The Municipality of Veenendaal in the Netherlands has approved the construction of the new Lampegiet Theatre, designed by MVRDV in collaboration with Buro Happold. Replacing the existing, outdated theatre on the same site, the main auditorium of the new theatre will include 700 seats, alongside a smaller auditorium of 200 seats, and another with 100 seats that is intended for use by Filmhuis Veenendaal among other organisations. With a porous ceramic façade that is draped over the structure like a fabric, the design transforms the Lampegiet Theatre into an urban lantern that opens up to the city, referencing the history and culture of Veenendaal. The current Lampegiet Theatre in the centre of Veenendaal was built in 1988. The building’s name refers to the Lampegietersavond, a traditional local festival celebrated each September in which children parade through the city with lanterns. The existing theatre is outdated and its design does not allow it to be easily adapted. Desiring a building that meets current standards for sustainability, and provides space for additional functions such as auditoriums for a pop music venue and a cinema, the municipality of Veenendaal set out to replace the existing theatre building.
A total of 478 rental apartments within Eleven Home, Amsterdam’s tallest future residential tower designed by MVRDV, have been sold to Bouwinvest Residential Fund. Together with 455 student housing units and 3.300 m2 of commercial space in other developments within the Eleven Square masterplan – also designed by MVRDV – next to the Johan Cruijff Arena, this transaction represents the largest new-build deal in the Dutch housing market to date, measured by the number of units. The sale marks an important milestone within the development of Eleven Square masterplan aiming to transform the heart of the ArenAPoort district in Amsterdam-Zuidoost into a vibrant, mixed-use district with over 1,100 homes. Developed in collaboration with AM and Ballast Nedam Development, Eleven Square is conceived as a mixed-use district with public spaces, flexible work areas, and direct access to transit, retail, and leisure amenities. Located in the southeast of Amsterdam, opposite the Johan Cruijff ArenA, the development will bring together approximately 700 apartments for sale and rent, around 400 student studios, urban nature, and a broad mix of uses, all organised around a central public square. Featuring a diverse architectural approach, the masterplan places a strong emphasis on sustainability, urban integration, and community engagement.
MVRDV has won the competition to design Inaura, a luxury hotel and residential tower in Downtown Dubai. Inaura occupies a critical position in the Dubai skyline, and is clearly visible from – and has its own views towards – the Burj Khalifa and the Dubai Fountain. Yet at 210 metres tall, the project finds itself among taller neighbours, which all compete for attention. The design therefore takes a different approach to claiming its place in the city: a luminous, jewel-like orb nestled in between the building’s floors, creating a novel and curious way to steal the attention of onlookers. In its rapid rise to become a globally renowned high-rise city, Dubai has not lacked for attention-grabbing spectacle buildings. From fanciful, contorted shapes to intricately detailed crowns, many projects have sought to make their mark in a skyline dominated by the world’s tallest building, to varying degrees of success. As part of their brief, developer Arada considered the site’s context, including its strategic position in between Downtown Dubai and Business Bay, and the resulting visibility in the city. Among their design requirements, they therefore posed the question: “How might an iconic tower be designed within the context of one of the most renowned skylines in the world?”
A new Tiffany & Co. flagship store has opened in the Taikoo-Li Sanlitun commercial neighbourhood in Beijing, with a façade of curving, translucent glass fins that add an ethereal presence to the building. With its flowing shapes inspired by the masterpieces of jewellery designer Elsa Peretti, the Beijing store is the fifth in a series of façade designs created by MVRDV for Tiffany, introducing a new design motif that reflects the pursuit of innovative materials and expressive three-dimensional form that characterises each design in the series. The store is located at a crossroads in the northern section of the Taikoo-Li Sanlitun, where luxury brands predominate. To take advantage of its location, the façade is adorned with translucent, textured glass fins that rise vertically up the full four-storey height of the building. With their gently curved edges, these responsibly recycled and locally manufactured fins give the façade an elegant, fluid form. In order to design this shape, MVRDV took cues from the Bone Cuff by Elsa Peretti®.
As the climate crisis increases, the construction industry faces growing pressure to reduce its environmental impact. Nearly 40 percent of global carbon emissions are linked to the built environment, making architecture a critical site of change. For MVRDV, sustainability has long been a core concern. But what does that mean in practice? After its first edition in Munich nearly a year ago, followed by Paris, Berlin, and Taipei, Carbon Confessions now arrives in Rotterdam, MVRDV’s hometown. The exhibition will be on view at Keilepand from 31 January to 12 March 2026. Carbon Confessions offers a candid, behind-the-scenes look at MVRDV’s ongoing approach to sustainability. Tracing more than three decades of work, the exhibition follows the practice’s journey from early ideas on densification to its current focus on biodiversity, carbon reduction, and climate-driven material innovation. Rather than presenting sustainability as a finished solution, the exhibition openly reflects on both milestones and missteps that mirror the wider shift in architecture toward climate-conscious design. Here, carbon is not a technical footnote but a central design consideration. Through themes such as adaptive reuse, material experimentation, and the use of digital tools, Carbon Confessions demonstrates how sustainable ambitions can be translated into concrete actions.
