Who shapes the city of today? How can cities evolve fast enough to ensure their continued existence in the face of challenges such as climate change? How can we engage people in meaningful ways, extending from individual level to community, city and societal initiatives for enhanced cities? On July 5th, 2023, MVRDV founding partner Nathalie de Vries participated in one of the OBEL Award Talks at the UIA World Congress in Copenhagen, sharing her insights into city-making from various perspectives - not only as a founding partner of MVRDV, but also as the city architect of Groningen and as a professor at TU Delft. Nathalie joined the conversation alongside fellow panelists Carlos Moreno (a professor at Sorbonne university and creator of the 15-minute city concept), Joan Clos (the former mayor of Barcelona and executive director of UN Habitat), and Lina Ghotmeh (founder of Lina Ghotmeh - Architecture), as well as panel chair Martha Thorne (executive director of the Pritzker Architecture Prize and senior advisor of the OBEL Award).

Nathalie de Vries is founding partner of MVRDV, an architect and urban planner and the “DV” in MVRDV. She is an Honorary Fellow of the AIA and International Fellow of the RIBA. De Vries is also City Architect for the municipality of Groningen and a professor at TU Delft.

The work of De Vries 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. Her projects are spatially varied and ground breaking, always giving particular attention to the project’s interaction with the public domain. With MVRDV, De Vries develops sustainable and innovative concepts and working methods, and showcases them through exhibitions, publications, interviews, and lectures.

The International Union of Architects (UIA) is an international non-governmental organisation recognized by UNESCO as the only architectural union operating at an international level. Celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2023, the UIA was founded in 1948 to unite the architects of the world through an association of their national organisations. From the 27 delegations present then, the UIA has grown to include the key professional architects’ associations in more than 100 countries, organising an estimated 1.3 million architects. Every three years, the UIA organises a World Congress of Architects, with the 2023 event held in Copenhagen, Denmark.