Gijs Rikken (1980, Boxtel, The Netherlands) is an architect and Associate Design Director at MVRDV since 2007. At MVRDV, Gijs is responsible for the design and execution of a wide variety of projects, ranging from large-scale, complex buildings to detailed innovative material research.
“At MVRDV, we continuously push the envelope. As architects, we have an obligation to try to change the world into something better. Something greener, more social, more mixed, more accessible, more wonderful.”
Key projects include such completed buildings as the Glass Farm in Schijndel, The Crystal Houses in Amsterdam and the Balancing Barn in Suffolk, England. Other defining works consist of the winning design for the Urban Hybrid in Emmen, the Coral Tower in Sydney and the Theater aan de Parade in Den Bosch. He is currently responsible for the development and construction of Valley, a 75,000m2 mixed-use building in Amsterdam which boasts three residential, green-covered towers and a publicly accessible, vertical park.