For the 321st anniversary celebrations of the founding of Chiayi City in Taiwan, MVRDV has completed a temporary timber pavilion housing an exhibition on manufacture, craft, and construction with wood. Located across from Chiayi’s city hall, the Wooden Wonders pavilion encloses a square courtyard, with the shape of its perimeter structure informed by deep research into the city’s timber construction heritage. The project will be on display throughout Chiayi’s anniversary celebrations, from December 12–28, providing a space for residents to gather, learn about the city’s heritage and discuss the city’s “timber future”. Thanks to its position near to the dense forests of Taiwan’s mountainous heart, the timber industry was crucial to Chiayi’s historical development, and the city produced a range of wooden products, from toys and furniture to buildings. Today, the forests that once enabled this industry are now protected, and the knowledge and skills that created this culture have been forgotten by many of the residents. Yet there are still over 6,000 timber buildings remaining in the city – a heritage which the city government has recently started to recognise, protect, and restore.
MVRDV has completed construction on the Pujiang Platform, a viewpoint comprising an arched, earth-covered timber pavilion perched among the hills to the south of Chengdu. The project serves as both a visitor destination and an event space that takes advantage of the spectacular natural beauty of central China. Designed to blend into nature while also standing out as a beacon when seen from the plains below, the structure of earth-covered timber arches takes a telescopic shape, drawing visitors to the expansive viewing window and balcony that projects out over the slope. The new town of Pujiang is currently under development to the southwest of Chengdu, with the intention of providing its residents a high-quality, sustainable lifestyle. In the hills to the east of Pujiang, a simple existing viewpoint offered commanding views over the growing town and the panorama of the Qionglai Mountain range behind it. MVRDV was commissioned by Pujiang County Planning and Resources Bureau to upgrade this viewpoint, turning it into a desirable destination for tourists, as well as an event space capable of hosting everything from weddings to government meetings.
Working on a non-profit basis using a collaborative and immersive approach, MVRDV is designing two masterplans for the Plum Village Monastery’s Upper and Lower Hamlets, as well as architectural designs for a new Nunnery, a renovation of the existing book shop, and four communal guest houses. In line with the values of Plum Village, these designs prioritise renovation as well as circular and bio-based materials, while avoiding harm to the natural environment. The proposed additions, designed with Bordeaux-based co-architect MoonWalkLocal, will help thousands of annual visitors to Plum Village, including peace and climate activists, to gain insight into Engaged Buddhism with even greater serenity and ease. Plum Village Monastery was founded in 1982 by Thích Nhất Hạnh, known as the “Father of Mindfulness” for his role in developing and introducing the now-ubiquitous practice. Today Plum Village is the largest Buddhist Monastery in Europe, with its home base in France comprising three distinct locations, including the Lower Hamlet, home to around half of Plum Village’s nuns, and the Upper Hamlet, which is home to Plum Village’s monks and serves as the location of the Dharma Cloud Temple, the root temple of the Plum Village tradition. Adherents of the Plum Village Tradition practice Engaged Buddhism, applying their ethics and insights to contemporary issues.
For the 321st anniversary celebrations of the founding of Chiayi City in Taiwan, MVRDV is designing a temporary timber pavilion and an accompanying exhibition on manufacture, craft, and construction with wood. During the "320+1" Chiayi City Expo from 12–28 December, the Wooden Wonders pavilion will act as a celebratory landmark of the city’s identity as a “wooden city,” informed by in-depth research into Chiayi’s timber construction heritage. The pavilion and exhibition will be on display throughout the anniversary celebrations, providing a space for residents to gather, learn about the city’s history, and discuss its “timber future”. Within the 16 days, the Expo will feature a total of 16 exhibitions, 30 performances, and over 50 events, including several public lectures and events by MVRDV. All events above are free and open to the public.
The municipality of Rotterdam has given approval for the Schieblocks, which at 47,000 square metres is the largest private new office building currently being built in the Netherlands – complete with a variety of commercial uses on its ground floor and a restaurant and event space on its top levels. Designed by MVRDV for developer LSI (who markets the building as The Bluezone Offices) the project creates a 3D neighbourhood of offices, 61 metres tall and almost 150 metres in length, on a narrow slice of land alongside the railway line. To give a human scale to this sizeable building, the design is broken up into a series of colourful blocks, packed full of subtle – and some not-so-subtle – references to the city that make the new building truly representative of the spirit of Rotterdam. The project sits within the Schiekadeblok, a city block of small office buildings that has become an exemplar of Rotterdam’s post-war “reconstruction period” and which – after being surrounded by larger office buildings in the 1990s – is now a cult destination within Rotterdam, home to a wide variety of creative businesses, bars, and clubs. The city is currently developing plans to densify the Schiekadeblok, while maintaining its unique character and position within Rotterdam’s cultural life. Considering these plans, it became even more important that the addition of the Schieblocks should respect the character and history of these neighbours.
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