MVRDV

Breathing new life into a former industrial area!🍃   Wärtz is the transformation of a business park at the train station in Zwolle into a vibrant innovation district, including 850 homes for all ages, of which around 30 percent will be social housing. There will also be educational institutions, workspaces for creative makers, catering, and facilities for the neighbourhood. The result will be a vibrant railway park in the area.   The existing Wärtsilä hall, characterised by its undulating roof, will be transformed by a design of MVRDV to become a new centrepiece of the district. The hall itself will provide space for innovative startups, creative companies, and educational and research institutions.   The central hall also forms the stage for events that can open onto the square outside. On top of the hall, a spectacular wooden apartment building will be built. A publicly accessible deck will be constructed between the hall and this structure, from which visitors will have a 360-degree view. This building sets the tone for the WärtZ district as a circular, sustainable, and green counterpart to the historic city centre.   In addition to the Wärtsilä Hall, MVRDV has designed three mixed-use buildings with housing and workspaces to complete the central part of WärtZ, known as the Werkplaatsen. The sub-area called Lurelui is designed by Orange Architects. The landscape design by LOLA Landscape Architects is based on the principles of “urban rewilding”, which returns parts of public space to nature. WärtZ gives priority to walkers, cyclists, and public transport users, with attractive slow-traffic routes, multifunctional parking hubs, a wide range of shared transport, and a Bicycle Innovation Centre.🚊   @am_gebiedsontwikkeling @gemeentezwolle   #mvrdv #architecture #urbanism #wartz #district #transformation #repurpose #design #zwolle #mobility #circular #sustainable #creative #housing

Creating spaciousness and nature in the middle of the city!🍀   Ziel is a 15-storey residential building in Montevideo, comprising a loosely-stacked series of individual homes. The design is open and porous, allowing light and air to permeate the entire building and creating plenty of open and green spaces for residents of all ages to enjoy and share.   Located just a block from the ocean, the project occupies a lot next to the green heart of a dense neighbourhood. The design uses a courtyard to ensure adequate light for every apartment and extends the park’s greenery from the courtyard to the private terraces and shared patios.   The project is envisioned as a stack of country villas in the dense city. Each apartment has a generous balcony or loggia, and the shifting floorplans include 40 homes with ten unique layouts – ranging from two- to four-bedroom apartments. The shared patios create two-storey open spaces connecting the street and the courtyard, bringing light and fresh air. These "sky gardens" will share a common language but each will have a unique character, offering views of the ocean.   The amenities include a lounge and dining room on the roof with a shared terrace, lush landscaping, and a swimming pool, as well as a gym and spa on the lower levels. A restaurant on the ground floor corner will contribute to the neighbourhood's vibrancy.   This stack of individual villas is envisioned as a series of stone blocks in complementary colours, creating a harmonious palette of warm, earthy tones. Four different types of stone differentiate each apartment, while bronze window frames tie together the exterior finishes.   Solar panels on the roof contribute to energy use, and greenery throughout improves neighbourhood biodiversity. A water capture and retention system feeds irrigation for the building's greenery, reducing the building’s environmental impact.🌞   Client: IXOU Co-architect: Monoblock   #mvrdv #architecture #urbanism #ziel #nature #green #design #montevideo #patio #terrace #balcony #sustainable #creative #housing #villa #biodiversity

A university building that serves the local community! This is our design for the new building of the Scarborough Academy of Medicine and Integrated Health (SAMIH) at the University of Toronto (@uoft ) of Toronto’s Scarborough Campus (UTSC), made together with @diamondschmittarchitects . SAMIH combines flexible laboratory spaces, classrooms, and offices with community-oriented functions such as a psychology clinic and a pharmacy. These are positioned on either side of a five-storey atrium that opens to the exterior, creating a dynamic gateway building wrapped in a façade of integrated solar panels. The design emphasises communal spaces to maximise effectiveness for learning, research, and public services. The ground floor façade is transparent, inviting people in by creating a flow between the public gathering space and the building. The five-storey atrium reveals interior activities and establishes a pedestrian artery through the building’s central axis. It provides unobstructed exterior views and allows natural light to penetrate, forming the building’s ‘beating heart’ and connecting the academy with the public. This atrium offers collaborative learning environments for teachers, students, and faculty. Contrasting the warm, wood tones of the atrium, the building’s exterior uses cool greys, with panels that play a key role in the building’s performance. These Building-Integrated Photovoltaic panels, along with standard photovoltaics on the roof, significantly contributes to the building’s renewable energy use. The building’s structure is based on a 9.6-metre steel grid, allowing flexibility in the layout and services of the lab spaces. This extends the building’s lifespan, making it more sustainable by enabling labs to be updated and rearranged with minimal material waste and embodied carbon. #mvrdv #architecture #urbanism #samih #university #research #design #toronto #sustainable #creative #education #community #office #laboratory #classroom #technology

