key architects francine houben partners aart fransen francesco veenstra ellen van der wal paul ketelaars dick van gameren founded 1984 location delft netherlands significant works and honors buildings library of birmingham delft university of technology library revitalisation martin luther king jr. memorial library amsterdam university college delft railway station and municipal offices home arts centre la llotja de lleida website www.mecanoo.nl library of birmingham mecanoo is an architecture firm based in delft netherlands . mecanoo was founded in 1984 by francine houben henk d ll roelf steenhuis erick van egeraat and chris de weijer . contents 1 foundation 2 office location 3 design philosophy 4 oeuvre 5 selected works 6 awards and honours 7 publications 8 exhibitions 9 references 10 external links foundation edit houben d ll and steenhuis won a competition to design youth housing at kruisplein in rotterdam while they were still students at delft university of technology . 1 the project marked a turning point in dutch social housing which was then mainly oriented towards family units . 2 together with van egeraat and de weijer mecanoo was founded in 1984 in delft . the name mecanoo is a combination of three different words the british model construction kit meccano the neoplasticist magazine m cano drawn up by theo van doesburg and the motto ozoo adopted by the original founding members for the kruisplein competition entry which was located in the area of rotterdam s former zoo . 3 office location edit mecanoo is located on one of the oldest canals of the netherlands the oude delft in the historical city centre of delft . this canal house dating from 1750 was designed by the italian architect bollina . the interior has a 40 metre long corridor with a stairwell ceilings and doors with stucco work and carvings in louis xiv style . after oude delft 203 had been occupied in the nineteenth century by several leading citizens it was sold in 1886 to the roman catholic charity for the poor later the st. hippolytus foundation . until 1970 it served as lodging for the elderly and later as a hospital . in 1983 mecanoo rented a part of the canal house and now occupies the entire building . mecanoo also has offices in manchester washington d.c. and kaohsiung . 4 design philosophy edit the firm s designs include technical human and playful aspects . mecanoo combines the disciplines of architecture urban planning and landscape architecture in a sometimes unorthodox way and with sensitivity for light . each project is approached in terms of context and how it relates to the larger urban and social fabric ; how it impacts the environment and the beauty of place . from the start of the 1990s mecanoo developed an increasingly clear signature . the three words in the title of francine houben s book composition contrast and complexity sum up the basis of mecanoo s architecture but say little about its nature which in all respects is the complete opposite of cool abstract and minimalist . maximalist might be an appropriate neologism for this architecture that is warm and tangible and always offers a rich sensory experience . oeuvre edit since 1984 mecanoo has been working progressively on an extensive and varied oeuvre . in the early years the work consisted mainly of social housing projects in urban renewal areas . currently the work focuses on complex multifunctional buildings and integral urban developments . project types include houses schools campuses complete neighbourhoods theatres libraries sky scrapers parks squares highways cities hotels museums and places of worship . mecanoo has grown into a prominent dutch architecture practice with an international multidisciplinary staff composed of architects interior designers urban planners landscape architects and architectural engineers with projects in the netherlands spain the united kingdom china taiwan south korea norway poland and the united states . selected works edit hilton amsterdam airport schiphol municipal offices and train station delft delft university of technology library bruce c. bolling municipal building montevideo residential tower faculty of economics and management utrecht 1991 1995 delft university of technology library delft 1993 1997 netherlands open air museum arnhem 1995 2000 masterplan delft university of technology 2001 2002 montevideo rotterdam 1999 2005 da vinci college learning park dordrecht 2004 2007 fiftytwodegrees nijmegen 2001 2007 la llotja theatre and congress centre lleida spain 2005 2008 amphion theatre doetinchem nl 2006 2009 kaap skil maritime and beachcombers museum texel netherlands 2006 2012 amsterdam university college amsterdam 2008 2012 library of birmingham integrated with birmingham repertory theatre birmingham united kingdom . 