In a world experiencing dramatic climate change, a decline in resources, a political and social disagreement, a difference of income among its inhabitants, a rapid population growth leading to a substantial consumption of space, the various disciplines of the Design must work on these issues to come up with a solution.

But what future city could create this movement? The city of the future can be many things, infinite possibilities. The interventions in Dutch Design Week investigate only some of these futures.
MVRDV along with The Why Factory are the ones in charge of designing an installation in the Dutch Design Week, (W) ego. This will be one of four interventions curated by MVRDV, The Why Factory, Gemeente Eindhoven, TU Eindhoven and Winy Maas, ambassador of the Dutch Design Week 2017. These four interventions will explore the future of cities. Specifically the (W)ego project proposed by MVRDV, will be characterized by being a habitable installation of 9 meters in height.
 

Description of the project by MVRDV

The future city is flexible. Have you ever dreamed of sleeping suspended high in the air? How would it feel to sleep inside a vertical hanging garden? What if your room was made of stairs? Would you dare to sleep in a room that was a billboard? Or inside a shimmering grotto? What is your dream room?

In this installation, nine rooms are made to fulfil these idealistic but egoistic perspectives in a limited space. When confronted with the dreams of others, users must learn to negotiate with eachother. How to defend your ideals? Users start to work with and around eachother and, somehow, together create something that is even nicer. And with the surrounding intrusions and negotiations, one begins to feel that something interesting is happening ‘next door.’ Why not visit your neighbour? Thus, Ego becomes Wego.

The (W)ego installation represents a frozen moment in the living and flexible (W)ego vision. In (W)ego a research platform from The Why Factory, future urban dwellings are capable of adapting in real time to the users’ needs. This vision is detailed in a film that plays in one of the rooms of (W)ego.

(W)ego shows that evolutionary and flexible architecture is possible. That the most perfect situation can be achieved at every moment, leading to an even more optimal use of our limited urban space.

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MVRDV
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Eindhoven, Netherlands
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MVRDV is an architecture and urban planning practice founded in 1993 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, by architects Winy Maas (Schijndel, 1959), Jacob van Rijs (Amsterdam, 1964), and Nathalie de Vries (Appingedam, 1965). All three studied at Delft University of Technology, graduating in 1990. Before establishing MVRDV, Winy Maas and Jacob van Rijs worked at the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), while Nathalie de Vries gained professional experience at Mecanoo.

Since its foundation, MVRDV has developed architectural, urban planning, and landscape projects of various scales and programmes, including residential buildings, cultural facilities, commercial spaces, offices, renovation projects, and urban masterplans. Its working methodology combines research and analysis of the social, economic, environmental, and spatial conditions of each project with a collaborative process involving clients, specialists, and professionals from different disciplines.

Its early completed projects, including the headquarters of Dutch public broadcaster VPRO in Hilversum (1997) and the WoZoCo housing complex for elderly residents in Amsterdam (1997), marked the beginning of its international recognition. These were followed by the Netherlands Pavilion at Expo 2000 in Hanover, the Silodam residential building in Amsterdam (2002), the Mirador housing complex in Madrid (2005), and the Celosía residential development, also in Madrid (2009).

Subsequent projects include the Markthal market hall in Rotterdam (2014), Crystal Houses in Amsterdam (2016), Tianjin Binhai Library in China (2017), Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam (2021), and the Valley residential building in Amsterdam (2022). More recently, the practice has also undertaken the transformation of existing buildings, including the Pyramid of Tirana in Albania (2023) and the Shenzhen Women & Children's Centre in China (2023), as well as the Portlantis visitor centre in the Port of Rotterdam (2025).

MVRDV operates across Europe, Asia, and the Americas, with offices in Rotterdam, Shanghai, Paris, Berlin, and New York. The practice currently employs more than 300 professionals, including architects, urban planners, and specialists from various disciplines. Alongside its three founders, the leadership team includes partners Frans de Witte, Fokke Moerel, Wenchian Shi, and Bertrand Schippan.

Research and academic activities are also part of the practice's work. In 2008, Winy Maas founded The Why Factory, a research institute at Delft University of Technology dedicated to exploring possible scenarios for the future development of cities. Its activities include teaching programmes, research projects, publications, and exhibitions addressing architecture and urban planning.

MVRDV's projects have been featured in international exhibitions and publications and have received numerous awards in architecture and urban planning.

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Published on: October 25, 2017
Cite:
metalocus, IGNACIO PEINADO
"MVRDV creates (W)ego, an habitable facility at the Dutch Design Week" METALOCUS. Accessed
<https://www.metalocus.es/en/news/mvrdv-creates-wego-habitable-facility-dutch-design-week> ISSN 1139-6415
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