Studio

In 1979, shortly after he graduated in Architecture & Urban Planning at Eindhoven University of Technology, Jo Coenen set up his company – at the time Jo Coenen & Co – in Eindhoven. After 10 years Coenen moved his operation to Maastricht to work on the Sphinx Céramique Masterplan. After another 10 years he opened a branch in Berlin to design the residence of the Dutch Ambassador and to work on the Gendarmenmarkt project. This was followed by other studios in Luxembourg (2002), Amsterdam (2002), Milan (2007) and finally Bern (2012). Over the past 40 years, Coenen has designed many architectural and urban development projects, of which the NAi in Rotterdam, the masterplan and library for the Céramique Centre in Maastricht and the Public Library and KNSM Island in Amsterdam are some of the best known.

Today the office – under the name of Jo Coenen Architects & Urbanists (JCAU) – draws from Jo Coenen’s impressive portfolio and extensive experience, while reinforced by a new generation joined during more recent years: Thomas Offermans (director of JCAU Studio Amsterdam), Christof Goldschmid (director of JCAU Studio Bern) and Olivier Graeven (director JCAU studio Euregio). Embracing Coenen’s philosophy and the heart of his work, Thomas and Christof take up new projects with a young and modern eagerness, thus carrying this significant cultural inheritance into the future.