(London, October 7th, 2010) The Royal Institute of British Architects' (RIBA) Council today approved eight new International Fellowships of the RIBA, among them Winy Maas, Jacob van Rijs and Nathalie De Vries, the three founders and principal architects of MVRDV. RIBA International Fellowships reward the particular contributions non-UK architects have made to architecture. The lifetime honour, conferred annually, allows individual recipients to use the initials Int FRIBA after their name. RIBA President Ruth Reed said: ‘The RIBA is delighted to honour these individuals who have each made a significant contribution to the world of architecture.” Winy Maas, Jacob van Rijs and Nathalie de Vries are honored about receiving the award at the moment that the first building of MVRDV in the United Kingdom is completed, the Balancing Barn in Suffolk. The 2011 RIBA International Fellowships will be presented at a ceremony at the RIBA in London on 10 February 2011. The other new fellows are Abdel Wahed El-Wakil, Kjetil T Thorsen and Craig Dykers of Snøhetta, Ma Yansong of Mad Architects and Edouard François. The RIBA’s eight new International Fellows join an impressive and growing list of around 70 non-UK architects. Among them Toyo Ito, Herzog&deMeuron, Frank Gehry and Oscar Niemeyer. The other international fellows from the Netherlands are so far Herman Herztberger, Francine Houben of Mecanoo and Rem Koolhaas of OMA. This year’s RIBA Honours Committee was chaired by RIBA President, Ruth Reed with architects Edward Cullinan, Eva Jiricna and Chris Wilkinson, engineer Max Fordham and client Laura Lee.
