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While the lecture that Alejandro Zaera Polo held in April 2008 essentially signalled the start of his examination of the relation between building volume and politics, he is now working on a general theory about The Envelope. November 25 he gave anot…

Gas pipe You can’t be clear enough when making a political statement at a circus like the biennale, as the tiny country of Estonia understands all too well. In response to controversial plans by Gazprom for a pipeline between Russia and Germany, cura…

In collaboration with Czech architect Marcela Steinbachová (from Prague-based office Skupina) Steven Holl Architects has realized the interiors for the Franz Kafka Society in the centre of Prague’s former Jewish quarter. The 172 square metre project …

After studying at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague from 1956 to 1961, Peter Struycken (1939) painted in a figurative style. He was fascinated by the differences and similarities in visual reality. A row of trees interested him more than a single…

Tuesday October 17‘Noodles or Magnum?’ What a choice I think half sleepily as I hear the stewardess in the distance. Slurping my noodles, I’m impressed by the seemingly endless cinnamon coloured Gobi Desert down below. Having stu…

Saturday March 25 Turbulent times in Buenos Aires. Just a week ago the president decided that March 24 is a national day of remembrance to commemorate the military coup in 1976. By law, all civil servants enjoy a free day; hospital operations and mar…

‘André was born in 1968, I in 1971 – that’s why.’ This is prize-winner Oliver Thill’s laconic reply to the suggestion that statutory reasons alone meant that the Maaskant Prize was awarded to him personally – winners must be aged 35 years or younger …

My drive to Utrecht last Saturday took me along the A12 motorway. Strewn thoughtlessly along both sides of the roadway were miserable-looking boxes decorated with signage that clamoured for attention, interrupted occasionally by stretches of acoustic…

Employment agency Alescon, operating in six municipalities in the province of Drente, is attempting to change the prevailing view of the sheltered workshop as a place to be pitied into an active company that puts people first. The agency's building d…

Both the front and back walls of the big concert hall are entirely glazed. The double expanse of glass behind the orchestra is no less than 15 by 22 metres in area. It is made of curved and laminated strips of glass 1200 mm wide and 400 mm deep. The …

In the same week as the presentation of the bulky design book False Flat, five prominent foreign curators concluded that Dutch art is in a state of slumber and is of no international importance. The reason, they claim, is the harmful effect of the Du…

Orbanism is the open concept employed by Luc Deleu. »Orbanism stands for a metaphysical and material structuring of the world for the common good, the public interest. Orbanism aims for a dynamic balance between order and chaos, architecture and life…

Winka Dubbeldam opened her office Archi-Tectonics in 1994. She rose to prominence with contributions to exhibitions such as 'The Unprivate House' (1994) at the MOMA and Archi-Lab (2000) in Orléans. She also compiled a body of quality architectur…

The complex designed by Duiker in the woods near Hilversum is being restored in phases. Major repairs started in 1995 with the restoration of the service block by students from the Delft University of Technology, and work on the main block was comple…

Now that it's the holiday season, a large portion of the population voluntarily resides in conditions that fall well short of standards that normally apply to housing. Crammed together in minimal, poorly isolated 'dwellings' of cotton or thin plastic…