This quadruple loose-leafed brochure is a cheerful, untidy thing, and charmed the panel mainly by its individuality. The book documents the design and construction of the new office building for a green projects company. Usually this kind of architectural project documentation exudes voluptuous luxury, but in this case it is a matter of searching through the various brochures to find out what the building actually is, why it is so special, and what the book is trying to say. There are six strands to this. There is a personal essay by architecture photographer René de Wit; Hans Ibelings interviewed the client, the architect and an employee, and wrote a short piece containing his observations. All this is transected by de Wit’s photographs of the building, its surroundings and people at work. Several perspectives are offered for looking at the building and the work process, a layeredness that is also reflected in the piling of the brochures and the different sorts of paper.

De Wit’s article is woven through the whole book, set in an extremely large font and printed in red on recycled paper. The other texts, also printed in red, are all bilingual, on pale green, heavier paper. De Wit’s photos are printed on Chromolux paper, which is highly glossy on one side and on the other has an open, fibrous structure. The four brochures are Singer sewn. The loose cover is a sheet of Gustav Wasa kraft paper folded in the American style which envelopes the loose signatures as a kind of folder.

This is not a case of less being more. The panel had a lively discussion about the above superabundance of resources but decided that all round it was a good, somewhat exotic publication. The execution of the brochure work is effective and unusual and the whole is attractive, full of fun, and optimistic. That appreciation also applied to the client’s boldness in taking on an architectural publication of such extraordinary originality.