Elected in 2000 ‘Rijksbouwmeester’, -‘government architect’ – for Holland, the country which already for some twenty years has been considered something of a hotbed for quality architecture, Jo Coenen (born in 1949) is more than just a rising star – risking to ‘obscure’ the fame of his fellow countryman Rem Koolhaas. Up until 2004 in addition to the work carried out in his architectural practice – based in Maastricht since 1990 – he will be working for the government in Den Haag, close to the residence of Queen Beatrice, responsible for not just the most important projects but also ‘directing’ what is to be built on the whole of the national territory.
A small exhibition at the Aedes gallery in Berlin is showing three designs for libraries by Coenen: Amsterdam library (in the design phase), the competition design for the Biblioteca Europea di Informazione e Cultura in Milan and a library for the Céramique area in Maastricht (already built). The three projects, with their different characteristics and different stages, give the visitor a complete overview of the architectural process, from the initial sketches and models to the finished building.
