about the book

Francine Houben is one of the founders of the Mecanoo firm of architects, an architectural practice that has built up an international reputation with an impressive oeuvre since its establishment in 1984.

ln this book Francine Houben presents a personal account of her experiences. Text and image convey her original and authentic attitude, views and feelings about architecture. She has made a selection from her many Mecanoo projects for this publication. A home and a canal house. A garden town and a water town. A secondary school, a polytechnic and a university library. the public space of a historic City, a park and a square in a medieval city. A vision of mobility  and infrastructure and an ecological new town. A hotel and an underground office. A rum, a theatre, a décor for an opera, a museum and an exhibition. And finally a chapel in a cemetery. Each of these projects is exemplary of her vision and illustrates the three core elements of how she conceives architecture: composition, contrast and complexity.

about the author

Francine Houben
Studied architecture at the delft university of technology, netherlands. upon graduating she established her own practice 'mecanoo architects' where she is the director and head architect.

how to quote

HOUBEN, Francine. Composition, contrast, complexity. Mecanoo architects. Basel, Birkhäuser, 2001.

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