It is not without reason that Weil Arets is currently among the most sought-after architects. His buildings have been realised throughout Europe; they unite modern rigour and forceful gestures with sensual surfaces and a great variety of relationships between the different spaces – without losing sight of the human scale or the context in which the building is located.
With the completion in 1993 of the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Maastricht, Arets’ office – which he founded in 1984 in the same city – first became known to a larger audience. In that design, the facades’ large fields of glass blocks provided a refreshing continuity between interior and exterior. In contrast, at the University Library in Utrecht, completed in 2004, the building envelope consists of black concrete walls and glazed elements – both bearing the same bas relief papyrus pattern.
One of his most recent buildings is the new Allianz Suisse Headquarters in Wallisellen: the curtains contained within the closed-cavity facade have attracted international attention.
(Roland Pawlitschko conducted the interview in Wiel Arets’ office in Amsterdam)
With the completion in 1993 of the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Maastricht, Arets’ office – which he founded in 1984 in the same city – first became known to a larger audience. In that design, the facades’ large fields of glass blocks provided a refreshing continuity between interior and exterior. In contrast, at the University Library in Utrecht, completed in 2004, the building envelope consists of black concrete walls and glazed elements – both bearing the same bas relief papyrus pattern.
One of his most recent buildings is the new Allianz Suisse Headquarters in Wallisellen: the curtains contained within the closed-cavity facade have attracted international attention.
(Roland Pawlitschko conducted the interview in Wiel Arets’ office in Amsterdam)