Francine Houben
Encyclopedia
Francine Houben is a leading Dutch architect
. She is a founding partner and the creative director of Mecanoo
Architecten, Delft
, The Netherlands
.
The oeuvre of Francine Houben is extremely wide-ranging and includes projects such as universities
, libraries
, theatre
s, residential area
s, museum
s and hotel
s. Houben combines the disciplines of architecture
, urban planning
and landscape architecture
to form a unique solution to each situation. She has gained international acclaim for her works and has been praised for her playful and human style.
Francine Houben has held important professorships in Holland and abroad, and in 2007 was visiting professor at Harvard University
. From 2002 to 2006 she was City Architect of the Dutch city Almere
. In 2001 she published her seminal manifesto about architecture: 'Composition, Contrast, Complexity' and brought as curator of the First International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam
in 2003, the theme of mobility to the forefront of international design consciousness.
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
. She is a founding partner and the creative director of Mecanoo
Mecanoo
Mecanoo is a firm of architects based in Delft, The Netherlands. The Delft based office of Mecanoo was officially founded in 1984 by Francine Houben, Henk Döll, Roelf Steenhuis, Erick van Egeraat and Chris de Weijer. The firm is directed by its original founder architect Prof. ir. Francine M.J....
Architecten, Delft
Delft
Delft is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland , the Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam and The Hague....
, The Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
.
The oeuvre of Francine Houben is extremely wide-ranging and includes projects such as universities
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
, libraries
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
, theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
s, residential area
Residential area
A residential area is a land use in which housing predominates, as opposed to industrial and commercial areas.Housing may vary significantly between, and through, residential areas. These include single family housing, multi-family residential, or mobile homes. Zoning for residential use may permit...
s, museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
s and hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
s. Houben combines the disciplines of architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
, urban planning
Urban planning
Urban planning incorporates areas such as economics, design, ecology, sociology, geography, law, political science, and statistics to guide and ensure the orderly development of settlements and communities....
and landscape architecture
Landscape architecture
Landscape architecture is the design of outdoor and public spaces to achieve environmental, socio-behavioral, or aesthetic outcomes. It involves the systematic investigation of existing social, ecological, and geological conditions and processes in the landscape, and the design of interventions...
to form a unique solution to each situation. She has gained international acclaim for her works and has been praised for her playful and human style.
Francine Houben has held important professorships in Holland and abroad, and in 2007 was visiting professor at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. From 2002 to 2006 she was City Architect of the Dutch city Almere
Almere
Almere is a planned city and municipality in the province of Flevoland, the Netherlands, bordering Lelystad and Zeewolde. The municipality of Almere comprises the districts Almere Stad, Almere Haven, Almere Buiten, Almere Hout, Almere Poort and Almere Pampus .Almere is the youngest city in the...
. In 2001 she published her seminal manifesto about architecture: 'Composition, Contrast, Complexity' and brought as curator of the First International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
in 2003, the theme of mobility to the forefront of international design consciousness.
Selected Projects
- Library for the Technical University Delft (1998)
- St. Mary of the Angels chapel, RotterdamRotterdamRotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
(2001) - MontevideoMontevideo (Rotterdam)Montevideo is a multipurpose Tower located by the river Nieuwe Maas in Rotterdam, in the Netherlands.-Description:The building has 43 floors and its structural height is . However, together with the huge M on the roof, the building's total height is ....
, Rotterdam(2006) - Fifty Two Degrees, Nijmegen (2006)
- La Llotja Theatre and CongressLa Llotja de LleidaLa Llotja de Lleida is a theatre and congresa centre in Lleida . It opened its doors in January 2010, and is owned by the city council. Giuseppe Verdi's Il Trovatore premiered there on 21 January. Its two congress halls, called A and B, have capacity for 400 and 200 people, while the main auditory,...
, LleidaLleidaLleida is a city in the west of Catalonia, Spain. It is the capital city of the province of Lleida, as well as the largest city in the province and it had 137,387 inhabitants , including the contiguous municipalities of Raimat and Sucs. The metro area has about 250,000 inhabitants...
, SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
(2010) - The Palace of Justice, CordobaCórdoba, Spain-History:The first trace of human presence in the area are remains of a Neanderthal Man, dating to c. 32,000 BC. In the 8th century BC, during the ancient Tartessos period, a pre-urban settlement existed. The population gradually learned copper and silver metallurgy...
, Spain (expected to open 2012) - The Library of BirminghamLibrary of BirminghamThe Library of Birmingham is a new library under construction in the city centre of Birmingham, England. It is situated on the west side of the city centre at Centenary Square beside the Birmingham Rep and Baskerville House. It replaces the old Birmingham Central Library and will provide pedestrian...
