Danny van Kessel.

If a challenge is too easy, it is hard to make it interesting. A problem that is more difficult to solve requires a solution that goes beyond what is ‘standard’. I love to force architecture to go beyond the ordinary to answer these requirements. Informed architecture. No solution is the same, therefore all our project look and feel different. This complexity is what pushes me to learn new things, to experiment and discover, to get better.

I believe one of the most important sensibilities or abilities in design is empathy. It allows me to be creative in a way. Try to put yourself in the shoes of person on the other side of the table. What is important to them, what would make them happy or sad, what would make their lives healthier or easier? Empathizing with more than just the users. What about the neighbors, or the people visiting and walking by?

When I’m not at the office I love to be outside, preferably surrounded by trees and plants. A walk in a forest with Lou by my side gives me time to breath and think. My fascination with plants probably has something to do with where I grew up, in the South of the Netherlands with a forest around the corner. As a kid, my grandparents gave me a little corner in their garden to experiment with plants and vegetables. It got me interested in greening our living environments from an early age. I like to work on projects with an integral approach to nature and ecology, allowing nature to completely infiltrate the built structure.

Secretly, I’m a bit of a guitar nerd.