Willem Jan Neutelings at ARC 25 Podium on Beauty in Architecture
The five keys to evoke the mystery of beauty in architecture mentioned by Willem Jan Neutelings; Stories, Sensuality, Complexity, Authenticity and Identity, all resonate with the ambition of Neutelings Riedijk Architects to use architecture to create collective meaning and drive urban transformation.
How can beauty once again become a guiding principle in architecture? A question we highly support at Neutelings Riedijk Architects. The ARC25 Podium at the Nieuwe Instituut, by de Architect, brought together the architecture community around this vital question.
In his contribution, Willem Jan Neutelings argued that 20th-century modernism reduced architecture to bare functionality, pushing expression and beauty into the background. Yet beauty, he stated, remains a mystery that architects can evoke through stories, sensory experience, complexity, and authenticity. Willem Jan Neutelings named five keys to evoke beauty in architecture:
- Stories – architecture must carry meaning, loaded with narrative and context.
- Sensuality – the use of material, color, light, and texture to trigger emotions.
- Complexity – richness of layers, depth, and multiple interpretations.
- Authenticity – a sincere and distinctive approach, not imitation.
- Identity – architecture as a bearer of collective meaning and recognition.
This renewed appreciation of beauty as a foundation in architecture resonates with the ambition of Neutelings Riedijk Architects: to go beyond building in every project, and to use architecture as an instrument to create collective meaning and drive urban transformation.
We congratulate the winners of the ARC25 Awards: Poot Architectuur – Kasteel, Antwerp, MAKER architecten – Social infill project, Kortrijk and Maarten van Kesteren architecten – Passive House, Amsterdam
The ARC25 report and event pictures can be seen here.
ARC Podium photos: © David Meulenbeld and © Neutelings Riedijk Architects
Project images: © Neutelings Riedijk Architects | Sarah Blee | Scagliola/Brakkee | Filip Dujardin | Maarten Reling