Strange Bodies

Wiel Arets is one of the most influential architects in Holland today. His international reputation is founded on such works as his pharmacy and apartment building in Hapert (1988-1989), the Academy of Art and Architecture in Maastricht (1990-1993) and the headquarters for the AZL Pension Fund in Heerlen (1990-1995). Wiel Arets' architecture disrupts the smooth hermeticism of modern block building. He juts forward building sections, gear-toothed fashion, into the existing city plan. The buildings are incised into the city tissue like strange bodies, causing us to question and tug at stale conceptions of urban environment. All are characterized by the pure severity of materials used, exacting attention to detail and a multiplicity of natural lighting effects which enfold in the building's interior. Film-like, this book documents twelve Arets buildings and projects from the 1990s with photographs by Kim Zwarts. Ulrike Jehle-Schulte Strathaus' foreword and Bart Lootsma's concluding essay clarify the theoretical underpinnings of Arets' architecture. Specially selected authors have been invited to comment on individual projects.