Carel Weeber
1983
Architect Carel Weeber received the Sikkens Prize in 1983 for his innovative designs in the field of urban development and architecture and his influential contribution to the cultural dimension of contemporary buildings.
The shape of public space
In the accompanying publication, which also includes the official reasons given by the board of directors, Ed Taverne wrote about size and scale in Weeber’s architecture. His large-scale residential projects, such as De Peperklip in Rotterdam or the Venserpolder in Amsterdam particularly design the shape of the public space and do not focus on individual details.
Colour in architecture
Carel Weeber uses the factor of large-scale buildings as a step towards a new industrialization of construction, in which a better product is created in terms of quality and aesthetics. “In Weeber’s architecture, colour is not there to please or create an illusion, but in order to make sure that the forms and the parts are in the right place. In the new residential block to be built in the Spuikwartier in The Hague, one of the visual methods is to create a tension in the building, with the almost absurd contrast between a completely black façade and a bright light inner space. It is particularly because of the connections between colour and the problems of size and scale in architecture that Carel Weeber was presented with the Award.” In addition, his role as a stimulator of discussions, amongst other things, as a professor of architecture at the Technical University of Delft, is recognized by this prize.
