Ben van Berkel (born 1957) is a Dutch architect; founder and principal architect of the architectural practice UNStudio.
Image source:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_van_Berkel#/media/File:Ben_van_Berkel_portret,_2017.jpg
Berkel’s Early Formation and Approach to Architecture
Ben van Berkelstudied architecture at theRietveld Academy in Amsterdamand at theArchitectural Association in London, receiving the AA Diploma with Honours in 1987. One year later, in 1988, he founded theVan Berkel & Bos Architectuurbureauwith the Caroline Bos, extending their theoretical and writing projects to the practice of architecture. That same year he co-foundedUNStudio(United Net) and began to lecture and teach at several architectural schools around the world. Currently, he holds theKenzo Tange Visiting Professor’s ChairatHarvard UniversityGraduate School of Design, focusing on teaching theinclusive approach of architectural worksintegrating virtual and material organization and engineering constructions. In 2018 he foundedUNSense, an Arch Tech company based in Amsterdam that designs and integrateshuman-centric tech solutions for the built environment.
Van Berkel & Bos Architectuurbureau
In 1988 Ben van Berkel and Caroline Bos set up anarchitectural practice in Amsterdamnamed VanBerkel & Bos Architectuurbureau, which realized, amongst other projects, theErasmus Bridge in Rotterdam,Museum Het Valkhofin Nijmegen, theKarbouw office building,Moebius houseand theNMR facilities for the University of Utrecht.
Image source:https://search.creativecommons.org/photos/c775346b-ddf0-4d02-9e80-59c3874f3c97byFollowing Hadrian
UNStudio
In 1998 van Berkel and Bos relaunched their practice asUNStudio,UN standing for “United Network“. UNStudio presents itself asa network of specialists in architecture,urban development,andinfrastructure.
With UNStudio van Berkel realized, amongst others, theMercedes-Benz Museumin Stuttgart,Arnhem central Stationin the Netherlands, theRaffles Citymixed-use development in Hangzhou, theCanaletto Towerin London, a private villa up-state New York and the SingaporeUniversity of Technology and Design.
Image source:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnhem_Centraal_railway_station#/media/File:23_april_2016_CS_Arnhem.jpg
Image source:https://search.creativecommons.org/photos/db4024bb-dc99-406a-bd6a-a47979c5ad57byTijsB
Famous Works: The Erasmus Bridge
While working at the Architectuurbureau Ben van Berkel was commissioned with the building of abridge across the New Meuse. He designed theErasmus Bridge, acombined cable-stayed and bascule bridgein the center ofRotterdam, connecting the north and south parts of the second largest city in the Netherlands. The bridge was named after Desiderius Erasmus, a prominent Christian renaissance humanist also known as Erasmus of Rotterdam.
这座桥长802米的电缆-stayed bridge section hasa single 139-meter-high asymmetrical pale blue pylonwith a prominent horizontal base, earning the bridge its nickname “The Swan”. Additionally, the southernmost span of the bridge has an 89-meter-long bascule bridge for ships that cannot pass under the bridge. The bascule bridge isthe largest and heaviest in Western Europeand has the largest panel of its type in the world.
After costingmore than 165 million Euros to construct, the bridge was officially opened by Queen Beatrix on September 6, 1996. Shortly after the bridge opened to traffic in October 1996, it was discovered thebridge would swing under particularly strong wind conditions.To reduce the trembling,stronger shock damperswere installed.
Image source:https://search.creativecommons.org/photos/a17a1549-d459-4518-9d46-c0e2890505b3by*rboed*
Famous Works: Mercedes-Benz Museum
TheMercedes-Benz Museum,designed byvan Berkel with the UNStudio,is an automobile museum in Stuttgart, Germany. It covers the history of the Mercedes-Benz brand and the brands associated with it.
The building is based on aunique cloverleaf conceptusingthree overlapping circleswith the center removed to form atriangular atriumrecalling the shape of a Wankel engine.
The building’s height and “double helix” interior were designed to maximize space, providing16,500 square meters of exhibition spaceon a footprint of just 4,800 square meters.
The building was completed and opened on19 May 2006.
Image source:https://search.creativecommons.org/photos/37502c63-b3ae-427b-975c-b3681358e6abbySimon_sees
Info sources:
https://www.unstudio.com/team
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_van_Berkel
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erasmusbrug
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_Museum