Respectfully transforming a historic building, including a rooftop pavilion designed by Gerrit Rietveld with panoramic views over the roofs of Amsterdam! 🏢 The building of the NIO House Amsterdam has a storied history: designed by Jan van Looy, when it was built in 1891 for the New York Life Insurance Company it was among the tallest private buildings in Amsterdam. For the majority of the 20th century, it was home to the Metz & Co department store and in 1933 was extended by a steel and glass rooftop pavilion designed by Gerrit Rietveld, arguably the most important Dutch architect of the modernist movement. Despite this heritage, in 2013 it became home to an Abercrombie & Fitch store; as a consequence, the upper floors including the Rietveld pavilion were closed to the public, and many of the original interior details were covered up. In MVRDV’s design the staircase, with its historic details once again revealed, becomes a central element of the design, and is always visible from the main spaces on each floor to help orient visitors. Throughout the project, the space is opened as much as possible to create a light and airy environment, removing internal walls, raising ceilings, and emphasising vertical connections such as the atrium that links the ground floor with the café. The rooftop Pavilion, a piece of modernist history, is faithfully preserved with refined finishes such as the carpet and curtains. These, along with the panoramic views over the rooftops of Amsterdam, make it an exquisite space for events such as galas and fashion shows – just as it was almost 100 years ago. @niohouse_amsterdam @nionederland @nioglobal #mvrdv #architecture #nio #cars #history #transformation #innovation #view #amsterdam #rooftop

From the ground to the sky! The NIO House Amsterdam brings an atmospheric journey as you lift up through the building. The floors of the NIO House Amsterdam form a colour gradient inspired by NIO’s “blue sky coming” slogan, from earthy colours on the lower floors to an airy blue that fills the building’s modernist rooftop pavilion. The design team devised a palette of materials that becomes progressively cleaner and lighter as it ascends the building, suggesting an atmospheric journey from earth to sky. On the ground and first floors, the walls are panelled with a 3D-printed material made from recycled drinks cartons, developed in partnership with Amsterdam-based @aectual , which gives an earthy colour and a fluted texture to the walls. Meanwhile the floors are made from Duracryl’s Durabella, a sustainable terrazzo flooring made with renewable resources. On the level above, the walls and floors are finished with wood, while on the third floor, wood floors are complemented with eco-friendly paint. The fourth floor features a peachy orange gradient on its walls, which draw attention upwards to the vaulted ceilings of the original building. This gradual vertical change culminates in the top two floors. The walls of the sixth transition from gold to blue, leading into the sky-blue floor, finishes, and ceiling of the rooftop pavilion. @niohouse_amsterdam @nionederland @nioglobal #mvrdv #interior #nio #house #showroom #car #pavilion #gradient #transformation #heritage #architecture #design

Making a community hub on the Keizersgracht, this is the NIO House Amsterdam! This is our interior design for the European flagship location of electric car manufacturer NIO, occupying a seven-storey building on Amsterdam’s Keizersgracht originally built in the late 19th century. The new NIO House Amsterdam renovates the building with an interior design by MVRDV, which combines design elements reflective of NIO’s brand with a respectful treatment of the historic building. Just as in all of their locations worldwide, the arrival of a NIO House turns the building not just into a typical “car showroom”, but a public building with a variety of functions that contribute to the neighbourhood that hosts it. Above the car showcase on the ground floor is a café including a soft yellow kids’ corner; next, the second floor is home to the Forum, which local businesses and event organisations can utilise for workshops, presentations, and small-scale lectures, alongside a “Joy Camp” where children can entertain themselves. The third floor features co-working spaces that can be booked and used by the public, while the fourth is home to an art and design gallery that can equally be used to show NIO products or as a platform for local artists to showcase their work. Finally – above a fifth floor reserved for NIO’s own offices – are event spaces in the sixth floor and a historic, re-opened rooftop pavilion. @niohouse_amsterdam @nionederland @nioglobal #mvrdv #interior #nio #community #hub #amsterdam #house #car #pavilion #transformation #heritage

