Nathalie de Vries
Nathalie de Vries (born 1965 in Appingedam) is a Dutch architect, lecturer and urbanist. In 1993 together with Winy Maas and Jacob van Rijs she set up MVRDV. Early work such as the television centre Villa VPRO and the housing estate for elderly WoZoCo, both in the Netherlands, have brought her international acclaim and established MVRDV’s leading role in international architecture.
Education
She completed her studies at the Delft University of Technology and worked afterwards at Dutch firm Mecanoo. She lectures and teaches throughout the world and takes part in international juries. She has been guest professor at the TU Berlin (2002-2004) and was the 2005 Morgenstern Visiting Critic at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. She has also been teaching at the Berlage Institute in Rotterdam, the ABK in Arnhem and the Delft University of Technology. In 2013 she became a professor at German academy of art Kunstakademie Düsseldorf.
MVRDV
In 1991, together with Winy Maas and Jacob van Rijs, she founded the MVRDV studio (an acronym of the initials of the names of the three founders), which produces designs and studies in the fields of architecture, urban studies and landscape design. The studies on light urbanism for the City of Rotterdam, the headquarters of the Dutch Public Broadcasting Company VPRO and the Wozoco's senior citizens' residences in Amsterdam, which won the J.A. van Eck Prize of the Dutch Architects' Association, have brought MVRDV to the attention of a vast collection of clients, giving the studio international renown. Today, the studio is actively involved in numerous projects in various parts of the world. MVRDV designed the Dutch pavilion for Expo 2000 in Hanover, the Logrono Eco-City in Spain, the Gyre building in Tokyo and many others.
Other functions
From 1999 to 2005 she was a board member of the Netherlands Architecture Fund (1999/2005). She was member of the Gestaltungsbeirat of Salzburg (Austria, 2003/2006) and since 2004 she has been a member of the foundation board for the Dutch architectural journal Oase. From 2005 to 2008 Nathalie de Vries was National Railroad Architect on behalf of ProRail/NS, the Dutch National Railway corporation. She recently joined the supervisory board of Groninger Museum in Groningen. Nathalie de Vries is married to Jacob van Rijs. They live in Rotterdam, Netherlands and have two daughters. Nathalie de Vries is one of the few women co-leading an international architecture firm. Others are Zaha Hadid, Francine Houben and Farshid Moussavi.
Publications
Further reading
- MVRDV 1997-2003 (El Croquis, Madrid, Spain, 2003)
- Frey, Darcy "Crowded House" - The New York Times Magazine, June 8, 2008
