Forms Forward

The exhibition Forms Forward, an initiative of the Association of Dutch Architectural Firms (BNA), celebrates architecture and good clientship, while emphasising the importance of design for our social and public space. The exhibition marks the 20th anniversary of the BNA Best Building of the Year award.

Design and architecture curator Saskia van Stein curated Forms Forward and wrote the texts for the exhibition. She explains: "Dutch architecture has undergone a remarkable development over the past 20 years. Where once the emphasis was on iconic buildings, attention is now shifting more and more to designs with a broader landscape and socio-cultural value. Sustainability is also playing an increasingly important role, thanks in part to clients with ambitious goals.

These changes, together with specific architectural projects from the last two decades, form the basis of the exhibition. The starting point is to understand the causes of the current (housing) construction crisis and, more importantly, to explore meaningful scenarios and alliances that can help the Netherlands out of this impasse and together form a direction for the future."

The projects on display include Rotterdam Central Station (Benthem Crouwel Architects, Meyer en Van Schooten, West 8), the Depot Boijmans van Beuningen (MVRDV), the Forum in Groningen (NL Architects), and the renovation of the Singer Laren Museum (Bedaux de Brouwer).

Forms Forward was developed for the BNA by Saskia van Stein (curation and texts), Bureau LADA (spatial design), and Sophie Czich (graphic design). Buro Noot is responsible for production, with assistance from Tim van den Bos of the BNA.