Jacob van Rijs has been appointed full Professor of Architectural Design at the Architectural Urban Design and Engineering (AUDE) unit of Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e). Excited by the freedoms and opportunities presented by transformations and their relevance to sustainability and climate impact mitigation, he will privilege this topic as a primary interest in his education and research.  

A founding partner and principal architect at MVRDV, Van Rijs is renowned for his dedication to bold concepts combining daring ideas with a humane and user-friendly approach. Jacob has developed this approach over the past 30 years in practice, leading to a wide range of the office’s most notable projects, from cultural and civic buildings to transformations, and from residential buildings and social housing to interiors. Recent examples including the Shenzhen Women & Children’s Centre, which repurposed an outdated 1990s tower into a vibrant and colourful mixed-use skyscraper, and Atelier Gardens in Berlin, which includes the preservations and enhancement of historic film studios.  

“Jacob van Rijs brings a wealth of experience as an accomplished architect and urban designer. His expertise will be a valuable addition to our team and will contribute to the unit’s strong tradition of excellence in design teaching and research," said Theo Salet, Dean of the Department of the Built Environment at TU/e.  

“In my position at TU/e, I am very keen to further explore transformations, which have played an increasingly important role in both my work and teaching”, says Jacob van Rijs. “There is an opportunity for ‘Anti-Monuments’, for those buildings that are unwanted and unloved to be preserved, reused, and transformed, and to deliver new perspectives and functionality, which will form part of my students’ education”.  

Starting in September, Van Rijs will combine his role as Professor of Architectural Design with his work at MVRDV. Tom Frantzen, of FRANTZEN et al architecten and Lemniskade, was also appointed at the same time as Van Rijs, and will hold the position of Habraken Chair of Open Architecture.  

Jacob van Rijs is founding partner and principal architect at MVRDV, and renowned for his dedication to bold concepts combining daring ideas with a humane and user-friendly approach. Van Rijs has developed this approach over the past 30 years in practice, leading to a wide range of the office’s most notable projects, from cultural and civic buildings to transformations, and from residential buildings and social housing to interiors. As a testament to his leadership skills, van Rijs led a rapidly growing MVRDV office through the financial crisis and successfully led the firm into a new era as Managing Director. During this time, the office expanded to many times its previous size, achieving recognition numerous times in industry awards.