Photo by Hans Werlemann

Photo by Hans Werlemann

Photo by Hans Werlemann

Photo by Hans Werlemann

Photo by Hans Werlemann

Photo by Hans Werlemann

The Netherlands could well be the prime example of a country that has always had to mould the environment to suit its will. It is a country that time and time again has won land from the sea. Perhaps now extra space will be found by expanding vertically.

Can increasing population density coexist with an increase in the quality of life? What should be the conditions and what role will nature play? Is not the issue here ‘new nature’, literally and metaphorically? This kind of effort can be the Netherlands’ specific contribution to the world fair, which seems to be devoted particularly to a nostalgic glimpse of ecology.

The Dutch entry shows a mix of technology and nature, emphasizing nature’s make-ability and artificiality. It provides multi-level public space as an extension to existing public spaces, a monumentalized multi-level park. This act of stacking saves space, energy, time, water and infrastructure.

Data

Architect: MVRDV
Rotterdam, NL
www.mvrdv.nl

Client: Foundation Holland World Fair, The Hague, The Netherlands
Location: Hanover, Germany
Contractor: HGB Volker Boumaatschappij, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Facilitary: Office ABT Bouwkunde, Velp; Bureau Bouwkunde, Rotterdam, Netherlands
Structure: ABT Bouwkunde, Velp, The Netherlands
Cost Advisor: PRC, Oosterbeek, The Netherlands
Mechanics: Technical Management, Amersfoort, The Netherlands
Area: 9000 sqm
Date: 2000
Awards: Finalist of the Mies van der Rohe Award for Contemporary European Architecture (2001); Nominee World Architecture Awards (2001)

Credits & Copyrights

Photoes: Hans Werlemann

Source: MVRDV

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