecanoo has shared updated imagery of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in Washington, D.C. the firm revamped together with OTJ Architects.

Photographers Robert Benson and Trent Bell have provided new photos detailing the modernization of the landmark building that was completed in 1972 as Mies van der Rohe’s only library design and final act as an architect.

Following a three-year transformation, the library opened to the public on September 25th but has gone largely undocumented thanks to restrictions over the coronavirus, which shut out much of the renovated areas from public view since its official reopening in October 2020.

Scroll down to have a look at a selection of the latest photos and learn more about the project here.

Image © Trent Bell

Image © Robert Benson

Image © Trent Bell

Image © Robert Benson

...

Mecanoo converts former urban railway line into green corridor in Taichung, Taiwan

2021-10-22T14:56:00-04:00

Mecanoo, in collaboration with S.D. Atelier Design & Planning, has completed the redevelopment of a 1.7-kilometer-long former railway line into a green corridor featuring an herb garden, fitness areas, playground, viewpoint, and waterpark in Taichung, Taiwan.

The aim of the project was to reimagine and reconnect a historic, disused railway that, due to its challenging location, has served as more of a barrier, impeding circulation from each side of it. The design, thus, opens the railway to the city via a green corridor that fosters biodiversity in order to meet the needs of the community. Bike and pedestrian lanes were also added to meet this goal.

As per the architects: “Within this linear site, the sustainable development covered a wide range of planning and design factors including urban regeneration, public participation, historic preservation, green and water resources, and circulation routes for pedestrians and bikes. Relying on Mecanoo’s extensive urban planning experience...

Mecanoo's Francine Houben is the ABB LEAF Awards 2020/21 Lifetime Achievement honoree

2021-10-19T12:54:00-04:00

Mecanoo founder Francine Houben has been honored with a prestigious ABB LEAF Lifetime Achievement Award during a ceremony at London’s stylish Nobu Hotel last Thursday.

The honor is in recognition of the architect’s tremendous cultural output, which has included recent projects at the New York Public Library and University of Cambridge, in addition to works such as and the Montevideo in Rotterdam (2005) and the Library of Birmingham (2013) that have set the firm apart with an innovative combination of different practice areas united by a philosophy of “People, Place, and Purpose.”

"I am a specialist in things I haven't done before," Houben told Archinect in a 2017 interview. "I always search for the balance between analysis and intuition."

Related on Archinect: The Proust Questionnaire: Francine Houben

Houben’s career began at a time when only 10 to 15% of her university peers were women. She began practicing in 1984 after completing her studies at TU Delft the same year. From there, ...

The new Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library opens in the heart of Midtown Manhattan

2021-06-04T12:55:00-04:00

A transformed Midtown Manhattan library building, long considered to be an eyesore, is finally open to the public after the Covid-19 pandemic and a $200 million renovation project left its doors shuttered for four years.

Renamed the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library, what used to be the New York Public Library’s Mid-Manhattan branch, the facility sits on a corner of Fifth Avenue opposite the library’s flagship Stephen A. Schwarzman Building in a former department store. According to the 126-year-old institution, the SASB sees a system-topping 1.7 million visitors a year.

Beyer Blinder Belle teamed with acclaimed library restorationist Francine Houben of the Dutch firm Mecanoo to completely overhaul all eight floors of the Bryant Park building thanks in part to a $55 million grant from the Niarchos Foundation.

Photo: John Bartelstone

The resulting 20,000 square feet of added space come in the form of expanded reading areas separated on three floors by a linea...

Documentary looks at the Mecanoo-led modernization of the Mies-designed Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in Washington D.C.

2020-10-26T12:50:00-04:00

Originally opened in 1972, the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library was Mies van der Rohe's only library and his last building. The landmark was closed in 2017 to commence modernizations which have been completed this year, recently reopening the building last month.

The three-year design and modernization project was led by Mecanoo and OTJ Architects. A full-length documentary has been released investigated the design process and transformation of the library. Check it out below:

Render vs Reality: Mecanoo nails it. Take a look.

2019-02-12T15:38:00-05:00

We've all seen them: photorealistic, high-gloss architectural renderings of new, flashy projects, and then—a few years later—the actual, built reality looks nothing like the too-good-to-be-true visualizations the public was sold on. Natural light, the lack of natural light, dust, humidity, material changes, shoddy construction, and (yikes!) human interaction can drastically widen the gap between the commission-winning, highly publicized, sometimes even iconic renderings and the real building we're left with for eternity.

The team at Mecanoo is all too aware of the phenomenon and has created the Pinterest board "Render vs Reality" where the Dutch firm proudly shows off an array of its completed projects from around the globe side-by-side with the architectural illustrations of these buildings, such as the National Kaohsiung Centre for the Arts, Library of Birmingham, Tilburg LocHal Library, and the brand new Shenzhen Longgang Cultural Centre.

