In the Dutch architectural scene, beside the famous offices and well known practices, there is a list of young architects which catch the attention of the critics because of their outstanding conceptual approach and realized works. Maurice Nio is one of the most interesting architects of his generation. During an interview with him, we analyzed some of his works, regarding conceptual meaning, architectural aspects, and realized results.
His interest in cinema, writings and “contemporary sub-culture” have been evident since his final project at TU Delft – a house for Michael Jackson. Mixing up and recalling other fields than architecture is a constant mark in his works. Not only in naming the projects. The Cyclops.
Approaching this two levels houses in Hilversum without knowing anything about the project, we are surprised by a set of hanging “blades” with one only eye, coming out of a set-back wall. It seems to perceive the movement of a mechanism. The houses look so technically dry because “the whole project was born out of a sound barrier: the urban developer decided to sell the plots in front of it, and the houses show and bring the technicality of the barrier to the neighborhood, instead of hiding or denying it”. Therefore the final image of the houses, which have been studied in terms of space, function, green areas and accessibility, is a repetition of cantilevered metal blades, sharp cutted off, on a brick basement facing the gardens. The setting is not far from the typical row-houses of The Netherlands, but the difference in terms of language and expressivity is remarkable.
