Nathalie de Vries is a founding partner at MVRDV Architects–a global architecture firm with a reputation for innovative, unexpected mixed-use design and focus on urban planning. In this episode, de Vries discusses some of MVRDV’s projects including the Pyramid of Tirana and The Canyon. Through these projects, she explains how adaptive reuse can transform the meaning of a community space and how architects can solve urban design problems while also creating spaces people love.

Learning objectives  

• List the elements of the Pyramid of Tirana project that helped transform it from brutalist to a “liberated” community space.
• Describe how architects can use color to their advantage, according to de Vries.
• Explain how MVRDV approached The Canyon’s project in collaboration with other partners.
• Discuss de Vries’ view on how architects should think about their designs in terms of the project’s future, or “second life.”

Credits: 0.5 AIA LU/HSW

Speaker: Aaron Prinz