Emotional Architecture
de Călin Dan
The subject of Emotional Architecture 4 is the MinVROM building in The Hague. It is not only a strong architectural and urban landmark; but it is also a turning point in the way public architecture articulates with political representation in the Netherlands. MinVROM was the last project directly and purposefully commissioned by a government body to an architect's office, according to a vision stemming from ideological, political and representational values. From there on, economic arguments helped the decision to give up the idea of the government (or government bodies) as client and beneficiary of a pre-designed vision, and to substitute it with a relation landlord-tenant, where government institutions will let building units developed independently, by teams of architects, developers and urbanists. Such a decision has deep impact on the relationship between the political and the social bodies, as the first withdraws from the public domain into a neutral, almost image-less position, comparable to the one of the corporations migrating from station to station, according to momentous priorities.