Team V presents first monograph: Architecture & Argument

Team V Architecture is 25 quarters – or six and a quarter years – old. In less than seven years, the office has grown from a small business to one of the larger, established architectural firms of the Netherlands and has created an impressive body of work. Reason to celebrate this 25-quarter anniversary with the presentation of Team V’s first monograph: Architecture & Argument.

The book Architecture & Argument is designed by graphic designer Joost Grootens, whose work is characterized by a rational style and categorical systematics. Introduced by an essay by architectural critic Hans Ibelings, the book gives a chronological overview of the work of Team V. Each project is depicted by a selection of informative drawings coupled with a cinematic series of images by photographer Jannes Linders.

Argument

The book demonstrates the great formal and typological diversity of the work of Team V, which is, according to Ibelings, sophisticated both in its elegant appearance and in its incontrovertible logic. Based on the theory of argumentation, Ibelings argues in his essay how the work of Team V is driven by a rational argumentation to find the optimum solution in every circumstance.

Architecture

A consequence of this rational, logical approach is that every building provides a unique solution. Yet despite this formal diversity, there are several motifs which recur in many works, such as the manipulation and use of daylight and reflection; the interest in surface and depth, pattern and reliefs; the expressive use of structural elements; the care for details to unify architecture; or the emphasis on the stairs and steps. These motifs are depicted in eleven collages of images which, linked to the projects, define  the architectural character of Team V.

Architecture & Argument is published by Hatje Cantz (Berlin). The official book presentation will take place on 3 October 2019. The book can be ordered via Architectura & Natura and costs €48.50 per copy.