The Couch, a clubhouse for Amsterdam’s Tennisclub IJburg!🔴🏓   The design of The Couch in the east of Amsterdam is an attempt to minimise the use of valuable playing space with the addition of a new clubhouse. A long low strip opens up to views of the tennis courts on one side and the waters of the IJmeer on the other. The roof of the club forms an informal spectator platform, which can seat up to 200 people.   The clubhouse is the centre of the tennis club’s activities. The design is an iconically functional building. The challenge was to create a building that works as a central gathering for the area. A living room for IJburg neighbourhood, where it becomes a part of the community like piece of street furniture.   The clubhouse is a long open volume with services on both sides. The main space is multifunctional and can be used for the club’s many events. The roof dips down towards the south side and is raised towards the north up to a height of seven metres, creating an informal tribune. The wide glass front to the north side allows extensive natural lighting and provides a view out over the waters of the IJmeer.   The outside is fully sealed with a polymer hot spray in the same colour and texture as the clay tennis courts. The reduced glass surface to the south helps to cool the building. The thermal mass characteristics of the materialisation in concrete and wood are used to reach a high degree of energy efficiency. In summer there is natural ventilation, adding to the ambitious sustainability profile of the structure.🎾   #mvrdv #architecture #leisure #public #sport #court #tennis #club #amsterdam #activities #ijmeer #thecouch

Bringing colour to the skyline of upper Manhattan! This is the Radio Hotel and Tower.🗼 The distinctive design of Radio Hotel and Tower comprises a stack of blocks in eight different colours of glazed brick that match the size of the surrounding buildings. The building has a dramatic impact on the skyline of upper Manhattan, but responds sensitively to the neighbourhood and adds much-needed hotel, office, and hospitality amenities that were missing. The design approach creates a vertical village so that the building does not overwhelm its surroundings. The stacked shape has the added benefit of providing multiple outdoor terraces, with every block having its own outdoor space on the roof of the block below. The bright colours are a further nod to this part of the city, referencing the shopfronts of the vibrant neighbourhood. The brightest colours are found on the upper blocks, while more muted colours greet visitors at street level. Inside, the 221-room Radio Hotel will serve as an important hub for travellers. The hotel’s interior design by Workshop APD takes the exterior as its inspiration, matching the brightly-coloured bathrooms to the colours of the blocks. In addition, the building includes ground-level retail, and over 16,000 square metres of office space. On the 12th floor, in the blue block, is a dedicated event space suitable for everything with the adjacent rooftop terrace boasting spectacular views of Manhattan. The building also hosts a range of facilities for food and entertainment. Just beyond the restaurant at ground level, the hotel also features a 750-square-metre courtyard with a garden and ample outdoor seating, which is a hub of live music and activity for the hotel.  Bringing a jolt of electric energy to an often-overlooked part of Manhattan, Radio Hotel and Tower creates a landmark that brings attention to the neighbourhood. It celebrates the area’s community, furthering the urban qualities of the surroundings without departing from the already-existing urban character. 🗽

 Client: YoungWoo & Associates
Executive architect: @stonehilltaylor Photos: @ossipvanduivenbode #mvrdv #architecture #hotel #leisure #tower

From bright orange to apple green: this is our design for Studio Thonik in Amsterdam!🍊🍏 In the hidden inner court of an Amsterdam block in the east of the city, you can find an apple green building. Originally constructed as an office for Studio Thonik, the design is radical in its simplicity, comprising a simple shoe-box with two floors. The first floor was not flat but a sequence of large steps. This resulted in a ground floor with increasing ceiling heights towards the garden, and a first floor stepping up towards the roof deck. In order to also keep the execution simple, lightweight stone block was selected as the main building material. A polyurethane coating in a single bright colour was added for the walls, floors, fences, and pool, making it stand out in the area, which was at the time dominated by grey uninspiring blocks. The polyurethane coating could be applied in any colour. Bright orange would offer a warm touch in the courtyard combining red brick and terracotta with the clean look of Thonik’s graphic language. Although the orange was officially approved by the municipality, the orange was too bright for some neighbours. This led to a public debate on whether this colour was aggressive or just cheerful. A mediator assisted in the selection of a new colour and a compromise was found with the city of Amsterdam. The orange polyurethane coating was changed to apple green, a classic but nice compromise. Not orange, but still bright! #mvrdv #architectue #amsterdam #block #thonik #office #apple #green #orange

