Ben van Berkel: The Latest Architecture and News

UNStudio, in collaboration with local partner HYP Architects, has won the competition for the design of the Kyklos building in Luxembourg. The project is part of Beval, a large-scale redevelopment initiative aiming to transform a former industrial site into an urban center complete with a university and technological center, in addition to residential, office, and retail spaces. When designing the Kyklos building, which will occupy a central position in the district's main square, the architects set out to find solutions to create the smallest carbon footprint for both operational and embedded metrics.

UNStudio, in collaboration with Arup and local firm Heerim Architecture, has unveiled the proposal for the “Peace Park Wheel.” Designed as a landmark at Sangam World Cup Park in Seoul, UNStudio successfully won the preliminary competition and is set to partner with Seoul Housing & Community Corp. The ferris wheel proposal is part of the mayor’s vision: “Han River with a Thousand Sunsets,” aiming to establish numerous public spaces along the Han River for the city’s residents.

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In 1993 a young professional couple with two toddlers and a large suburban lot in Naarden, a town less than half an hour's drive southeast of Amsterdam, approached Ben van Berkel to design an unusual house. They envisioned it as progressive and innovative in every way possible. More than that, they wanted a kind of building that “would be recognized as a reference in terms of renewal of the architectural language.” Before settling on the architect, they spoke to several candidates, including Rem Koolhaas. They chose van Berkel who five years earlier, together with his then-wife Caroline Bos co-founded their eponymous practice, because as he told me, “I went to the site and studied it carefully and already had ideas about what I called the four quadrants of the landscape. I knew what kind of house it would be. I could see clearly where different rooms would go, how they would be shaped, and how they would relate to each other.” The couple couldn’t resist. Yet, there would be no rush on the project which took five years to complete, most time was invested in its design, going through many iterations and refinements, all based on the Möbius loop.

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At the 18th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, NEOM has unveiled the “Zero Gravity Urbanism- Principles for a New Livability” exhibition to present the concept and standards guiding the design of the Line, their proposed 170-kilometer-long linear city in north-west Saudi Arabia. The event aims to introduce to the public an alternative vision for urban planning whose compact configuration strives to become a model for the development of more efficient and sustainable cities. Prior to the opening of the exhibition, more than 20 internationally recognized architects and designers joined the design team, including Sir Peter Cook, Massimiliano Fuksas, Jean Nouvel, and Ben van Berkel. The exhibition is open from 20 May to 24 September 2023 at Abbazia di San Gregorio, Venice.

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After the first years of launching their architectural practice, Ben van Berkel and Caroline Bos renamed their practice to UNStudio. Short for United Network Studio, the change of name stands symbolic to the knowledge based, networked nature of the firm, which has grown to expand to 6 offices worldwide today.

UNStudio and Cox Architecture have officially been announced as the winners of Melbourne’s landmark Southbank Precinct overhaul. Selected from a range of high-profile offices, including BIG, OMA, and MAD, UNStudio's vision for the $2 billion project includes a pair of twisted towers called Green Spine. As the largest single-phase project in the history of Victoria, Australia, the Green Spine is designed as a state-of-the-art, mixed-use environment centered around innovation in architecture and design.

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Continuing towards its goal of creating design-forward structures that are available to the public and installable anywhere, Revolution Precrafted's series has unveiled its latest pavilion design by Ben van Berkel, founder and principal architect of UNStudio. The limited edition Ellipsicoon (a portmanteau of Ellipse and Cocoon) is available now through Revolution Precrafted’s website, joining the selection of prefabricated pavilions and single-family home designs by the likes of Zaha Hadid, Jean Nouvel, and Daniel Libeskind.

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Employing the latest in aluminum and metals innovation, Ben van Berkel and UNStudio have erected the ALPOLIC fair stand at BAU 2017, the world’s leading trade fair for architecture, materials and systems. Emphasizing the inherent strength of the ultra-light material, the parametric design utilizes geometric principles to create a self-supporting semi-private stand for gathering and the display of products.

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Last week ArchDaily attended the 2016 World Architecture Festival (WAF) in Berlin. Following his opening keynote address, we talked to Ben van Berkel of UN Studio who spoke of his interest in using technology in architecture to improve not only user experience, but to affect qualitative aspects of design itself. Together with his partner Caroline Bos, Van Berkel recently published Knowledge Matters, a book positioned "to help architects to run a better studio and to share knowledge."

Ben van Berkel and UNStudio have collaborated with a multidisciplinary team including Goudappel Coffeng (mobility consultants), GeoPhy (data specialists) and 2getthere (automated transit systems) to produce a study examining the future of infrastructure and city development for the area around Amsterdam’s A10 ring road and the Leylaan district.

Proposals resulting from the study comprise a new multimodal transportation hub located at the intersection of Cornelis Lelyaan and the A10, and new urban districts flanking the highway that will link to adjacent neighborhoods while provided a much needed new address in Amsterdam.

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Three new sessions have been announced for the 2016 World Architecture Festival (WAF), held from November 16-18 in Berlin, Germany. Adding to the impressive list of speakers at the event will be Ben van Berkel, founder of UNStudio, who will lecture on “Superliving - from exclusive to inclusive”; Carlos Zedillo of Infonavit discussing “Architect as instigator”; and Qutub Mandviwala, MQA, who will present on “Housing and cultural difference.”

Said Ben van Berkel about the event: “It is essential to understand that ‘housing for everyone’ is not simply a matter of providing homes for all, it is also a question of what the home of the future should be; how we can meet the demands of all future residents and provide housing that fulfils their varied and changing needs.”

UNStudio has designed the final portion of a 225,000 square meter (2,420,000 square foot) urban plan for the district of Oosterdokseiland in the city center of Amsterdam. Located at the tip of the island, the last sub-plan will consist of a lively social hub and 72,500 square meters (780,000 square feet) of public facilities, apartments and office space for Amsterdam-based company Booking.com.

“The design for this fully integrated new urban campus is envisioned as a highly multifunctional living and working environment, enriched with special amenity and public programmes,” said UNStudio Founder Ben van Berkel. “The urban gesture of the building weaves together with the existing streets, while the east side of the building will become a recognisable emblem for Oosterdok.”

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Marking the 20th anniversary of the opening of their iconic Erasmus Bridge in Rotterdam, UN Studio, along with the Kunsthal and Heerema Group, have organized an exhibition demonstrating “the many and varied ways that the bridge has been embraced by the public and become a symbol of the city of Rotterdam.”