(The Hague, May 10th 2011) Winy Maas has received the highest French decoration Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur by the French Ambassador to the Netherlands Mr. Jean-François Blarel at the French residence in The Hague. MVRDV is strongly engaged in France and is part of Atelier du Grand Paris, the think tank concerned with the future planning of Greater Paris.

“Winy Maas and MVRDV are representatives of the high quality of contemporary Dutch architecture.” states the French Embassy, “the work is characterized by experiment, innovation and sustainability. The style is surprising and the materialization is unusual.”

According to the embassy MVRDV knows how to evoke “enthusiasm for architecture with stakeholders and large audiences. Their daring projects distinguished by understanding of contemporary needs respect the demands of the present-day developments with flexibility and innovation in regards to the issues the modern metropolis faces.”

MVRDV is strongly engaged in France in a range of projects: The participation in Atelier du Grand Paris, with large scale urban plans for Bordeaux and Caen and a number of architecture projects in Paris and Dijon, among which a zero energy office building in Paris, ZAC Gare de Rungis. Le Monolith, a mix use building in Lyon was recently completed.

The Legion of Honour, is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, on 19 May 1802. The Order is the highest decoration in France and was in the past awarded to among others Karl Lagerfeld, Anna Wintour, Ingrid Betancourt and Robert Redford.

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