Mecanoo is an architecture firm based in Delft, Netherlands. Mecanoo was founded in 1984 by Francine Houben, Henk Döll, Roelf Steenhuis, Erick van Egeraat and Chris de Weijer.
Houben, Döll and Steenhuis won a competition to design youth housing at Kruisplein in Rotterdam while they were still students at Delft University of Technology. The project marked a turning point in Dutch social housing which was then mainly oriented towards family units. Together with Van Egeraat and De Weijer, Mecanoo was founded in 1984 in Delft.
The name Mecanoo is a combination of three different words: the British model construction kit Meccano, the neoplasticist magazine Mécano drawn up by Theo van Doesburg and the motto 'Ozoo', adopted by the original founding members for the Kruisplein competition entry which was located in the area of Rotterdam's former zoo.
Mecanoo is located on one of the oldest canals of the Netherlands, the Oude Delft, in the historical city centre of Delft. This canal house dating from 1750 was designed by the Italian architect Bollina. The interior has a 40-metre long corridor with a stairwell, ceilings and doors with stucco work and carvings in Louis XIV style. After Oude Delft 203 had been occupied in the nineteenth century by several leading citizens, it was sold in 1886 to the Roman Catholic charity for the poor, later the St. Hippolytus Foundation. Until 1970 it served as lodging for the elderly and later as a hospital. In 1983 Mecanoo rented a part of the canal house and now occupies the entire building.
Mecanoo also has offices in Manchester, Washington D.C. and Kaohsiung.
The firm's designs include technical, human and playful aspects. Mecanoo combines the disciplines of architecture, urban planning and landscape architecture in a sometimes unorthodox way and with sensitivity for light. Each project is approached in terms of context and how it relates to the larger urban and social fabric; how it impacts the environment and the beauty of place.
From the start of the 1990s Mecanoo developed an increasingly clear signature. The three words in the title of Francine Houben’s book: composition, contrast and complexity, sum up the basis of Mecanoo’s architecture but say little about its nature, which in all respects is the complete opposite of cool, abstract and minimalist. Maximalist might be an appropriate neologism for this architecture that is warm and tangible and always offers a rich sensory experience.
Since 1984 Mecanoo has been working progressively on an extensive and varied oeuvre. In the early years the work consisted mainly of social housing projects in urban renewal areas. Currently the work focuses on complex, multifunctional buildings and integral urban developments. Project types include houses, schools, campuses, complete neighbourhoods, theatres, libraries, sky scrapers, parks, squares, highways, cities, hotels, museums and places of worship.
Mecanoo has grown into a prominent Dutch architecture practice with an international, multidisciplinary staff composed of architects, interior designers, urban planners, landscape architects and architectural engineers with projects in the Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom, China, Taiwan, South Korea, Norway, Poland, and the United States.
Faculty of Economics and Management, Utrecht (1991–1995)
Delft University of Technology Library, Delft (1993–1997)
Netherlands Open Air Museum, Arnhem, (1995–2000)
Masterplan Delft University of Technology (2001–2002)
Montevideo, Rotterdam (1999–2005)
Da Vinci College, Learning Park, Dordrecht (2004–2007)
FiftyTwoDegrees, Nijmegen (2001–2007)
La Llotja Theatre and Congress Centre, Lleida (2005–2008)
Amphion Theatre, Doetinchem (2006–2009)
Kaap Skil, Maritime and Beachcombers Museum, Texel (2006-2012)
Amsterdam University College, Amsterdam (2008-2012)
Library of Birmingham integrated with Birmingham Repertory Theatre, Birmingham (2008-2013)
HOME, Manchester (2011-2015)
Bruce C. Bolling Municipal Building, Boston (2011-2015)
Palace of Justice, Córdoba (ongoing)
National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts, Kaohsiung (ongoing)
Train station and Municipal Offices, Delft (2015)
Hilton Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, Amsterdam (2009-2015)
Manchester Engineering Campus Development, Manchester (ongoing)
Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library renovation, Washington D.C. (ongoing)
European Investment Bank, Luxembourg (ongoing)
Kaohsiung Station, Kaohsiung (ongoing)
New York Public Library Midtown renovation, New York (ongoing)
Awards and honours
1987 City of Rotterdam Rotterdam Maaskant Prize for Young Architects
