On August 28, MVRDV founding partner Nathalie de Vries will participate in an online conversation with Jocelyn Chiew, director of city design at the City of Melbourne, for MAVlab Innovation Talks: Connected Places. Facilitated by Bonnie Shaw (MAV Chief Innovator in Residence) this conversation will roam through topics like how good public design can engage community in social spaces, the role of public design and architecture in activating cities and citizens, and how provocative design can empower greater participation in the public realm.

• Date & Time: 28 August, 17:00 AET (09:00 CET)
• Location: Online via Microsoft Teams
• More information and registration for the event can be found here.

Hosted in partnership with the Living Cities Forum and the Naomi Milgrom Foundation, the conversation is taking place in anticipation of Nathalie's keynote speech at the Living Cities Forum, held in Melbourne and Sydney on the 18th and 20th September.

Image © Barbra Verbij

Nathalie de Vries is founding partner of MVRDV, an architect and urban planner, and the “DV” in MVRDV. She is currently also Professor of Architectural Design and Public Building at Delft University of Technology. From 2021 to 2023 holding the role of City Architect for Groningen, Nathalie’s work focuses on the invention of new building typologies and the creation of changeable, open systems, an approach which she brings to both buildings and urban plans. Well-known designs by Nathalie include 2 faculties for the University of Toronto, several projects for resilient urban design in Groningen, Vancouver and San Francisco, as well as the recently finished mixed-use projects for Mission Rock in San Francisco, and Ascension Paysagère in Rennes, France. A number of mixed-use projects and masterplans are also currently under construction in Amsterdam, Brussels, and Boston. She has also created cultural projects for the Stedelijk Museum Schiedam and the Buitenplaats Ypenburg. Older projects for MVRDV include Villa VPRO, Silodam, Nieuw Leyden, and the Lloyd Hotel.

As an architect, Nathalie appreciates intensive collaboration with clients and interdisciplinary design teams, but also with residents and other stakeholders. Whatever the project, there is always a lot of attention given to the design’s interaction with its surroundings, by designing inviting collective spaces and outdoor areas, among other approaches. In her urban designs, Nathalie explores the combination of high-quality public spaces with functionally mixed buildings that act as catalysts for the development of an area. 

Nathalie is committed to the education of future generations of architects. She has been active as a teacher throughout her career, and previously, she taught at TU Berlin, Harvard GSD, IIT Chicago, and the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, among others, and frequently provides lectures to students and young professionals on architecture and urbanism at a number of academic institutions worldwide. She has also been chair of the Royal Insitute of Dutch architects and Chief Railroad Architect.