
Mels Crouwel received his Master of Architecture degree from Delft University of Technology in 1978 and the following year, with Jan Benthem, founded Benthem Crouwel Architects in Amsterdam. The two founding directors and their partners—Marcel Blom, Joost Vos, Marten Wassmann, and Markus Sporer—today maintain an international practice with 70 employees located in offices in Amsterdam and Aachen (Germany).
With a personal passion for the arts and a commitment to functionality, sustainability, and innovative design solutions, Mels Crouwel has worked on many internationally renowned museums, public buildings, and cultural platforms. Among his notable projects, in addition to the renovation and expansion of the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, are the restoration and expansion of the Anne Frank House (Amsterdam, 1999); the adaptive reuse of the former Thomas de Beer textile mill in Tilburg as the De Pont Museum of Contemporary Art (1992–2003); Las Palmas cultural and commercial center (Rotterdam, 2008); the award-winning Deutsches Bergbau Museum (Bochum, 2009); the Ziggo Dome (2012), a new 17,000-seat concert venue in Amsterdam’s Arena Boulevard; and the Kulturbau and Forum Mittelrhein in Koblenz (2013), a project that redevelops the city’s Central Square.
In 1986, Benthem Crouwel became master architect for Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, in collaboration with NACO (Netherlands Airport Consultants). Benthem Crouwel designed and has implemented the Airport City master plan for the terminals, facilities, roads, offices, and hotels, emphasizing clarity of organization throughout the huge project. In 1989, Mels Crouwel became the supervising architect for Amsterdam RAI, the largest trade and convention center in the Netherlands, Over the past 20 years he has designed numerous plans, renovations, and urban schemes for the complex, which welcomes almost 2 million visitors a year. From 2004 until 2008, Mels Crouwel held the position of Chief Government Architect in the Netherlands, charged with stimulating architectural excellence both in government buildings and more generally throughout the nation. Among its major current public projects, Benthem Crouwel is architect for the construction of the North/South subway line in Amsterdam, scheduled for completion in 2017.
Benthem Crouwel has received numerous prizes for its work, including the prestigious BNA Kubus in 1999, awarded by the Royal Institute of Dutch Architects, as well as the Kunstpreis Berlin (1989) and Constructa Berlin (1990). The firm is frequently successful in national and international design and innovation competitions, including the Benelux Aluminum Prize and the Dutch National Prizes for Concrete Structures and Steel Structures. Benthem Crouwel’s commitment to sustainability has been recognized in projects including Etrium (the headquarters of Econcern in Cologne, 2007–08), which received the highest ranking in Certified Sustainability from the German Green Building Council (DGNB), comparable to LEED Platinum status in the United States.
Mels Crouwel is a member of the Royal Institute of Dutch Architects and an honorary member of the Association of German Architects. He lectures frequently in cities in the Netherlands and abroad, including Berlin, Bochum, Chicago, Darmstadt, Dortmund, Hamburg, Jerusalem, Leuven, London, Munich, New York, Seattle, Stockholm, Stuttgart, Toronto, and Vienna.
Announcements
Louis Kahn: Architecture as Philosophy by John Lobell
Louis Kahn: Architecture as Philosophy
By John Lobell
Publisher: The Monacelli Press
Published: June 2020
Noted Louis I.Kahn expert John Lobell explores how Kahn’s focus on structure, respect for materials, clarity of program, and reverence for details come together to manifest an overall philosophy.
Our Days Are Like Full Years: A Memoir with Letters from Louis Kahn by Harriet Pattison
Our Days Are Like Full Years: A Memoir with Letters from Louis Kahn
By Harriet Pattison
Publisher: Yale University Press
Forthcoming: October 2020
An intimate glimpse into the professional and romantic relationship between Harriet Pattison and the renowned architect Louis Kahn. Harriet Pattison, FASLA, is a distinguished landscape architect. She was Louis Kahn’s romantic partner from 1959 to 1974, and his collaborator on the landscapes of the Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, and the F.D.R. Memorial/Four Freedoms Park, New York. She is the mother of their son, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Nathaniel Kahn.
Louis I. Kahn: The Nordic Latitudes
Louis I. Kahn: The Nordic Latitudes
By Per Olaf Fjeld and Emily Randall Fjeld
Publisher: University of Arkansas Press
Published: October 4, 2019
A new and personal reading of the architecture, teachings, and legacy of Louis I. Kahn from Per Olaf Fjeld’s perspective as a former student. The book explores Kahn’s life and work, offering a unique take on one of the twentieth century’s most important architects. Kahn’s Nordic and European ties are emphasized in this study that also covers his early childhood in Estonia, his travels, and his relationships with other architects, including the Norwegian architect Arne Korsmo.
Reading Graphic Design History: Image, Text, and Context by David Raizman
Reading Graphic Design History: Image, Text, and Context
By David Raizman
Publisher: Bloomsbury Visual Arts
Published: December 2020
An innovative approach to graphic design that uses a series of key artifacts from the history of print culture in light of their specific historical contexts. It encourages the reader to look carefully and critically at print advertising, illustration, posters, magazine art direction, and typography, often addressing issues of class, race, and gender.
David King: Designer, Activist, Visual Historian by Rick Poynor
David King: Designer, Activist, Visual Historian
By Rick Poynor
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: September 2020
A comprehensive overview of the work and legacy of David King (1943–2016), whose fascinating career bridged journalism, graphic design, photography, and collecting. King launched his career at Britain’s Sunday Times Magazine in the 1960s, starting as a designer and later branching out into image-led journalism, blending political activism with his design work.
Teaching Graphic Design History by Steven Heller
Teaching Graphic Design History
By Steven Heller
Publisher: Allworth Press
Published: June 2019
An examination of the concerted efforts, happy accidents, and key influences of the practice throughout the years, Teaching Graphic Design History is an illuminating resource for students, practitioners, and future teachers of the subject.
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