Wiel Arets: Works, Projects, Writings

The transparent clarity and rigid geometric forms of Wiel Arets have made him one of the most influential architects practicing today. A theorist as well as a designer, he is a rising star on the international scene and is revered in his native Holland as a modern master in the tradition of Louis I. Kahn.Aret's works are stern buy humane, powerful but not overbearing, and attentive to their urban context. Unlike other acclaimed designers who create architecture of understated simplicity (Tadao Ando and Peter Zumthor come to mind), 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 (1990-1993) and the headquarters for the AZL Pension fund in Heerlen (1990-1995), along with several newer projects, published here for the first time.Wiel Arets features hundreds of stunning photographs by Hlne Binet, whose start photographs in Peter Zumthor Works garnered universal praise. In addition to project descriptions and excerpts of Arets's own writings, this book contains 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.