1996 Ministry of Education, Culture and Science Best School Building Prize 1996 for Isala College, Silvolde, Netherlands
1998 National Steel Construction Prize 1998 for the Library Delft University of Technology
2001 City of Rotterdam Building Quality Award 2000 for residential area Nieuw Terbregge, Rotterdam, Netherlands
2001 ‘TECU’ Architecture Award 2000 for the National Open Air Museum
2001 A.M. Schreuders Prize 2001 for best underground building for Office Villa Maliebaan, Utrecht, Netherlands
2003 Dutch Building Prize 2003 for the National Open Air Museum
2006 City of Rotterdam Building Quality Prize 2006 for Montevideo
2006 National Steel Construction Prize 2006 for Montevideo
2006 International Prize Dedalo Minosse 2005/2006 for Montevideo
2006 International Highrise Award 2006 for Montevideo
2007 Brick Award for Swimming Pool and Sports Centre Het Marnix in Amsterdam, Netherlands
2008 International Prize Dedalo Minosse 2007/2008 Special Prize for Sustainability for FiftyTwoDegrees
2010 Green GOOD Design Award for Municipal Offices and Train Station Delft
2013 Amsterdam Architecture Prize 2013 (Golden A.A.P.) for Amsterdam University College
2013 Architects’ Journal Building of the Year 2013 for Library of Birmingham
2014 RIBA West Midlands Building of the Year 2014 for Library of Birmingham
2014 RIBA National Award 2014 for Library of Birmingham
2014 Stirling Prize nomination 2014 for Library of Birmingham
2015 Civic Trust Awards Selwyn Goldsmith Award for Universal Design for Library of Birmingham
2015 International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Award for Most Innovative Use of Masonry for Bruce C. Bolling Municipal Building, Boston, United States
2016 Architectural Review MIPIM Future Projects Award for Three Cultural Centers & One Book Mall, Shenzhen, China
2016 RIBA National Award 2016 for HOME, Manchester
2016 Architizer A+ Award for Delft Railway Station, Delft, Netherlands
2017 Boston Society of Architects Harleston Parker Medal for Bruce C. Bolling Municipal Building, Boston, United States
Houben, F., Vollaard, P., Waaijers, L., Mecanoo architecten, Bibliotheek Technische Universiteit Delft, Rotterdam 1998
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
Houben, F., Maliebaan, een huis om in te werken, Andersson Elffers Felix, Utrecht/ Mecanoo architecten, Delft 2000
Houben, F., Composition, Contrast, Complexity, NAi Publishers, Rotterdam 2001 / Birkhaüser, Basel, Boston, Berlin 2001
Mecanoo architecten, TU Delft Vastgoed, ING Vastgoed, TU Delft Masterplan, DUP Satellite, Delft 2002
Houben, F., Calabrese, L. M. (ed.), Mobility, A Room with a View, Rotterdam 2003
Mecanoo architecten, Holland Avenue, Research Road Atlas; Holland Avenue, Design Road Atlas, Ministry for Transport, Public Works and Water Management, The Hague 2003
Houben F., Luyn S.D.B., Mgr. A.H. van, Adrichem, J. van, Rooy, M. van, En het eeuwige licht verlichte haar, Kapel Heilige Maria der Engelen, Rotterdam 2004
Brouwers, R., Betsky, A, Mecanoo, Masters of Architecture Series, Images Publishing Group, Mulgrave, Victoria, Australia, 2008
Houben, F., Tromp, J., Cock, H., Dutch Mountains, Uitgeverij de Kunst, Wezep, Nederland, 2011
Mecanoo architecten, A People's Palace, The Library of Birmingham, Aedes Architecture Forum, Berlin, Germany, 2014
Mecanoo architecten, Houben, F. Mecanoo: People, Place, Purpose, Artifice books on architecture, London, United Kingdom, 2015
2016 Mecanoo: People, Place, Purpose Theater De Vest/Architectuur Informatiecentrum Alkmaar, Alkmaar
2015 Mecanoo Photo Exhibition, American Institute of Architects, Washington D.C.
2014 A People’s Palace, Aedes Architecture Forum, Berlin
2008 Pavilion A Piece of Banyan, Interni/Green Energy Design, Milano Capitale del Design 2008, Milan
2008 Mecanoo: Dutch Mountains, 101 Building, Taipei
2007 Dutch Design Expo, International Creative Industry Week, Shanghai
2007 3rd International Architecture Biennal Rotterdam, Kunsthal, Rotterdam
2007 Dutch Mountains, Casa CASLa, Almere
2006 British Pavilion, 10th International Architecture Biennale, Venice
2003 1st International Architecture Biennal Rotterdam, Netherlands Architecture Institute, Rotterdam
2003 Grattacieli all’Orizzonte/Skyscrapers on the Skyline, Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, Urban Center of the Municipality of Milan
2002 Works in progress, GA Gallery, Tokyo
2002 Next, 8th International Exhibition of Architecture, Venice
2001 Mecanoo architects, Composition, Contrast, Complexity, Netherlands Architecture Institute, Rotterdam
1999 Mecanoo Blue, 4a Bienal Internacional de Arquitectura, São Paulo
1999 Mecanoo, Opere e progretti, Pinacoteca Civica, Como
