MVRDV founders Winy Maas, Nathalie de Vries and Jacob van Rijs are delighted to announce the appointment of five new associates in order to accommodate the need for specific expertise and to ensure continuous creative quality within the growing practice of more than 225 architects, designers, urbanists and other staff in Rotterdam, Shanghai and Paris.

The new associates are Willeke Vester, Maria Lopez, Arjen Ketting, Fedor Bron, and Ronald Hoogeveen.

Contract manager Willeke Vester (Schiedam, The Netherlands, 1962) studied engineering at the Rotterdam Academy of Architecture. She is an experienced manager and was involved in various change management processes. Previously she worked for several architectural firms and Royal Haskoning. For MVRDV she supervises the contracts of all projects. Besides her work for MVRDV she is a board member of the Dutch Arbitration Board for the building industry. “MVRDV is, in my opinion, the most interesting architectural firm in the Netherlands. The average age of the employees is 32 years. I love to share my 35 years of working experience with my young colleagues,” she says.

Architect María López Calleja (Valencia, Spain, 1980) studied architecture at the Technical University of Valencia and has worked for MVRDV since 2008. She has been involved in national and international projects of various scales and scopes. She oversaw the design process of the urban hybrid masterplan in Switzerland and has lead the design teams of the Tianjin Binhai Library in Tianjin, China, and The Imprint in Seoul, South Korea. López is also responsible for the development and implementation of BIM as a design tool. “MVRDV gave me the opportunity to mature professionally surrounded by talented people, facing challenges in a worldwide level, in many different types and scales of projects,” she says.

Architect Arjen Ketting (Zwolle, the Netherlands, 1979) studied architecture at the Rotterdam Academy of Architecture and has worked for MVRDV for more than ten years. He is an expert in sustainable projects and is MVRDV’s BREEAM Assessor. For MVRDV he has worked on various projects. Currently he is responsible for Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen, the first publicly accessible art depot which will open in 2020 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Besides this Ketting is involved in MVRDV Planet, which aspires to run the office in a more sustainable way. “MVRDV-projects are always optimistic, surprising, thought provoking and above all fun, without being ‘funny’ or making a joke,” he says.

Building expert Fedor Bron (The Hague, the Netherlands, 1976) studied at The Hague University of Applied Sciences and has 20 years of experience at (inter)national architectural offices including Erick van Egeraat and UNStudio. Currently he is working with his team on various projects, ranging from De Sax in Rotterdam, Westerpark West in Amsterdam, The Modernist in Rotterdam, Nieuw Bergen in Eindhoven, Red7 in Moscow and the Radio Tower & Hotel in New York. “Since primary school I was motived to work in an architectural office because I wanted to create beautiful buildings. At MVRDV I can perfectly combine my technical experience with my passion for iconic architecture,” he says.

Architect Ronald Hoogeveen (Rotterdam, 1970) studied at the Delft University of Technology and has more than 20 years of experience. He has worked for various architectural firms, including almost 20 years for the Dutch firm BroekBakema. For MVRDV he has been a senior project leader on different projects. He currently runs multiple design teams and is overseeing projects such as the Pixel in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, the Tirana Pyramid in Albania, the Veranda Offices in Colombo, Sri Lanka, and the SeaSaw in Den Helder, the Netherlands. “What I find most challenging in working for MVRDV are the many hyper-ambitious global projects, which are complex and always redefining boundaries,” he says.


Photo by © Suzanne van de Kerk.