MVRDV opens its first Why Factory exhibition at COAM in Madrid, reflecting decade’s research on the future of cities. The Why Factory has emerged as a research and education institute that focuses in the development of our cities. It belongs to the Faculty of Architecture of the Delft University of Technology, and is led by Professor Winy Maas, founding partner of MVRDV. 

It is a research-led process of trial and error, where the goal is sometimes unclear and the end is open, which leads to an exciting journey with a potentially spectacular outcome. The exhibition, called The Why Factory: Research, Teaching and Public Engagement (2006-2016), officially opens tomorrow at the Official College of Architects of Madrid (COAM) in collaboration with The Why Factory and TU Delft. 

The exhibition is based around the work The Why Factory published over the last ten years. Porous City. Image © The Why Factory

The exhibition is organized around nine claims along which the activity of The Why Factory has evolved in the last ten years: the need for new leadership in urbanism and architecture in Visionary Cities; the wish for common sense in a world that seems to be dominated by individualism in (Wego City; the advocacy for wildlife in Biodivercity; the claim for openness in Porocity. 

Vertical Village. Image © The Why Factory

The desire for amazement in We Want World Wonders; the hope and need for acceleration of the green agenda in Green Dream; the push for the combination of small scale in densification actions in The Vertical Village; the exploration of radical trend breaks and their effects in City Shock. 

The excitement and amazement of the new material changes in Barba; the expression of fear of the ultimately killing Absolute Leisure; and soon Copy Paste, a pamphlet for referencing and development.

Luxury of the North. Forest City artist impression by Mick Van Gemert. Image courtesy of The Why Factory

''There is so much to do in order to make our future good. More funding is needed to do research and to produce visualisations on future mobility, future democracies, future economies, future healthiness, etc. And more funding is needed to share this work with the world and make it accessible to all,'' says Maas.

World Wonders. Image courtesy of The Why Factory

The exhibition opens to the public tomorrow and can be visited for free until 30th January 2017. On the same day, at 7 pm, Winy Maas will give the lecture ‘What’s Next?’ at the COAM Auditorium presenting the work of The Why Factory, a global think-tank that aims to analyse, theorize and construct future cities.

MVRDV are the architects of projects including the Dutch Pavilion at Hannover Expo 2000, the Silodam building in Amsterdam, Markthal in Rotterdam, and their proposal for the future of Paris “Grand Paris Plus Petit”.

Major support for the exhibition is provided by The Embassy of The Netherlands in Spain and The Delft University of Technology.

Top image: Porous City. Image courtesy of The Why Factory

> via MVRDV/The Why Factory