Francine Houben

Francine Marie Jeanne Houben (Dutch pronunciation: [frɑnˈsɪnə maːˈrɪ ˈʒɑnə ˈɦʌubən]; born 2 July 1955) is a Dutch architect. She graduated with cum laude honours from the Delft University of Technology. She is the founding partner and creative director of Mecanoo architecten, based in Delft, The Netherlands, with offices in Manchester, United Kingdom, Washington, D.C., United States and Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

The oeuvre of Houben's architecture is extremely wide-ranging and includes projects such as universities, libraries, theatres, residential areas, museums and hotels. Houben combines the disciplines of architecture, urban planning and landscape architecture. According to her biography, she "bases her work on precise analysis coupled with an intuition built over three decades [by interweaving] social, technical, playful and human aspects of space-making together in order to create a unique solution to each architectural challenge." She has gained international acclaim for her works, most recently with the Library of Birmingham which has been shortlisted for the 2014 RIBA Stirling Prize. When named as the Architects' Journal 2014 Woman Architect of the Year, Houben stated that "It was a great privilege to design the Library of Birmingham. Architecture is about teamwork, about being supportive and visionary at the same time. Women are especially good at that."

Her practice is particularly known for the design of libraries. The library at the Delft University of Technology, completed in 1997, led to the Library of Birmingham (2013), and the current refurbishment of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in Washington, D.C. She has spoken extensively on libraries and public buildings, stating that "libraries are the most important public buildings, like cathedrals were many years ago".

Francine Houben has held professorships in the Netherlands and abroad, and in 2007 was visiting professor at Harvard University. From 2002 to 2006 she was City Architect of Almere. In 2001, she published her seminal manifesto about architecture: 'Composition, Contrast, Complexity' and brought as curator of the First International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam in 2003, the theme of the aesthetics of mobility to the forefront of international design consciousness. In 2010 Francine Houben was granted lifelong membership to the Akademie der Künste, Architecture Department, in Berlin. In November 2015 Queen Máxima of the Netherlands presented the Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds Prize to Houben for her oeuvre.

• Delft University of Technology Library (1997) and Mekel Park (2009)
• St. Mary of the Angels chapel (Rotterdam, 2001)
• Montevideo (Rotterdam, 2006)
• FiftyTwoDegrees (Nijmegen, 2007)
• Nelson Mandela Park in Bijlmermeer (Amsterdam-Zuidoost, 2010)
• La Llotja Theatre and Congress Centre (Lleida, 2010)
• Kaap Skil, Maritime and Beachcombers Museum (Oudeschild, Texel, 2012)
• The Library of Birmingham (Birmingham, 2013)
• Rabobank Westelijke Mijnstreek Advice Centre (Sittard, 2014)
• Railway Station and Municipal Offices (Delft, 2015)
• HOME Arts Centre (Manchester, 2015)
• Bruce C. Bolling Municipal Building (Boston, MA 2015)
• Revitalisation Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library (Washington D.C., ongoing)
• The Palace of Justice (Córdoba, ongoing)
• National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts (Kaohsiung, ongoing)
• Three Cultural Centers & One Book Mall (Shenzhen, ongoing)

• 2001 Honorary Fellowship, Royal Institute of British Architects
• 2007 Honorary Fellowship, Royal Architectural Institute of Canada
• 2007 Honorary Fellowship, American Institute of Architects
• 2008 Veuve Cliquot Business Women of the Year award
• 2014 Woman Architect of the Year, Architects' Journal
• 2015 Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds Prize
• 2016 Honorary Doctorate, Utrecht University

• 2015–present Board Member Society of Arts at Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences
• 2015–present Member Van Alen Institute
• 2010–present Member Akademie der Künste, Architecture Department
• 2008–present Board Member Carnegie Foundation
• 2005–present Supervisory board Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo