Wiel Arets

At the age of 49, Wiel Arets (b. 1955) is one of Holland's leading young architects and has won an international following for his spare industrial forms and his theoretical writings. Trained at the technical University of Eindhoven, Arets often works with translucent glass, concrete, and wood to integrate compositional strategies with his interest in transparency and reducing essential space to a bare minimum. His work has been compared to the rigorous vocabulary of Dom Hans van der Laan, the monumental lyricism of Tadao Ando, and the expansive transparency of Pierre Chareau. This book surveys the Dutch architect's work by presenting 31 of his most significant buildings and projects completed since the late 1980s, including the Academy for Arts and Architecture in Maastricht (1993), the AZL Pension Fund in Heerlen (1995), high-rise apartment blocks in Amsterdam and Rotterdam, and police stations in Vaals, Boxtel, and Cuijk.