Wouter Zaaijer

We are OZ The city is the place we operate in. We design buildings in urban contexts, from Amsterdam to Tokio and Milan. We believe the city holds the key to a more sustainable future. We transform underused parts of our city into vibrant places to live and work. Nature in the city We look beyond buildings. Urban densification cannot succeed without intensifying urban nature. As the countryside, in a sense, becomes increasingly mono-functional, the city holds the potential to foster both social and ecological diversity, to bring people and nature closer together. That’s why we integrate parks and green spaces for communities, alongside green roofs and facades for fauna. By intensifying urban nature and social interaction, we create thriving places for people. Craftsmanship meets clarity We take pride in our craftsmanship and approach each project with an investigative down-to-earth attitude. We translate high ambitions into feasible proposals. Without preconceived ideas, we create modern architecture that embraces the complexity of life and the environment. To truly reduce our footprint, we must rely less on technology and focus on more thoughtful, sensible architecture. Natural architecture We create Natural Architecture. Our buildings achieve high comfort levels while drastically reducing mechanical systems. We reinvest the saved budget in artisanal natural materials and smart, monitored natural ventilation software. We dramatically reduce the carbon footprint of our designs - not out of idealism, but out of realism. Designing somewhere Few people can live anywhere; most of us want to live somewhere. That’s why we design contemporary buildings with strong character - buildings that respond to their context and help shape it. We seek to understand the qualities of each location, and we cherish its historical layers. In doing so, we create identity and offer ‘a somewhere’, a sense of place for a growing urban population.