Stad010 Competitors

Founded in 1988 by Ben van Berkel and Caroline Bos, UNStudio specialises in creating ground-breaking architecture and design at all scales, from bridges to public buildings, offices, residences, exhibitions, products and urban masterplans. The name UNStudio stands for United Network Studio and refers to the collaborative nature of the practice. Throughout 30 years of international project experience, UNStudio has expanded its capabilities through collaboration with an extended network of international consultants, partners and advisors. This network, combined with our centrally located offices in Amsterdam, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Dubai and Melbourne, enables us to work efficiently anywhere in the world. With over 120 completed projects in Asia, Europe and North America, the studio continues to expand its global presence with recent commissions in the United Arab Emirates, China, South Korea, Italy, Germany and the United States, among other countries.

Mecanoo, officially founded in Delft in 1984, is made up of a highly multidisciplinary staff of creative professionals from 25 countries. The team includes architects, interior designers, urban planners, landscape architects as well as architectural technicians and support staff. Mecanoo is led by Francine Houben (Creative Director & Founding Partner), Floris Overheul (Financial Director), Dick van Gameren (Design & Research Partner), and Partners/Architects Nuno Fontarra, Rick Splinter and Arne Lijbers. Mecanoo has extensive experience designing and realising exceptional buildings which serve client ambitions while creating vibrant end-user spaces. Each project responds to our philosophy of People, Place and Purpose: to the client’s requirements and the user’s needs (People); the physical context, climate and culture (Place); and the current and predicted potential of a building’s function (Purpose). The result is unique solutions for each varying situation, in which the disciplines of architecture, urban planning, landscape and interior combine in a non-traditional way. Over the years we have learned that functions inevitably change. Therefore, we must create buildings that are prepared for (un)predictable change. Sustainability is an inherent aspect of our design approach, feeding into an ambition to create new identity in a world of globalization, resulting in inspiring and authentic places, socially relevant for people and communities. Preoccupied not by a focus on form, but on process, consultation, context, urban scale and integrated sustainable design strategies, the practice creates culturally significant buildings with a human touch.