Lecture Series: Francine Houben
- Date
- October 22, 2020
- Time
- 11:45 AM EDT - 2:15 PM EDT
- Location
- Online
- Open To
- Public
- Contact
- alexandra.berceanu@ryerson.ca
Sponsored by the Consulate-General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Toronto
The live stream and video recording of this event will be available on our Youtube Channel (external link) .
Once you have registered, you will be provided with a link to join the lecture via Zoom. This link will be emailed to you. Only viewers who are attending the lecture via Zoom will be able to submit questions for the Q&A.
People Place Purpose Poetry
People Place Purpose describes the specific architecture of Mecanoo and illustrates the way the firm searches for identity in a global world. From the texture of a local stone, to the colours of a fruit tree, or the rituals of inhabitants. Francine Houben will be highlighting Mecanoo’s ethos of designing places for people and beginning the process of exploring the urban environment and observing the life which inhabits it. Their ultimate goal is to make buildings that people want to use. Poetry, a new layer, reflects the elusive elements of architecture.
"Architecture must appeal to all the senses. Architecture is never a purely intellectual, conceptual, or visual game alone. Architecture is about combining all the individual elements into a single concept. What counts in the end is the arrangement of form and emotion."
About the Speaker
Francine Houben is the Founding Partner and Creative Director of Mecanoo (external link) architecten. Her work ranges from theatres, museums and libraries to neighbourhoods, housing and parks. Her practice has gained international acclaim. Some of Mecanoo's selected works include the Delft University of Technology Library, La Llotja Theatre and Congress Centre in Lleida, the Library of Birmingham, and the National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts in Taiwan. Currently, she is working on the renovations of the New York Public Library and the central library of Washington, DC. In 2015, Queen Máxima of the Netherlands presented her the prestigious Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds Prize for her entire oeuvre.
