Articles by Reinier de Graaf

Architects must stop using the vacuous buzzwords that dominate the profession if they are to make a positive difference in the world, writes Reinier de Graaf. “A civilizational revolution that puts humans first”. “An unprecedented urban living experience”. “A model for nature preservation and enhanced human livability”. “A place for people from across the globe

The post “Listening to any contemporary conversation on architecture is like being indulged in a form of Orwellian Newspeak” appeared first on Dezeen.

The coronavirus has exposed fundamental problems with our healthcare systems that we should not forget once the pandemic passes, warns Reinier de Graaf in a letter to the present from the future. How will we look back on today once the current crisis has panned out? How “new” will the new normal be? While the

The post “The current crisis had exposed the structural shortcomings of our healthcare systems” appeared first on Dezeen.

The emotional and economic impacts of cities are closely connected, but this is lost in a proliferation of meaningless phrases like “healthy placemaking” and “human-centric design”, says Reinier de Graaf. The built environment affects us all. It is the common opening line of every conference about architecture. Elitist in the 1970s, forgotten in the 80s, rediscovered in

The post “Too much is at stake to leave architecture to architects” appeared first on Dezeen.

Measuring people’s happiness with architecture is a step towards trying to control them, says Reinier de Graaf. It has been two years since I last wrote for Dezeen and a lot has changed. I wrote about a house in the former East Germany. I only met the owner very briefly and I have no idea

The post “In the age of big data, everything is quantifiable, even happiness” appeared first on Dezeen.

A simple house features on the cover of Reinier de Graaf’s new book, Four Walls and a Roof: The Complex Nature of a Simple Profession. In this extract, the OMA partner reveals the building’s secret, politically fuelled past. The house, a small single-story building with a square plan and a pitched roof, is nothing much to speak

The post “Can a house be beautiful simply because of what we know, not because of what we see?” appeared first on Dezeen.

A simple house features on the cover of Reinier de Graaf’s new book, Four Walls and a Roof: The Complex Nature of a Simple Profession. In this extract, the OMA partner reveals the building’s secret, politically fuelled past. The house, a small single-story building with a square plan and a pitched roof, is nothing much to speak

The post “Can a house be beautiful simply because of what we know, not because of what we see?” appeared first on Dezeen.

In this excerpt from Reinier de Graaf’s new book Four Walls and a Roof: The Complex Nature of a Simple Profession (Harvard University Press), the all-pervasive work and pedagogical practice of Ernst Neufert is put under the spotlight. Was he an architect, a teacher, or something larger than both? In examining Neufert’s ardent pursuit of the “norm”, De Graaf sheds light on the impact and enduring legacy of the author of Architect’s Data.