Iris van Herpen debutes in architectural collaboration for the Naturalis Biodiversity Center in Leiden

This synergistic collaboration comes as a natural evolution from the multidisciplinary approach of Iris van Herpen. Her groundbreaking vision of merging art and science, through design that is intrinsically linked to architecture, comes to life like a carpet of three-dimensional structures that are constantly changing throughout the building. With the help of a new construction technique that specially developed for this collaboration, the 263 panels were formed from a tailor-made mix of sand-sprayed concrete of small granular white marble aggregate, resulting in a delicate texture that feels as smooth as fabric. In addition to the relief pattern and texture of it concrete itself, the line play offers a third dimension to each panel that reflects the complexity of our geological structure.