The Centraal Beheer office building, built on a square grid, is a textbook example of structuralism designed by its leading representative, the Dutch architect Herman Hertzberger. Hertzberger always saw the role of architecture as a spatial framework whose function was to be fulfilled by the user. According to his thesis, this project is therefore proof of the so-called pudding, i.e. flexible and malleable matter. What happens when the theory behind an award-winning building meets reality years later, when it needs to be renovated to meet the demands of the new times? Should it be taken up by the author himself, or rather by the world-famous MVRDV studio, which is not afraid of radical changes? The documentary follows the complex process of transformation and captures the harsh pitfalls that post-war buildings repeatedly face.
Prague + Brno: Discussion with the film protagonist, architect Laurens Jan ten Kat after the screening
