Falling in love with architecture the moment she walked into the model-making room at the University of Delft; opening a design office while still a student and not having the time to finish university; feeling the need to address urgent themes such as social housing, public space, educational buildings and mobility – Francine Houben, the founder of Mecanoo architecten, speaks of these subjects in a “Past, Present, Future” interview, the third instalment of this series.

Houben sees her architecture office as a symphonic orchestra composed of people from different disciplines: urban planning, landscape design, architecture, engineering, interior design, product design, graphic design and video making. There is no doubt in her mind what the future of mobility is: It’s the bike – still the most democratic, healthy and ecological way to get around.

“Past, Present, Future: About being an architect yesterday, today and beyond” is a series of video interviews conducted by Itinerant Office. Eleven internationally renowned architects have been asked to talk about their own past, present and future, exploring the figure of the architect and his or her role in contemporary society.