From grey to pearlescent! This is the façade of the Chongwenmen M·CUBE Shopping Centre that appears in different colours.⚪️🛍️ Located in the heart of Beijing, Chongwenmen M·CUBE is a 40,000 m2 shopping centre, consisting of a singular building that combines day-time shopping and vibrant night-life. It acts as a major hub in the central district of Chongwenmen. The primary innovation of the project was the development of a pearlescent façade. The shape of the building was generated by cutting the volume at various angles to orient the façades to face key locations, such as the nearby railway station and intersection. This created a shape that is both contextual and recognizable in its visual presence. It also allowed for the creation of open-air terraces on each level, which are symbolically oriented towards landmarks such as the Forbidden City and Temple of Heaven. The building is wrapped in a pearlescent ceramic façade that at different times appears either grey or colourful. It stands out and catches the attention of the passers-by. Hand-glazed in China, the tiles of the façade were made by applying three layers of glaze to the ceramic, and firing at a different temperature each time. The surface treatment of the façade also breaks up the mass of the building while responding to the light and view requirements of the interior program. While some areas of the surface were required to have blind facades to accommodate the stores behind, other stores are able to use diffuse light to their advantage. The daytime shopping centre, which mostly hosts retail stores, is located on the lower 3 floors. The upper levels feature more restaurants, bars, and cafés. In order to allow the upper floors to function while the lower floors are closed, an express elevator from the ground level takes visitors up to a second lobby on the fourth floor. To complete this layering effect, a landscaped roof terrace allows visitors to relax outside. #mvrdv #architecture #chongwenmen #mcube #shoppingcentre #retail #leisure #facade #china #nightlife #ceramic

More than just a facelift: this is the transformation of the Lyon Part-Dieu shopping centre! ⚪️🔷 The Lyon Part-Dieu project is the transformation of a shopping centre from the 1970s. The massive building is re-socialised, while sustainably reusing a significant amount of the existing building’s materials. The transformation replaces the old car park and rearranges the building’s interior spaces to rationalise circulation, while new extensions are added. The design rearranges internal programmes, inserts large windows, and adds an expansive rooftop park connected to the city. Despite the dramatic transformation, the history of the building is retained. The concrete panels of the original façade have been reused, keeping the pattern of interlocking rectangles that characterised the original building’s visual identity. These concrete panels, which previously were a dull beige, are now fresh and white. They are also replicated on the extensions, with a modern twist. At the entrances and other key locations, the façade ‘evaporates’ to reveal large windows, reinforcing the building’s openness. Another element of the transformation is found on the roof: grand staircases rise next to the shopping centre’s main entrances, leading to a multi-level rooftop garden that connects three sides of the building. With restaurants and cafés as well as green spaces, comfortable seating, and play areas for children, this rooftop becomes a true piece of the city, connecting its different parts. People can now take multiple routes through or over the building to cross the vast site. The shopping centre becomes a kind of public plateau that allows people to orient themselves within the city. The transformation of Lyon Part-Dieu shows how the urban mistakes of previous eras can be sustainably assimilated into the modern city. Rather than demolish and replace, the design retains the existing structure, including much of its façade, and avoids the significant amounts of embodied carbon that rebuilding would otherwise create. In collaboration with @sudarchitectes #mvrdv #architecture #transformation #sustainability #shoppongcentre #lyon #urbanism #retail #leisure #public #green

A 3D-printed façade inspired by coral reefs!💙 This is our sustainable façade for The Tiffany & Co. store in Singapore’s Changi Airport. Located in the airport’s Piazza Garden, the store features a one-of-a-kind façade that highlights a commitment to sustainability. It features a coral-inspired screen, 3D printed using recycled ocean plastic.   In developing the design, our design team identified a series of distinctive design characteristics that speak to Tiffany’s identity and history, ranging from touches of Tiffany Blue® to the use of innovative materials, inspired by Louis Comfort Tiffany’s glass art of the late 19th century. Also drawing from Tiffany’s design legacy are nods to flora and fauna throughout the store.   The local environment, in particular Singapore’s coral reefs, provide a thematic anchor. Using the patterns seen in coral species as a guide, the team designed a screen to cover the store’s façade with an organic, cell-like pattern. Colour gradients, both in the 3D print and on a layer of glass behhind it, transition from Tiffany’s signature robin’s-egg blue to a deep blue to reference Singapore’s ocean setting.   The next step in the innovation was in the materials used. 3D printing experts Aectual developed a process to produce the 50-millimetre-thick screen using recycled plastic, including reclaimed and recycled fishing nets. By making use of this unusual source of recycled plastic, the design not only draws inspiration from the oceans, but also plays a part in protecting them.🪸   In collaboration with @aectual & @buromilan #mvrdv #architecture #tiffany #airport #sustainability #retail #singapore #interior #3dprinting #glass #changi