2008 2013 home manchester united kingdom 2011 2015 bruce c. bolling municipal building boston 2015 palace of justice c rdoba spain ongoing national kaohsiung center for the arts kaohsiung taiwan ongoing train station and municipal offices delft 2015 hilton amsterdam airport schiphol amsterdam ongoing awards and honours edit 1987 city of rotterdam rotterdam maaskant prize for young architects 1996 ministry of education culture and science best school building prize 1996 for isala college silvolde netherlands 1998 national steel construction prize 1998 for the library delft university of technology 2001 city of rotterdam building quality award 2000 for residential area nieuw terbregge rotterdam netherlands 2001 tecu architecture award 2000 for the national open air museum 2001 a.m. schreuders prize 2001 for best underground building for office villa maliebaan utrecht netherlands 2003 dutch building prize 2003 for the national open air museum 2006 city of rotterdam building quality prize 2006 for montevideo 2006 national steel construction prize 2006 for montevideo 2006 international prize dedalo minosse 2005 2006 for montevideo 2006 international highrise award 2006 for montevideo 2007 brick award for swimming pool and sports centre het marnix in amsterdam netherlands 2008 international prize dedalo minosse 2007 2008 special prize for sustainability for fiftytwodegrees 2010 green good design award for municipal offices and train station delft 2013 amsterdam architecture prize 2013 golden a.a.p. for amsterdam university college 2013 architects journal building of the year 2013 for library of birmingham 2014 riba west midlands building of the year 2014 for library of birmingham 2014 riba national award 2014 for library of birmingham 2014 stirling prize nomination 2014 for library of birmingham publications edit houben f. vollaard p. waaijers l. mecanoo architecten bibliotheek technische universiteit delft rotterdam 1998 houben f. ingenieurskunst en mobiliteitsesthetiek in architectuur en de openbare ruimte de dynamische delta 2 ministry for transport public works and water management mecanoo architecten the hague 1999 houben f. maliebaan een huis om in te werken andersson elffers felix utrecht mecanoo architecten delft 2000 houben f. composition contrast complexity nai publishers rotterdam 2001 birkha ser basel boston berlin 2001 mecanoo architecten tu delft vastgoed ing vastgoed tu delft masterplan dup satellite delft 2002 houben f. l. m. calabrese ed . mobility a room with a view rotterdam 2003 mecanoo architecten holland avenue research road atlas ; holland avenue design road atlas ministry for transport public works and water management the hague 2003 houben f. mgr . a.h. van luyn s.d.b. jan van adrichem max van rooy en het eeuwige licht verlichte haar kapel heilige maria der engelen rotterdam 2004 brouwers r. betsky a mecanoo masters of architecture series images publishing group mulgrave victoria australia published may 2008 exhibitions edit this section might be slanted towards recent events . please try to keep recent events in historical perspective . july 2016 learn how and when to remove this template message 2015 mecanoo photo exhibition american institute of architects washington d.c. 2014 a people s palace aedes architecture forum berlin 2008 pavilion a piece of banyan interni green energy design milano capitale del design 2008 milan 2008 mecanoo dutch mountains 101 building taipei 2007 dutch design expo international creative industry week shanghai 2007 3rd international architecture biennal rotterdam kunsthal rotterdam 2007 dutch mountains casa casla almere 2006 british pavilion 10th international architecture biennale venice 2003 1st international architecture biennal rotterdam netherlands architecture institute rotterdam 2003 grattacieli all orizzonte skyscrapers on the skyline galleria vittorio emanuele urban center of the municipality of milan 2002 works in progress ga gallery tokyo 2002 next 8th international exhibition of architecture venice 2001 mecanoo architects composition contrast complexity netherlands architecture institute rotterdam 1999 mecanoo blue 4a bienal internacional de arquitectura s o paulo 1999 mecanoo opere e progretti pinacoteca civica como references edit architecture in rotterdam netherlands architecture institute mecanoo experimental pragmatism by pietro valle architect s journal external links edit wikimedia commons has media related to buildings by mecanoo . official website retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title mecanoo & oldid 743797080 categories architecture firms of the netherlandshidden categories articles slanted towards recent events from july 2016commons category with local link different than on wikidataofficial website different in wikidata and wikipedia navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as pdfprintable version in other projects wikimedia commons languages italianonederlands edit links this page was last modified on 11 october 2016 at 09 23 . text is available under the creative commons attribution sharealike license ; additional terms may apply . by using this site you agree to the terms of use and privacy policy . wikipedia is a registered trademark of the wikimedia foundation inc. a non profit organization . privacy policy about wikipedia disclaimers contact wikipedia developers cookie statement mobile view