📅 Jun 15, 2026SuperUrbanRMIT64 MIN13 SEGMENTS · 2 SPEAKERS
This episode of the Super Urban Podcast ventures into one of the most expansive propositions in contemporary architectural ...
What Winy Maas said
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Winy Maas, founding partner of MVRDV, discussed the evolution of computational tools in architecture, from early scripting at MIT with Grasshopper and Rhino to a 'primitive form of AI.' He defended AI use despite job-loss fears, noting 40-50 years of progress. Maas described MVRDV Next, a department focused on scripting, and emphasized open sourcing, like online carbon calculators, to invite criticism. He framed playfulness as a critical tool against excessive seriousness. On the Sky City project in Melbourne, he detailed drone applications: a stack drone built in Barcelona, clustering mini drones, potential farms in the sky, and a house of 10,000 drones, while acknowledging privacy concerns. He stressed collaboration as essential for tackling big agendas and called architecture 'petrified research.' He saw the sky as an active urban layer, with drones reducing traffic but also raising issues. Maas ended by thanking the host and noting the potential for a future conversation.
Key takeaways
Maas built a stack drone in Barcelona within two years, using clustered mini drones as a tool.
A house made of 10,000 drones can transform, exploring free urbanism for students.
Drones can reduce traffic and enable farms in the sky, but raise privacy issues.
The twin, the digital twin. I think we were already very active in the first book we tried to work on the word optimization, but the tools that were the computational tools that were there.
At MIT, we developed a platform for regional planning that was interactive. Later, we used scripting with Grasshopper and Rhino to address growing complexities from technology, participation, and the need for buildings and nature. One could say it's a primitive form of AI, but scripting and AI are not closely related. When you compare to photoshopping or writing, those are how AI is most used. There's criticism and fear of job loss, but we shouldn't stop. This evolution has been happening for 40-50 years, and I contributed. It evolved from a primitive start to a richer, deeper approach. It's not finished, but it explains how we progressed with society.
Yeah, no, I think it's a really important recognition of the different tools and how they might be applied. Part of the skepticism around AI is that people see it as a disruptor or a black box with limited control. I was curious how you deal with those questions when looking at projects, because information can be used to reinforce undesirable conditions or to isolate and learn from them. How do you apply these logics in projects?
We installed a department called MVRV Next to focus on scripting. We try to be ahead of AI through complexity. We apply open sourcing—for example, our carbon calculators are online for criticism. I'm attracted to deeper complexity. RMIT is a laboratory. We need mineral cycles. Collaboration is key: I'm just a tiny architect; to touch bigger agendas, you must collaborate. Our architecture is clear, not mystical. We are more postmodern than the postmodernists. Clarity is a communicative vehicle. Conceptual architecture becomes a messenger. It's a moment in time, but we exaggerate and deepen it. Architecture is petrified research. In Melbourne, I see a dialogue with other buildings.
So, I've been thinking about your lecture and the persistent undercurrent of mischief, playfulness, provocation, and transgression in your work. These are methods that exaggerate urban logics, pushing systems to absurd limits. Do they function as critical instruments or as aesthetic strategies that risk neutralizing political edge? And by extension, do you think architects take themselves too seriously?
6 more exchanges in this transcript
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Maas, W. (2026, June 15). Hyper Cities with Winy Maas [Interview transcript]. SuperUrbanRMIT. CEOInterviews.AI. https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/1018343/
