MVRDV CEO Inger Kammeraat, announces the firm’s updated management structure today. This enhances the efficiency of MVRDV’s internationally active architecture and urbanism practice. The 250 staff office, with branches in Shanghai and Paris, welcomes two new partners: Stefan de Koning and Bertrand Schippan. They currently manage two of MVRDV’s eight design studios.
Stefan de Koning (Amsterdam, 1975) has a background in design, interior architecture, and architecture. Having joined MVRDV in 2001, de Koning has lead and won many international competitions and pitches on behalf of the office. “Since 2010,” says Jacob van Rijs, co-founder of MVRDV. “Stefan has overseen projects in India and Indonesia, which has led to his appointment as director of one of our most prosperous international design studios.”
Stefan believes in pushing the boundaries of design through a strong focus on the development of concepts and narratives. He aims to put dreams into practice with a consistent and professional approach. “What I love most about MVRDV is its grand scope. We work at various scales, disciplines, typologies, and regions. I also like the fact that we work with a global multidisciplinary team with a wide range of skills, goals and backgrounds, which leads to great encounters with clients and colleagues,” says De Koning.
Bertrand Schippan (Dunkerque, France 1981), educated at the Ecole Nationale Supérieur d’Architecture in Lille, the Escuela Tecnica Superior d’Arquitectura of Coruna, and the Technical University of Eindhoven. He joined MVRDV in 2006 and leads French projects of strategic importance for the office, and was responsible for establishing the firm’s Paris office in 2018. Nathalie de Vries, MVRDV co-founder states that “due to his key role in projects of different scales, Bertrand was able to test and improve existing theories and methods as well as to create his own signature approach.”
Bertrand is currently overseeing different projects in Lyon, Paris and Bordeaux. “You have to explore all ideas before you can affirm that the choices you make are the best ones,” says Schippan. “We are not afraid to push them to excess, or even be radical, in order to bring out the positive features of every concept.
With the addition of the two newly appointed partners, MVRDV now has nine partners in total, including founding partners Winy Maas, Jacob van Rijs and Nathalie de Vries, as well as ‘second generation’ partners Jan Knikker, Fokke Moerel, Wenchian Shi and Frans de Witte.
About MVRDV
Based in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, MVRDV has a global scope, providing solutions to contemporary architectural and urban issues in all regions of the world. Founded in 1993 by Winy Maas, Jacob van Rijs, and Nathalie de Vries, the firm’s highly collaborative, research-based design methodology involves stakeholders and experts from early stages in the creative process. The results are exemplary, outspoken projects that enable our cities and landscapes to develop towards a better future. The products of MVRDV’s unique approach to design vary, ranging from buildings of all types and sizes, to urban plans and visions, numerous publications, installations and exhibitions. In 2018, MVRDV was awarded Architizer’s Firm of the Year Award, with the jurors stating that “if there is one firm in the world that encapsulates why so many people get excited about architecture, it is MVRDV.”