↑ Interior Design of LocHal Library in Ti...

Mecanoo's National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts in Taiwan celebrates grand opening

2018-10-19T19:22:00-04:00

Opening night finally arrived for Taiwan's new National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts on October 13. Located on a former military training base in Weiwuying Park, the Mecanoo-designed building houses a 2,236-seat Opera House, a 1,981-seat Concert Hall, a 1,210-seat Playhouse, a 434-seat Recital Hall, and an Outdoor Theater. At the heart of the building is the publicly accessible Banyan Plaza, where events can take place.

Photo: Iwan Baan.

“Inspired by the beauty of the local Banyan trees with their iconic canopies of leaves, the vast, undulating structure is composed of a unique skin and roof under which generous free spaces can flow,” Mecanoo Founding Partner Francine Houben previously described.

Photo: Shawn Liu Studio.

Photo: Sytze Boonstra.

Photo: National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Weiwuying).

Photo: Ethan Lee.

Opening festivities began with a special ceremony featuring addresses from President of Taiwan Tsai Ing...

Mecanoo completes Delft City Hall and Train Station

2018-09-28T19:44:00-04:00

Following the construction of the first phase in 2015, the Mecanoo-designed Delft City Hall and Train Station is now fully completed, the Dutch firm recently announced. The 28,320 m2 project sits on top of a train tunnel, which replaced an old concrete viaduct that divided the city since 1965. Now, the project connects Delft's historic city center to the east of the tunnel with the residential neighborhoods to the west.

Photo credit: Mecanoo.

The project's design celebrates the past and present of Delft, Mecanoo describes. As travelers ride the escalators, they can look up to see a gigantic 1877 map of Delft on the ceiling, which Mecanoo designed with Geerdes Ontwerpen. Outside, travelers can see the city and the old station. Walls and columns in the interior are decorated with a contemporary reinterpretation of Delft Blue tiles. The train station also directly connects to the city hall.

Photo credit: Mecanoo.

“Panels of fused glass with len...

NYPL reveals first image for its $200M Mid-Manhattan Library renovation

2016-11-17T14:18:00-05:00

Soon after a major renovation and reopening for the Rose Reading Room at their flagship Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, the NYPL is now moving forward with another mammoth revamp on its Mid-Manhattan Library. The NYPL offers a first look at the overhaul, a project they are calling a “state-of-the-art library that will serve as both a model and catalyst for a rejuvenated library system.”

Architects design ‘the house of tomorrow’

2016-05-18T12:18:00-04:00

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) invited six contemporary architecture practices to create speculative responses to the UK’s housing crisis for the exhibition, At Home in Britain: Designing the House of Tomorrow. Drawing on materials from the RIBA archives, the studios from the UK, France and the Netherlands produced designs that re-examine the familiar housing typologies of the cottage, terrace and flat.

Read relating article here:

Mecanoo's newly opened Delft train station hall stays true to its city roots

2015-03-03T21:46:00-05:00

Six years after the project was first announced, Delft's new railway station hall opened its doors to the public this past Saturday. Designed by native Dutch firm Mecanoo, the new building purposefully nods to its cultural roots so that visitors arriving at the station will know from the get-go that they are in Delft indeed.

The station hall, which is the first phase of the development, is built above a new train tunnel that will replace an old 1965 concrete viaduct by 2017. Amsterdam/Aachen-based Benthem Crouwel, who worked on the Rotterdam Centraal Station, designed the station's below-ground platforms.

With Francesco Veenstra as design lead, Mecanoo focused on balancing Delft's rich history with its present and future for their design concept. As expected, the Delft Blue color scheme is rampant throughout the building's exterior and interior.

The building's outer fused-glass skin was designed to "reflect the Dutch skies" and features a lens-like sphere pattern that refers to a commo...

New competition launched for National Gallery and Ludwig Museum in Budapest

2014-11-05T13:36:00-05:00

The international jury choosing an architect to design a new National Gallery, which will also provide a new home for the Ludwig Museu in the Hungarian capital, has invited seven leading practices to take part in a new competition after a first competition did not produce a winning design. The seven architects invited to compete for the high-profile commission are: Jean Nouvel, David Chipperfield, Mecanoo, Nieto Sobejano, Renzo Piano, Sanaa and Snøhetta.

Mecanoo and Martinez + Johnson chosen to redesign MLK Library in D.C.

2014-02-18T15:38:00-05:00

Alas! The winning team to renovate the historic Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library has been selected. That team would be Mecanoo and Martinez + Johnson, who won over notable finalists Patkau + Ayers Saint Gross and STUDIOS + Freelon. Upon contract approval, Mecanoo and Martinez + Johnson will begin working with library staff and consultants to finalize the new library's design scheme.