, Birmingham, UK (expected to open 2013) - Wei-Wu-Ying Center for the Arts, KaohsiungKaohsiungKaohsiung is a city located in southwestern Taiwan, facing the Taiwan Strait on the west. Kaohsiung, officially named Kaohsiung City, is divided into thirty-eight districts. The city is one of five special municipalities of the Republic of China...
, TaiwanTaiwanTaiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
(expected to open 2013)
Prizes
- 2001 Honorary Fellowship, Royal Institute of British ArchitectsRoyal Institute of British ArchitectsThe Royal Institute of British Architects is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally.-History:...
- 2007 Honorary Fellowship, Royal Architectural Institute of CanadaRoyal Architectural Institute of CanadaThe Royal Architectural Institute of Canada , founded in 1907, is a Canadian association representing over 3,600 architects, and faculty and graduates of Canadian Schools of Architecture.RAIC is the voice for architecture and its practice in Canada...
- 2007 Honorary Fellowship, American Institute of ArchitectsAmerican Institute of ArchitectsThe American Institute of Architects is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to support the architecture profession and improve its public image...
- 2008 Veuve Cliquot Business Women of the Year award
Other Functions
- 2010–present Board Member Akademie der KünsteAkademie der KünsteThe Akademie der Künste, Berlin is an arts institution in Berlin, Germany. It was founded in 1696 by Elector Frederick III of Brandenburg as the Prussian Academy of Arts, an academic institution where members could meet and discuss and share ideas...
(BerlinBerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
) - 2009-present Member of Council ARCPROSPECT International Foundation of Architects and Design Professionals
- 2008–present Board Member Carnegie Foundation
- 2007–present Member Klankbordgroep Ruimtelijke Kwaliteit Rotterdam
- 2006–present Columnist for the newspaper Het Financieele DagbladHet Financieele DagbladHet Financieele Dagblad is a daily Dutch newspaper. It is focused on business and financial matters....
- 2005–present Supervisory board Kröller-Müller MuseumKröller-Müller MuseumThe Kröller-Müller Museum is an art museum and sculpture garden, located in the Hoge Veluwe National Park in Otterlo in the Netherlands.-Museum:...
, OtterloOtterloOtterlo is a small village in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands, in or near the Nationaal Park De Hoge Veluwe.... - 2005–present Board Member International Film Festival RotterdamInternational Film Festival RotterdamThe International Film Festival Rotterdam is an annual film festival held in various cinemas in Rotterdam, Netherlands held at the end of January. It is approximately comparable in size to other major European festivals such as Cannes, Venice, Berlin, and Locarno...
- 2003–present Board Member Forum for Urban Renewal
Selected publications
- 2008 Brouwer, R., Betsky, A, Houben, F. Mecanoo, Francine Houben, Masters of Architecture Series, Mulgrave, Victoria, Australia 2008
- 2007 Valle, P., Mecanoo: Experimental Pragmatism, Skira International Corporation, Milan, Italy
- 2004 Houben, F., Mgr. A.H. van Luyn S.D.B., Adrichem, J. van, Rooy, M. van, En het eeuwige licht verlichte haar, Kapel Heilige Maria der Engelen, Rotterdam 2004
- 2003 Houben, F., L. M. Calabrese (ed.), Mobility, A Room with a View, Rotterdam 2003
- 2003 Bilò, F., Mecanoo, Rome 2003
- 2003 Mecanoo architecten, 'Holland Avenue, Research Road Atlas; Holland Avenue, Design Road Atlas, Ministry for Transport, Public Works and Water Management, The Hague 2003
- 2002 Mecanoo architecten, TU Delft Vastgoed, ING Vastgoed, TU Delft Masterplan, DUP Satellite, Delft 2002
- 2001 Houben, F., Composition, Contrast, Complexity, NAi Publishers, Rotterdam 2001 / Birkhaüser, Basel, Boston, Berlin 2001
- 2000 Houben, F., Maliebaan, een huis om in te werken, Andersson Elffers Felix, Utrecht/ Mecanoo architecten, Delft 2000
- 1999 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
- 1998 Houben, F., Vollaard, P., Waaijers, L., Mecanoo architecten, Bibliotheek Technische Universiteit Delft, Rotterdam 1998
- 1994 Rood, L., Prat, N.T., Mecanoo architekten, Madrid 1994
- 1987 Cusveller, R. (ed.), Mecanoo, vijfentwintig werken, Rotterdam 1987
External links
- http://www.mecanoo.nl/
- http://www.arcprospect.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1890&Itemid=29&lang=en
- http://www.designboom.com/eng/interview/houben.html
- http://arkhitekton.net/2009/05/03/francine-houben-dutch-mountains/
- http://www.gsd.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/faculty/details.cgi?faculty_id=1347