Keynote speaker, 09.00-09.45h, Querido room
Keynote: Inspiration and Analysis
The blue dots represent the locations of projects executed by Mecanoo architecten.
Prof. ir. Francine Houben
Architect.
Prof. ir. Francine Houben is an architect known worldwide for her oeuvre ranging from single
houses to complete neighbourhoods and skyscrapers, cities and polders, schools, theatres and
libraries, museums and hotels. She studied at the Delft University of Technology and is the
founding partner and creative director of Mecanoo architecten, based in Delft. The firm was
officially founded in 1984 in Delft after Francine and a group of fellow students won a
competition for a social housing complex and now consists of a highly multidisciplinary
staff of creative professionals from 25 countries. Francine and her team have a special
focus on the expression of materials, a strong relation with context, technical expertise,
and the precise resolution of details, as can be seen in the TU Delft Library, the
Montevideo building in Rotterdam, and the recently opened Birmingham Library; the latter
currently being the largest library in Europe. She combines the disciplines of architecture,
urban planning, and landscape architecture in an untraditional way, with a profound
sensitivity for light and beauty.
Francine has held professorships in the Netherlands and abroad and was a visiting professor
at Harvard University in 2007. In 2015, Queen Maxima handed her the Prins Bernhard
Cultuurfonds Prize, a prize that is awarded to a person or institution with a highly
successful track record within the field of culture, nature or science.
To learn more about Francine Houben and her projects, the documentary ‘’Francine Houben –
een Hollandse architect met wereldsucces’’ (divided into four parts) can be found on NPO
start:
Prof. dr. Francesco Mattace Raso
Geriatrician.
From early childhood until old age, we are exposed to the effects of lifestyle and diseases,
which all influence the acceleration of our aging process. But how can we maintain control
over this aging process? Prof. dr. Francesco Mattace Raso, professor of Geriatrics at
Erasmus Medical Center, might know the answer.
Prof. dr. Mattace Raso obtained his medical degree and became a geriatrician in Italy. In
1999, he moved to the Netherlands and obtained his PhD at the Erasmus Medical Center on the
topic of ‘Age- related changes in vascular structure and function’. Since his move to
Rotterdam he has been working as a geriatrician, became head of the division of geriatrics
in 2011, associate professor in 2015 and full professor in 2018. His research focusses on
vascular problems in the elderly population. He identified determinants of age-related
cardiometabolic changes and investigated the consequences of this process on disability in
the elderly. He has published over 150 peer reviewed scientific articles. In order to reach
an old age Prof. dr. Mattace Raso’s recommends to obtain a healthy lifestyle, to have good
medical control of chronic disease, and, most importantly, to have lots of fun in life. You
might have seen him carry out this last tip as one of the members of the ‘Sticky
Fingers’-band at the Erasmus Open Plein Festival. During his talk ‘Silver and gOld’ at the
Sophia Research Day 2019 prof. dr. Mattace Raso will elaborate on how we can intervene in
the circle of life to reach old age in good health.
Keynote speaker, 16:10-16:50h, Querido room
Keynote: Silver and gOld
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