Find out more on Bustler.

Mecanoo’s Francine Houben named AJ Woman Architect of the Year 2014

2014-02-07T13:51:00-05:00

The Architects' Journal (UK) announced Francine Houben, creative director and founder of Dutch firm Mecanoo, as the recipient of the AJ Woman Architect of the Year 2014. The award honors design excellence and strong leadership among women in architecture.

Houben received the prestigious award in a ceremony at London's Langham Hotel on Feb. 7. Projects of Houben and Mecanoo include the high-profile Library of Birmingham, La Llotja de Lleida, and the Kaap Skil maritime and beachcombers museum.

Upon receiving the award, Houben said, "'I feel privileged to be a woman, to be a mother and to be an architect, which was not always an easy combination. It was also a privilege to design the Library of Birmingham, here in the UK. Libraries play an essential role in the emancipation of young women all over the world. I’m very proud to be able to design more projects with a ‘Dutch touch’ in the UK. I strongly believe that architecture is about teamwork, about being visionary and supportive at the ...

Winning entry of the Royal Łazienki Museum competition in Warsaw

2013-11-20T14:37:00-05:00

A team consisting of Mecanoo, Michael van Gessel, DELVA Landscape Architects and Jojko Nawrocki Architekci has been selected to design the new Garden of the 21st Century with integrated exhibition pavilion at the Royal Łazienki Museum in Warsaw, Poland. [...] Mecanoo will be planning the exhibition pavilion, while Michael van Gessel and DELVA Landscape Architects are in charge of the garden design.

All images courtesy of Mecanoo architecten.

Mecanoo-Designed Amsterdam University College Opened

2012-09-24T17:43:00-04:00

Precisely one year ago, Bustler reported on the topping out ceremony of the new 6,000 m² (64,583 sq ft) academic building for the Amsterdam University College, designed by Delft, NL-based Mecanoo architecten. One year later, this past Friday, September 21, the building was officially opened by Amsterdam councilor Lodewijk Asscher.

Mecanoo Begins Construction of Onze Droomschool in Dordrecht, NL

2012-04-26T13:18:00-04:00

Today marks the official start of construction of the new building for Onze Droomschool in Dordrecht, the Netherlands, designed by Mecanoo architecten. The new 5,322 m² school brings together education, child care and medical care. [...] In addition to classrooms, the building will house practical training studios, a mediatheque, music studio, sports center and an outdoor Johan Cruijff court for soccer and basketball.

Three Entries Share First Prize in Istanbul’s Yenikapı Design Competition

2012-04-13T17:50:00-04:00

In the international design competition for Yenikapı Transfer Point and Archaeo-Park Area in Istanbul, Turkey, three First Prizes have been announced this week. The jury selected the top project teams Eisenmann Architects/Aytaç Architects, Atelye 70/Francesco Cellini/Insula Architettura E Ingegneria, and Cafer Bozkurt Architects/Mecanoo Architects from nine shortlisted teams, including MVRDV and other international firms.

Mecanoo / Royal Haskoning to Design New Eurojust HQ in The Hague

2012-03-22T15:58:00-04:00

The Mecanoo / Royal Haskoning joint design team is the winner for the realization of the new The Hague headquarters of Eurojust, an agency of the European Union handling the judicial co-operation of cross-border criminal matters. The jury [...] announced the winner this week.

Mecanoo’s Amsterdam University College Construction Reaches Highest Point

2011-09-23T15:56:12-04:00

Earlier this week on Wednesday, the construction of the new academic building for the Amsterdam University College reached its highest point. Mecanoo architecten, based in Delft, designed the 6,000 m² faculty for the University of Amsterdam and VU University Amsterdam. The new Liberal Arts and Science building will be located in Science Park Amsterdam, the international science and research center in the area referred to as Watergraafsmeer, and will be realized in 2012.

Mecanoo Selected to Build Noorderpoort College in Stadskanaal

2011-07-19T13:59:27-04:00

Mecanoo architecten has won the architectural selection for the new Noorderpoort regional community college in Stadskanaal, the Netherlands. The 8,500 m² college is like a mansion with beautiful wetlands as a front lawn situated within the town's green heart.

Mecanoo to Design New Cultural Complex in Shenzhen

2011-05-24T14:49:05-04:00

Mecanoo architecten has been selected by the district government of Shenzhen to design a new cultural complex in this Southern Chinese city. The design comprises a public art museum, science museum, youth center and a mega bookstore, totaling 90,000 m². The museum complex is located between the commercial business district of Longgang and Longcheng park.