By Miruna Dunu

This article was originally written for AArchitecture, a student-led magazine published by the Architectural Association School of Architecture. It appeared in issue 44, Term 2, 2023.

The archive of an architectural practice such as MVRDV reflects the design principles of its creator in more ways than one; its management and display can reveal aspects of a practice’s identity and process that are not immediately visible within the content of the archive itself. These insights are particularly compelling in the case of a ‘living’ archive: one which perpetually expands as a practice develops. Archiving architectural work in this context poses a distinct set of challenges, which in turn translate into design questions to be addressed when the archive is exhibited.

The work of MVRDV has been the subject of several exhibitions; it has also been subjected to a range of different archival approaches. In 2016, the first 400 projects by the practice were donated to Het Nieuwe Instituut (the Dutch Museum for Architecture, Design and Digital Culture). By becoming part of a national collection, this work became a publicly accessible testing-ground for scientific research and emerging archival practices; it also became subject to more stringent handling restrictions, in contrast to the spontaneity and ease with which it had previously been stored, manipulated and displayed within the office. Beyond Het Nieuwe Instituut, MVRDV’s ever-evolving body of work remains the subject of an ongoing archival process by the practice itself.

This piece identifies five different perspectives on the function of the MVRDV archive and considers how these have been translated within exhibition-making. While these perspectives overlap and intersect within every MVRDV exhibition, here they will be analysed with the support of individual case studies.

Archive as memory container

MVRDV HAUS BERLIN. Wall Display Diagrams. Image © MVRDV

Memory allows a practice to frame its understanding of current projects by drawing upon past work, shaping its ontological consistency, direction and, ultimately, its identity. Yet memory is also fickle, so we must ask: how do we avoid sanitised, post-rationalised narratives around the archive?

In 2020, MVRDV marked the opening of its Berlin office with the MVRDV Haus Berlin exhibition, which displayed all of its projects that are located in Germany. The exhibition presented a streamlined chronology, bringing data collection strategies together with insight into the MVRDV design process. Yet the impact of memory, though not directly visible in the exhibits, was clearly evident throughout: explorations conducted within other MVRDV projects had informed the work on display. That which remains unsaid and unshown speaks just as loudly.

Archive as a tool for reflection

MVRDVHNI: The Living Archive of a Studio. Content Mapping Diagram. Image © MVRDV

If memory allows a practice to establish its identity, then reflection helps to shape its future. Reflection is an integral part of the design process, yet in exhibition-making it raises a different question: how does one exhibit the archive as a tool for reflection rather than simply as a retrospective overview. Furthermore, to what extent can a practice reflect on its own work in an unbiased way?

The exhibition MVRDVHNI: The Living Archive of a Studio, held at Het Niewe Instituut in 2021, presented a dialogue between two voices: that of the practice and of the museum. While this approach aimed to address the practice’s potential bias in its own storytelling, the exhibition was also informed by the tension between opposing views: the creator’s ownership versus the institutional eye; experimental value versus historical relevance; flexibility versus stringency in the way artefacts were exhibited. The exhibition raised new questions relating to current archival practices from the perspective of both practitioners and institutions, bringing design processes, modes of production and iterations to light in a digitally native context.

Archive as raw material

Agir. Exploded Axonometric. Image © MVRDV

An architectural practice’s body of work can function as a resource to inform new outcomes, providing ‘building blocks’ that lend themselves to new interpretations in different contexts. When exhibiting the outcomes of such acts of reinterpretation, however, how might a practice ensure it avoids the pitfall of simply presenting a PR exercise?

In 2022, MVRDV designed Agir, its manifesto for the French audience, which took the form of an 87m-long printed textile installation in 2022 that showcased a curated selection of ideas, projects and design solutions. The second part of the exhibition offered a behind-the-scenes look at MVRDV’s archive and its daily design process, providing public access to the practice’s Parisian office. Honesty and ‘rawness’ were central to its design intent; alongside this, the spatial qualities of the exhibition allowed for visitors’ own freedom of interpretation.

Archive as inclusive playground

Architecture Speaks: The Language of MVRDV. Exploded Axonometric. Image © MVRDV

While architecture has a broad societal impact, the specialised jargon used by the profession can be inaccessible to a general audience. Exhibiting the archive in an inclusive way can help to establish an important dialogue between the architect and the citizen; between the designer and the user. This raises a compelling design question: how can we conceive this dialogue in a manner that acknowledges architecture’s inscrutability to many audiences on the one hand, without infantilising audiences on the other?

The exhibition Architecture Speaks: The Language of MVRDV (2019) took concepts such as density, diversity, equity and inclusivity, and translated them into intuitive and accessible spatial installations. Multi-layered information design ensured that architectural knowledge was embodied within a playful exercise in spatial translation. However, the full exhibition experience inevitably relies on the visitor’s genuine interest in peeling back these layers.

Archive as accidental collection

MVRDV Archive at Het Nieuwe Instituut, Van Nelle Fabriek. Image © MVRDV

At its core, the archival process contains a curatorial paradox: how does a practice decide which specific artefacts should enter its archive, when their value and relevance are often best assessed retrospectively?

The MVRDV archiving process is a collective one in which architects and the archivist collaborate to preserve content such as models, drawings, project booklets, financial and administrative documents, material samples, etc. In this respect, individual MVRDV-ers are collectors and curators simultaneously. The inevitable gaps in the archive will be filled in the future in research and exhibition projects, using design tools such as speculation, editing and deliberate reconstruction. There is also an important distinction between physical and digital archiving. For the latter, how might we ensure that archival material is accessible in the long term, when hardware and software components become obsolete at such a fast pace?

A common pitfall when exhibiting architecture is to mistake architectural representation for the spatial concept and experience of architecture itself. The architectural archive is instrumental in exhibition-making but it is at its most potent when used as a design tool, while remaining conscious of its limitations, contradictions and innate subjectivity.