Urban sprawl is damaging our planet, and urban density is a solution. Yet, monotonous density is unhealthy and damaging to humans. How to combine suburban life quality with dense cities? MVRDV and its think tank, The Why Factory, conducted research “PoroCity,” in which community building and vertical villages reconsider the current model of the tall building. The research was scripted and led to hundreds of tower typologies that were analyzed based on their social and vertical urbanist qualities.  

Join MVRDV Partner and Director, Jan Knikker, as he addresses the topic of tackling urban density and seeking more functional and humane space by explaining the research conducted by The Why Factory and MVRDV at the CTBUH's “Tall Excellence: Seeking the Ideal in Vertical Urbanism” conference in Chicago on November 10. He will use MVRDV projects as concrete examples of these theories, such as Valley in Amsterdam. 

The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) is a world-leading nonprofit organization for all those interested in the future of cities. It explores how increased urban density and vertical growth can support more sustainable and healthy cities, especially in the face of mass urbanization and the increasing effects of climate change worldwide. 

Partner and Director of Strategy at MVRDV, Jan Knikker joined MVRDV in 2008, just as the office had begun to face the consequences of the Global Financial Crisis. Prior to this, Knikker shaped OMA’s public image for nearly a decade, after having first began his career as a journalist. As Partner and Director of Strategy at MVRDV, Knikker drives Business Development and Public Relations efforts, spearheading a large and dynamic studio that also includes the office’s visualization capacity. He further leads the office’s branding efforts, and MVRDV’s expansion into new markets, by supporting the office’s ambition to generate solutions to global challenges through a multifaceted approach to architecture and urbanism.

• Date & Time: 10th of November | 13:30-15:00 CST | 18:30 - 20:00 CET.
• Location: Chicago, USA. 
• You can find more information here.