Francine Houben

Updated on Dec 16, 2023

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Nationality Dutch Role Architect Name Francine Houben		Practice Mecanoo Occupation Architect Spouse Hans Andersson (m. 1997)


Full Name Francine Marie Jeanne Houben Born 2 July 1955 (age 68) ( 1955-07-02 ) Sittard, Netherlands Alma mater Faculty of Architecture, Delft University of Technology Buildings Library of BirminghamDelft University of Technology LibraryRevitalisation Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial LibraryDelft Railway Station and Municipal OfficesLa Llotja de Lleida Projects 1st Edition International Architecture Biennal Rotterdam Education Delft University of Technology Books People Place Purpose: The World According to Mecanoo, Composition, contrast, complexity, Mecanoo Structures Library of Birmingham, La Llotja de Lleida, Martin Luther King Jr Memor, Delft railway station

Francine houben the future of architecture lecture 3 part 1

Francine Marie Jeanne Houben ( [frɑnˈsɪnə maːˈrɪ ˈʒɑnə ˈɦʌubən]; born 2 July 1955) is a Dutch architect. She graduated with cum laude honours from the Delft University of Technology. She is the founding partner and creative director of Mecanoo architecten, based in Delft, The Netherlands, with offices in Manchester, United Kingdom, Washington, D.C., United States and Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

Francine Houben Libraries are the most important public buildings

Francine Houben - The Dutch architect renovating NY Public Library [English Subtitles]

Work

Francine Houben The RIBAJ120 Series Home and away Interview with

The oeuvre of Houben's architecture is extremely wide-ranging and includes projects such as universities, libraries, theatres, residential areas, museums and hotels. Houben combines the disciplines of architecture, urban planning and landscape architecture. According to her biography, she "bases her work on precise analysis coupled with an intuition built over three decades [by interweaving] social, technical, playful and human aspects of space-making together in order to create a unique solution to each architectural challenge." She has gained international acclaim for her works, most recently with the Library of Birmingham which has been shortlisted for the 2014 RIBA Stirling Prize. When named as the Architects' Journal 2014 Woman Architect of the Year, Houben stated that "It was a great privilege to design the Library of Birmingham. Architecture is about teamwork, about being supportive and visionary at the same time. Women are especially good at that."

Francine Houben Drutvo Arhitekata Zagreba Intervju s Francine Houben

Her practice is particularly known for the design of libraries. The library at the Delft University of Technology, completed in 1997, led to the Library of Birmingham (2013), and the current refurbishment of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in Washington, D.C. She has spoken extensively on libraries and public buildings, stating that "libraries are the most important public buildings, like cathedrals were many years ago".

Francine Houben wwwmecanoonlPortalswwwImagesHomeSlideShowI

Francine Houben has held professorships in the Netherlands and abroad, and in 2007 was visiting professor at Harvard University. From 2002 to 2006 she was City Architect of 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 the aesthetics of mobility to the forefront of international design consciousness. In 2010 Francine Houben was granted lifelong membership to the Akademie der Künste, Architecture Department, in Berlin. In November 2015 Queen Máxima of the Netherlands presented the Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds Prize to Houben for her oeuvre.