concrete

Profile

who we are and how we work

Concrete consists of 5 fundamental building blocks: concrete interiors, concrete architecture, concrete tomorrow, concrete today and concrete heritage. concrete’s entire team consists of about 40 professional people. Visual marketeers and interior designers, graphic designers and architects work on the projects in multidisciplinary teams.

The house of concrete is based in a listed building in the middle of the red light district on the oudezijds achterburgwal. Here, the designers work, in an interdisciplinary way, on the total concepts in brainstorm sessions. The company builds brands, produces the interior design, architectonic and urban development plans, along with the main presentations and, eventually, the scale models themselves.

Concrete develops total concepts for businesses and institutions. The agency produces work which is commercially applied. This involves creating total identities for a company, a building or an area. The work extends from interior design to urban development integration and from the building to its accessories. Concrete, for example, also sets the perimeters for the graphic work and considers how the client can present itself in the market.

This all happens from the ‘one concept’ philosophy. The designers of concrete create holistic plans and everything they design is used for the benefit of that total concept: that’s where their strength – and thus the client’s greatest advantage – lies.

Concrete is dynamic, quick on its feet and self-determined. The agency thrives on hard work and the creation of beautiful things. Concrete does not have a pre-determined style and the designers do not simply create designs, interiors or buildings: Concrete devises solutions.

concrete likes to let the work do the talking

concrete develops concepts.
We develop them in architecture, interior design, urban development and brand development.
concrete unites people. We work with a team of 40 multidisciplinary creatives to help businesses and institutions.
concrete loves provoking, confusing, philosophizing, scale models, haute cuisine, burgers, and (most of all) shattering dogmas.
concrete provides solutions. No grand theories or abstract ideas. Just things that work.
concrete likes to let the work do the talking.

concrete is a generation.
We live in the air and on the move. Our offices are hotel rooms, and our meetings are everywhere.
We’re flexible and multidisciplinary. We’re a generation where high and low culture mix, the rough with the chic.
We’re young at heart: non-traditionalists with an eye for sketches as well as details, folk who value intuition and passion.
We’re professionals without the suits, making things both beautiful and sustainable. Design that lasts, that looks good and does good.

concrete makes a difference.
Concrete thrives by redefining what’s come before. We’ve developed new categories in hotels and restaurants, retail, even pharmacies. We believe that change happens in unexpected moments. It also appears when cultures and concepts collide, which is why we love to work internationally. Doing something new doesn’t have to be difficult. Often, it’s about following your intuition and simplifying, a process that strips a concept down to its essence.

concrete works hard and travels harder.
We’re a company where nobody has a car, and everybody commutes by bike. And when we’re not on bikes, we’re in planes. concrete has worked everywhere from the U.S. to Asia. Travel is good for our brains: the more you travel, the more ideas you get. Every country we visit, every city, helps generate new concepts, new angles, new ways of looking. At concrete, we’re full-on dedicated global nomads, playing everywhere.

concrete believes that functionality has no style.
Our philosophy is no philosophy. Instead, we reinvent ourselves, adapting according to every project’s needs. After all, what works in one country or for one client doesn’t work for another. Our goal is to create aesthetically pleasing buildings and interiors that work, that function. Put another way, we create commercially applied functional art (though we’re not artists.) And you can see this attitude throughout our process, from the presentation to the bricks to the guest experience.

Biography

Rob Wagemans, founder / creative director of concrete
Born in Eindhoven on 13th of February 1973
History of education: Bachelor in Architecture Utrecht, Master of Architecture at Academy Amsterdam.

concrete interior
Lisa Hassanzadeh head of interior design / partner
Born in Lich, Germany on the 11th of March 1976, with concrete since 2001
History of education: Master of Architecture at the University of Stuttgart, Germany and the Technical University of Delft, Netherlands.

concrete architecture
Erikjan Vermeulen head of architecture / partner
Born in Texel on the 2nd of April 1973, with concrete since co-founding concrete architecture in 2006
History of education: Bachelor in Architecture Utrecht, Master of Architecture at Academy Amsterdam. Worked for different architects to start his own company in 2003 and joined concrete in 2006.

concrete tomorrow
Sofie Ruytenberg head of identity, concept design, brand development, visual marketing and press / associate
Born in Drunen on the 25th of August 1983, with concrete since 2003
History of education: Visual marketing at the Amsterdam Fashion Institute.

concrete heritage
Erik van Dillen creative advisor
Born in De Bilt on 27th of April 1960, with concrete since 1997
History of education: Interior architect, Rietveld Academy, catering industry skills in the kitchen, painting restorer.

concrete today
Volkert Vos finance
Born in Haarlem on the 10th July 1966, with concrete since 2011
History of education: Medical doctor at University of Amsterdam, publisher, Chef de bureau at Arons en Gelauff Architects.

Concrete was originally founded by rob wagemans, gilian schrofer and erik van dillen in 1997. They met within the framework of an eventually unrealised project; a head office for Cirque du Soleil in Amsterdam. Gilian Schrofer left concrete in 2004 to start his own company.