For more than three decades we have been creating innovative, flexible and efficient designs that must meet high standards and complex user requirements. Our field of work extends from (public) buildings to infrastructural projects and urban master plans. Whether we are renovating or modernizing a building or designing a completely new structure, we always seek clear, unique and efficient solutions.
Some of our designs are restrained, such as the extension to the Anne Frank House, while others are iconic, such as the Bergbau Museum and the Ziggo Dome. In various projects we have shown that combining old and new elements can result in very sustainable buildings that blend harmoniously with their surroundings and accommodate new forms of use.

Old and new buildings form part of an urban morphology that we respect and want to contribute to. In our iconic designs our aim is never to be conspicuous just for the sake of it. We deploy architecture to create new urban character and thus to contribute to the city of the future. Unexpected qualities surface frequently in the design and planning process, and they provide impulses for the urban environment or for the occupants of a building.
Our office is renowned for skilfully controlling the entire design and planning process in terms of both time and costs. We are well organized and have plenty of experience in supervising complex processes at all scales.

“We respect the hierarchy between urbanism and architecture. Our buildings must add something to the city. They must contribute to the city and function well as part of it.”

“In designing buildings, we want to fully comprehend and respect the interests of clients and also of neighbours, occupants and the city.”

Listening is an important quality in fully understanting all questions that arise during a design process. We want to discover ‘the question behind the question’, because that can help us to discover what really matters. Good architecture begins with clear thinking and thorough analyis. We always try to find the essence of the question.

Better solutions result if you are prepared to dig deeper and always have the courage to keep asking questions. In our designs we are not after sensational or spectacular architecture but after the best solution for the task at hand. We study the functional and internal logic of buildings and derive great pleasure from that.

Our work is rooted in the Dutch design tradition that marries understatement and efficiency with innovation and self-criticism. We adopt a restrained and intelligent approach and are not afraid of confrontations. That is also ‘Dutch’. Our team, however, consists of professionals from various cultural backgrounds who enjoy working both nationally and internationally.

We have a deep love of building and want people to enjoy our designs and genuinely appreciate them. In the station in Rotterdam you can see the trains and smell the wood as the lighting guides you to your destination. These are highly tactile, sensitive experiences, and it is fantastic that architecture can facilitate them.

“We want to get the very most out of every commission. That is why we want to understand the question behind the question. Our aim is to give clients more than they ask for.”

“Our office is full of extremely curious individuals whose job is to understand all stakeholders, not just the client. We keep posing questions. Why this? Why that?”

Our first projects were based on design principles that later came to be known as ‘sustainable’: compactness, good orientation and efficient use of materials. Sustainable building therefore comes naturally to us, as it has been part of our architectural tradition ever since the office was founded.

We make buildings that meet the highest contemporary standards of sustainability, among them RAI Amtrium and Mall Forum Mittelhein in Koblenz. In our office we have a specialist sustainability team that includes devoted and certified BREEAM designers. We are a participant in the ‘Green Building Council’, a member of the ‘German Sustainable Building Council’ (DGNB) and are certified ISO 14001:2015 .

We believe that sustainability is embedded in the wider context of social responsibility. In view of that responsibility, we always seek to balance the ecological, economic and social aspects of a project. We are proud that in so many of our projects we find an equilibrium between aesthetic and conceptual ambitions, efficient use of materials and innovative technological systems. That balance is essential for good architecture.

“We have created buildings with the highest attainable sustainability classifications. We have sustainability experts on our team, yet Benthem Crouwel is not a typical ‘green office’, because we always seek to integrate sustainability with other architectural values.”

“Over the years we have built enduring relations with many of our clients, and we have worked with some of them for decades. That continuity testifies to their trust in the consistent quality of our work.”

The application of new technology and new methods of production plays an important role in our work. We critically examine traditional processes of construction, production and planning again and again. Is there scope for improvement? Can we make it more efficient and smarter? These are the questions we ask ourselves throughout the process.

The aim of innovation is to ensure that our product possesses exceptional qualities that can make the result more user-friendly, sustainable, beautiful and easier to maintain. So for specific commissions we like to look for new methods and answers, as we did at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam and Mall Forum Mittelrhein in Koblenz.

The facade of the Stedelijk Museum is made of composite material that seamlessly covers an exceptionally large area. The facade panels of Mall Forum Mittelrhein are manufactured from deep drawn aluminium sheets. In both cases we deployed existing production techniques from the boat building and automobile industries respectively to create architecture. That reflects what innovation means to us: introducing new technologies, materials and methods into our field.

“We believe that our way of working can make a major contribution to the design and planning process. Cooperating with stakeholders and co-creating are great ways to inspire others.”

“Our advisors are not only specialists in structural engineering, building physics and traffic engineering but also artists, graphic designers and changemakers. After all, other disciplines offer a fresh and potentially enhancing perspective on our field of work.”

Benthem Crouwel received many prizes for their work, ranging from national to international prizes. And the firm is frequently successful in national and international design and innovation competitions.