Mecanoo
Francine Houben's work experience begins in 1984 when they became the Founding Partner and Creative Director at Mecanoo. In 2015, they became a Member of the Society of Arts of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences and also joined the Van Alen Institute as a Member. In 2010, they became a Member of the Akademie der Künste. From 2008 to 2016, they served as a Board Member at the Carnegie Foundation. Additionally, they were on the Supervisory Board of the Kröller-Müller Museum from 2005 to 2016. Between 2003 and 2014, they were a Member of the board at the International Film Festival Rotterdam and, from 2006 to 2013, they worked as a Columnist for Het Financieele Dagblad. Francine also served as a Member of the Regieraad Bouw from 2007 to 2010 and was a Board member of the Forum for Urban Renewal Rotterdam from 2003 to 2010.
Francine Houben holds a Master's Degree in Architecture/Urban Planner from TUDelft.
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Mecanoo
Mecanoo, officially founded in Delft in 1984, is made up of a highly multidisciplinary staff of creative professionals from 25 countries. The team includes architects, interior designers, urban planners, landscape architects as well as architectural technicians and support staff. Mecanoo is led by Francine Houben (Creative Director & Founding Partner), Floris Overheul (Financial Director), Dick van Gameren (Design & Research Partner), and Partners/Architects Nuno Fontarra, Rick Splinter and Arne Lijbers. Mecanoo has extensive experience designing and realising exceptional buildings which serve client ambitions while creating vibrant end-user spaces. Each project responds to our philosophy of People, Place and Purpose: to the client’s requirements and the user’s needs (People); the physical context, climate and culture (Place); and the current and predicted potential of a building’s function (Purpose). The result is unique solutions for each varying situation, in which the disciplines of architecture, urban planning, landscape and interior combine in a non-traditional way. Over the years we have learned that functions inevitably change. Therefore, we must create buildings that are prepared for (un)predictable change. Sustainability is an inherent aspect of our design approach, feeding into an ambition to create new identity in a world of globalization, resulting in inspiring and authentic places, socially relevant for people and communities. Preoccupied not by a focus on form, but on process, consultation, context, urban scale and integrated sustainable design strategies, the practice creates culturally significant buildings with a human touch.