The First Exhibits for ABB2004 Arrived at NAMOC Beijing

(The Works of the Netherlands Architecture)

The exhibits in the Dutch Pavilion for the Architectural Biennial Beijing 2004 (ABB 2004) which were transported to Tianjin by sea one weeks ago finally arrived at Beijing in the late evening on August 27 th , and were then moved into the National Art Museum of China (NAMOC) before the next morning. The exhibition place is located in the Gallery 7 in NAMOC, with an area of 430 square meters. The total number of the exhibits in the Dutch Pavilion is 49, including works of 5 Dutch architects from two Dutch architecture companies.

These two Dutch architecture companies are MVRDV and Neutelings Riedijk Architects . The key themes in MVRDV designs and studies are density and manipulability of nature. They are especially interested in exploring the limits within which extremely dense and compact situations are feasible. Their spectacular works such as the Villa VPRO (1997) and the Dutch Pavilion at the Hanover Expo (2000) attracted worldwide attention. And Neutelings Riedijk Architects are in many ways a unique firm; in connection to their work, one might use the term ‘heroic realism'. The building has a remarkable silhouette, often reminding one of monolithic sculptures or bearing great resemblance with mythological animals. One of the spectacular elements is the fa?ade of the buildings, which is more or less conceived as a kind of wallpaper wrapped around the building.