As head of MVRDV NEXT, Sanne van der Burgh leads MVRDV’s research and development and climate teams, driven by her passions for sustainability, new technology, and innovation. A dedicated advocate for environmental awareness and the fight against climate change in architecture, urbanism, and our daily lives, Sanne believes in the capacity of design to inspire and have a positive impact on people and their surroundings.

Sanne’s fascination for computational workflows and methodologies led her to create MVRDV NEXT, an in-house research and development group that focuses on the creation and implementation of cutting-edge technologies in MVRDV’s projects. The involvement of MVRDV NEXT has made complex projects such as the complex façade of Valley possible. Currently, MVRDV NEXT focuses on the development of visionary tools that help cities become more dense, more green, and more resilient.

MVRDV’s Climate Team became part of MVRDV NEXT in 2022, reflecting a goal to make MVRDV’s sustainability strategy more innovative and data-informed. With the climate team, Sanne works to reduce the impact of the built environment on our planet through research, developing software such as CarbonSpace, and collaborates with architects and urbanists both inside and outside MVRDV to reduce the CO2 emissions caused by design and construction.

In addition to her role in MVRDV NEXT, Sanne played an integral role in high-profile MVRDV projects including the Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen, a visionary project for revitalising New Delhi’s sanitation and infrastructure known as Barapullah Springs, and Peruri 88, a 400-metre-tall mixed-use tower for Jakarta. Sanne is a versatile architect with demonstrated design achievements. In 2019, Architizer named her as one of 25 young architects to watch, and in 2021, she was the winner of the Female Frontier Awards, organised by World Architecture News, winning the category “Innovation in Architecture”.