Archinect - News

MVRDV to convert structuralist icon in the Netherlands into a new residential district

2022-06-16T19:16:00-04:00

MVRDV is transforming the famed Herman Hertzberger-designed Centraal Beheer building in the Dutch city of Apeldoorn into a sustainable, green residential neighborhood. MVRDV will work alongside Hertzberger's office, AHH to revitalize the celebrated structure. Certitudo Capital commissioned the project in an effort to expand the three-hectare site near the city's train station. MVRDV's design introduces approximately 650 to 800 homes and prioritizes heritage preservation, greening, and innovation.

The Centraal Beheer building was originally designed for an insurance company, noted for its influential and revolutionary office design when it opened in 1972. The building consists of four quadrants, divided by two central "streets" that form the social heart of the building. A collection of 30-foot cubes come together at varying levels to give the structure its distinctive form.

In 2015, the building was purchased by Certitudo Capital and the surrounding site to convert it into a multif...

Editor's Picks #241

2011-12-11T08:09:00-05:00

The Royal Institute of British Architects named internationally acclaimed Dutch architect Herman Hertzberger as the recipient of the 2012 Royal Gold Medal. Aaron Lim griped "@Orhan, I completely agree. A lifetime's work of innovative social ideas remains largely unrecognized by the architectural establishment today: his work remains fresh after all these years."

In the latest installment of Archinect’s Contours feature EDD DE 1101 I - Part 2, Guy Horton claims "Unemployment is one of the worst things that can happen to you in a society that places so much emphasis on career and financial advancement. The unemployed are so stigmatized in our culture of work that companies don’t want to hire them. The blame is automatically shifted onto the individual rather than on the blatant failures of our deregulated economic system and intrinsically-bought political structures. Deep down, many people are too threatened by this scenario." But polymathic asks "Couldn't you have just written 'unemployment is uncomfortable' instead of all that??

The part about the notebooks insects and blood made me a little nauseated. That big long run-on sentence paragraph about not being able to pay bills gave me an odd sense of vertigo and I think that it should be tightened up a good bit....Otherwise I ignore the content of your piece, whatever you went through isn...

Herman Hertzberger to Receive the 2012 Royal Gold Medal

2011-12-06T21:20:00-05:00

The Royal Institute of British Architects has named internationally acclaimed Dutch architect Herman Hertzberger as the recipient of the 2012 Royal Gold Medal. Given in recognition of a lifetime's work, the Royal Gold Medal is approved personally by the Queen of England and is awarded annually to a person or group of people whose influence on architecture has had a truly international effect.