Wiel Arets: Works, Projects, Writings - Hardcover

The transparent clarity and rigid geometric forms of Wiel Arets have made him one of the most influential architects of modern times. A theorist as well as a designer, he is revered in his native Holland as a modern master in the tradition of Louis I. Kahn. Arets's works are stern but humane, powerful but not overbearing, and attentive to their urban context. Unlike other designers who create architecture of understated simplicity, Arets is concerned with "skins" - the sometimes transparent, sometimes opaque membranes that define buildings and cities. His reputation is founded on such works as the Academy of Art and Architecture in Maastricht (1990-93) and the headquarters for the AZL Pension Fund in Heerlen (1990-95), along with several newer projects, which are published here. This volume features photographs of Arets's work, along with project descriptions and excerpts from Arets's own writing, and critical essays by Xavier Costa, Anthony Vidler, Greg Lynn, Stan Allen and Bart Lootsma.

Xavier Costa is an architect and writer. He directs the Metropolis Program in Barcelona and is Curator of Architecture for the Mies van der Rohe Foundation. Helene Binet is among the top architectural photographers working today. She is based in London.