When we think about what sustainability means, is it a great idea to have a forest on the façade? How do we create innovative collective housing in timber? And can we create these buildings in immersive architecture, in full participation with the users?

On 22 May, Architect, Senior Associate, and Head of MVRDV NEXT Sanne van der Burgh will elaborate on these issues which currently fascinate our practice at the Ontario Association of Architects’ “Housing: Pushing the Envelope” conference. Sanne will discuss relevance and carbon calculations in larger housing projects in Amsterdam, Germany, France, and Belgium, as well as some radical participatory housing projects that allow inhabitants to be their own urban planner and work unhindered by traditional laws and regulations.

Sanne leads multiple teams within MVRDV, realizing projects of various scales, phases, and across several continents. Sanne played an integral role in high-profile MVRDV projects including the Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen, the refurbishment of the Lyon Part Dieu shopping center, and a visionary project for revitalizing New Delhi’s sanitation and infrastructure: Barapullah Springs. Sanne is a versatile architect with demonstrated design achievements. In 2019, Architizer named her as one of 25 young architects to watch. In 2021, she was the winner of the Female Frontier Awards, organized by World Architecture News, winning the category “Innovation in Architecture”. Sanne regularly appears in lectures and juries worldwide.

• Date & time: 22 May, 10:45 (EDT).
• Location: Niagara Falls Convention Centre,  6815 Stanley Ave, Niagara Falls, ON L2G 3Y9, Canada
• More information on the conference can be found here.