Jan Knikker and Sanne van der Burgh at the SHARE X Conference for Advanced Architecture

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How does MVRDV's research and development translate into real-world implementation?

On 11 February at the SHARE X Conference for Advanced Architecture, Partner and Director of Strategy & Development Jan Knikker will first present two key projects where technical research played a decisive role in their realisation, showcasing how MVRDV’s approach influences not only project design but also their sustainability, functionality, and regulatory adaptability. Jan will discuss Valley, the mixed-use skyscraper in Amsterdam's Zuidas business district, which benefited from MVRDV NEXT’s in-house scripting and computational design, enabling complex forms and sustainable strategies, together with Bastide Niel in Bordeaux, the large-scale masterplan comprising 3,500 dwellings and 100,000m² of retail, services, and facilities in which the entire project was designed using parametric architecture. 

This will be followed later in the day by Associate Director, Head of MVRDV NEXT and Architect Sanne van der Burgh tracing the journey from MVRDV's early explorations of density such as WoZoCo through to Valley, and detailing how our in-house tools and technologies accelerate processes and rationalise designs. Elaborating on SolarScape and RoofScape, MVRDV's custom software, Sanne will demonstrate how they contribute to achieving Paris Agreement targets, and in highlighting the role of innovation in climate-responsive architecture and the important of transformations, why research-driven solutions are essential for the future of sustainable design. 

Jan Knikker joined MVRDV in 2008. 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 regions and typologies, by supporting the office’s ambition to generate solutions to global challenges through a multifaceted approach to architecture, urbanism, and computing.

Sanne van der Burgh 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: 11 February, from 11:30 onwards (EEST).
  • Location: Istanbul Marriott Hotel Sisli, 

    Merkez, Abide-i Hürriyet Cd No:142, 34381 Şişli/İstanbul.

  • More information on the conference can be found here.