wUrck is an architecture, urbanism and landscape studio based in Rotterdam, founded by four partners, Ernst van Rijn, Paul Kersten, Oriol Casas Cancer and Gijs Wolfs, in 2006, wUrck develops architecture, urbanism and landscape projects in research projects and spatial design. The different backgrounds of the four partners ensure a multidisciplinary perspective on each assignment.
Ernst van Rijn (1962) cum laude architect from Delft University of Technology in 1988, later studying in London at the Architectural Association. In the nineties he worked for Hans Kollhoff and Ben van Berkel, among others. Subsequently, he gained extensive experience at VHP in Rotterdam as an independent project architect and urban planner with various residential and non-residential construction projects under his name. His projects in recent years include Meerrijk in Eindhoven and the Stationsplein bike park in Haarlem. Large infrastructure projects where the relationship between architecture and landscape plays an important role, such as the N322 in Land van Maas en Waal and the A9 between Schiphol and Almere (SAA).
Paul Kersten (1966) is a landscape architect from the Larenstein International Agricultural College in Boskoop, 1990. Before founding wUrck, he worked for the municipalities of Tilburg and Roosendaal and later worked as a landscape architect / project manager at VHP s + a + l in Rotterdam. Some of his high-profile realized or ongoing designs include Pleinen van de Zuidtangent, Bataviastad in Lelystad, De Dongezone, Koolhoven and Frankische Driehoeken in Tilburg, Stichtse Kant in Almere, and the station squares in Lelystad and Haarlem. In 2018, his proposal for the redevelopment of the Kerckebosch residential area in Zeist received the Building + Biodiversity award and Kerckebosch was declared the most nature-inclusive residential area. Similar projects are the Road of the Future in Oss, the Randweg Eindhoven/A2, the Koolhoven district in Tilburg, the energy-neutral Maxima bridge and the N322 Beneden Leeuwen Druten and the Randweg Zundert. Since 2008 he is a member of the advisory committee on urban vegetation of the Municipality of Tilburg. He is also a member of the quality teams of Blixembosch Noordoost/Eindhoven, Koolhoven/Tilburg and Kerckebosch/Zeist.
Oriol Casas Cancer (1972) architect from the Escola Tecnica Superior d'Arquitectura de Barcelona (2000). He received a scholarship from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and has obtained a Master's degree in urban planning from the Barcelona Polytechnic Foundation. Before founding wUrck, he was an architect at VHP s + a + l in Rotterdam and CCRS urban planners in Barcelona. He is specialized in both mobility and housing projects and is currently responsible for the urban plan and architecture of Meerrijk (2001-20) in Eindhoven, the Strawinskylaan bicycle parking project in Amsterdam (2018), the Waterlandseweg bridge in Almere (2021 ) and the residential buildings of Landgoed de Hoven in Rotterdam (2020).
Gijs Wolfs (1962) architect graduated from the Delft University of Technology in 1989 and since 2005 also an urban planner. He has been responsible for the realization of the "solar trees" along Weg van de Toekomst; as an urban planner for the elaboration of the Delta Metropolis concept for the 5th Spatial Planning Memorandum. Among these extreme scales, he was responsible for several urban developments , such as the Koolhoven district in Tilburg, Bangert and Oosterpolder in Hoorn and Piekenhoef in Oss. Currently they are the outer dike, the Buitenstad town center in Zaltbommel and the residential area of the Soesterberg airbase.Project manager for the Masterplan Scheldekwartier in Vlissingen, nominated for the European Urbanism Award, has won the EO Weijers competition with the Ladder Metropolis concept and the Urban Renewal Award of the Province of South Holland with the Back to the Coast proposal.
Ernst van Rijn (1962) cum laude architect from Delft University of Technology in 1988, later studying in London at the Architectural Association. In the nineties he worked for Hans Kollhoff and Ben van Berkel, among others. Subsequently, he gained extensive experience at VHP in Rotterdam as an independent project architect and urban planner with various residential and non-residential construction projects under his name. His projects in recent years include Meerrijk in Eindhoven and the Stationsplein bike park in Haarlem. Large infrastructure projects where the relationship between architecture and landscape plays an important role, such as the N322 in Land van Maas en Waal and the A9 between Schiphol and Almere (SAA).
Paul Kersten (1966) is a landscape architect from the Larenstein International Agricultural College in Boskoop, 1990. Before founding wUrck, he worked for the municipalities of Tilburg and Roosendaal and later worked as a landscape architect / project manager at VHP s + a + l in Rotterdam. Some of his high-profile realized or ongoing designs include Pleinen van de Zuidtangent, Bataviastad in Lelystad, De Dongezone, Koolhoven and Frankische Driehoeken in Tilburg, Stichtse Kant in Almere, and the station squares in Lelystad and Haarlem. In 2018, his proposal for the redevelopment of the Kerckebosch residential area in Zeist received the Building + Biodiversity award and Kerckebosch was declared the most nature-inclusive residential area. Similar projects are the Road of the Future in Oss, the Randweg Eindhoven/A2, the Koolhoven district in Tilburg, the energy-neutral Maxima bridge and the N322 Beneden Leeuwen Druten and the Randweg Zundert. Since 2008 he is a member of the advisory committee on urban vegetation of the Municipality of Tilburg. He is also a member of the quality teams of Blixembosch Noordoost/Eindhoven, Koolhoven/Tilburg and Kerckebosch/Zeist.
Oriol Casas Cancer (1972) architect from the Escola Tecnica Superior d'Arquitectura de Barcelona (2000). He received a scholarship from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and has obtained a Master's degree in urban planning from the Barcelona Polytechnic Foundation. Before founding wUrck, he was an architect at VHP s + a + l in Rotterdam and CCRS urban planners in Barcelona. He is specialized in both mobility and housing projects and is currently responsible for the urban plan and architecture of Meerrijk (2001-20) in Eindhoven, the Strawinskylaan bicycle parking project in Amsterdam (2018), the Waterlandseweg bridge in Almere (2021 ) and the residential buildings of Landgoed de Hoven in Rotterdam (2020).
Gijs Wolfs (1962) architect graduated from the Delft University of Technology in 1989 and since 2005 also an urban planner. He has been responsible for the realization of the "solar trees" along Weg van de Toekomst; as an urban planner for the elaboration of the Delta Metropolis concept for the 5th Spatial Planning Memorandum. Among these extreme scales, he was responsible for several urban developments , such as the Koolhoven district in Tilburg, Bangert and Oosterpolder in Hoorn and Piekenhoef in Oss. Currently they are the outer dike, the Buitenstad town center in Zaltbommel and the residential area of the Soesterberg airbase.Project manager for the Masterplan Scheldekwartier in Vlissingen, nominated for the European Urbanism Award, has won the EO Weijers competition with the Ladder Metropolis concept and the Urban Renewal Award of the Province of South Holland with the Back to the Coast proposal.
