Winy Maas (66) was only 20 years old when he wrote a letter to the mayor of his birthplace Schijndel. That center of that ‘ugly village’, did something have to do with that? More than thirty years later – he was now a renowned architect – he built the ‘Glass Farm’ there. Perhaps not his biggest structure, but one that is very dear to him, he says on Wednesday in the TV program ‘Kraak. Asks by ‘.
Winy Maas has since left Schijndel far behind. The world is his field of activity. His company MDRDV in Rotterdam has branches in Paris, Berlin, New York and Shanghai. The day we speak to him started with a ‘call’ with Thailand, where he tries to breathe new life into a mountain village. He enriched Rotterdam with two iconic buildings: the Markthal, which is now there for ten years and the depot of Boijmans van Beuningen, which was opened four years ago.
He is proud of both designs. “In the beginning you are nervous,” he says. “It will work? But if it succeeds it is very nice. I like to cycle past it.” His best ideas arise when he talks to people, he says. In this way he suddenly got that idea of those two flats that bend together and thus form the roof of the Markthal. “That is one of the most beautiful moments for me as an architect. Suddenly that idea is there, and then you will be working on that for another six years on average.”
When he was young, he mainly wanted to leave Schijndel. But he is still going back regularly now. If only to visit his mother who will soon be 90. But certainly also for that glass farm. “We ‘celebrated’ the death of my father there, that was really the word, with alcohol and baked eggs. With the doors open and everyone was added.” And Winy saw that his building worked how he intended it. “The building also has something to say to me.”
Next year, his ‘Green Cathedral’ will rise in Tilburg. That is on the occasion of the first ‘Van Gogh Homeland Biennale’. It is a tube construction in the shape of the Heuvelerkerk, covered with trees and shrubs. It is now a trademark of Winy Maas: green in the city. Certainly for Brabant, he thinks, because he actually sees the province as one big city.
“Every village has its ring road and a few business parks and if you stand on the edge you can already say hello to the next village. There is nature, such as the Drunense Duinen, but if you are just running through it, you will also go through that.” He sees it as his task as an architect to offer perspective for the future. “I can’t imagine life without thinking about it,” he says.
‘Kraak. Asked by ‘It is broadcast every Wednesday at 5 pm and then repeated. The program can also be seen on Brabant+.
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