Vormen voorwaarts
5 June 2025 - 25 October 2025
The exhibition Vormen voorwaarts, curated by the Association of Dutch Architectural Firms (BNA), celebrates architecture and good clientship, while emphasising the importance of design for our social and public space. The exhibition marks the 20th anniversary of the BNA Best Building of the Year award.
"Dutch architecture has undergone a remarkable development over the past 20 years. Where once the emphasis was on iconic buildings, attention is now shifting more and more to designs with a broader landscape and socio-cultural value. Sustainability is also playing an increasingly important role, thanks in part to clients with ambitious goals.
These changes, together with specific architectural projects from the last two decades, form the basis of the exhibition. The starting point is to understand the causes of the current (housing) construction crisis and, more importantly, to explore meaningful scenarios and alliances that can help the Netherlands out of this impasse and together form a direction for the future." - BNA
The projects on display include Rotterdam Central Station (Benthem Crouwel Architects, Meyer en Van Schooten, West 8), the Depot Boijmans van Beuningen (MVRDV), the Forum in Groningen (NL Architects), and the renovation of the Singer Laren Museum (Bedaux de Brouwer).
Best Building of the Year
BNA Best Building of the Year is the Dutch award for architecture that creates added value for clients and society. In addition to architectural quality, usability and experiential value, the social value and the quality of the collaboration are also taken into account.
Award ceremony and opening
The winner of the 2025 anniversary edition will be announced at the Nieuwe Instituut on 5 June. The Vormen voorwaarts exhibition will also open on this date. All the entries can be viewed on the BNA Best Building of the Year 2025 website.