We believe that we can make a better living environment together. Our holistic view on sustainability is an important design ambition in all our buildings right from the very first sketch. We work on the basis of a broad definition of sustainability, built upon three pillars: World We Value.
Going beyond making just an environmental impact, we declare the improvement of social dynamics and civic appreciation as equally vital considerations to envision a more sustainable future for all.
Our mission is to incorporate and unite these themes in all of our projects, from initial idea to completion. This is how we want to create buildings and communities that positively influence the quality of life.
Mission
World
We want to have a positive impact on nature and the environment with our buildings. We can achieve this by carefully selecting sustainable materials and reducing the consumption of energy, water and natural resources. In addition, we aim for flexible and circular buildings that can adapt to changing needs or can be partly reused. Nature-inclusive building is an important aspect that we try to integrate into all our designs.
We
We design with the conviction that a well-designed environment has a positive influence on the health and well-being of its occupants. In this way we create spaces that stimulate social interaction through healthy and comfortable interior climates. We make buildings for active users with spaces that encourage people to exercise and take the stairs instead of the elevator. Creating environments where people can connect, feel at home and live together happily.
Value
Our ambition is to create added value for the local context, not only physically but also in a civic and economic sense. That is why we devote so much attention to a building’s environment: attention for the spatial quality, the programming and the solidity of our designs, as well as the life cycle costs that they entail. Our goal is to create spaces and buildings in consultation with and embraced by their users, ensuring they are of lasting value for their surroundings.
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Vision
We are an office of thinkers and makers. We strongly believe in a concept-driven approach to the assignment, one in which ideas are developed in depth and are critically assessed in terms of content, durability and feasibility. We strive for local and unique projects that resonate with people and align with the environment in which they live. All our projects come to life on the strength of an inspiring and unifying concept. Translating this concept into a convincing and feasible building calls for expertise, right down to the detailing. This is a craft we have been practicing for over 25 years, a craft that lives within Orange Architects and is constantly improving through innovation.
Context
Our designs are sensitive to their context. They embrace and embody the spirit of the place, with its local traditions, and combine them with contemporary and innovative design ideas and spatial concepts. This synergy leads to vibrant proposals that reflect a fine balance between surprise and familiarity, past and future, local and international developments. Each design process starts with an analysis of the site in order to get to the heart of the assignment. For us, this is the search for the genius loci of the project. Together with the wishes of the clients and a vision of the future use of the building, this forms the prelude to the concept.
Concept
On the basis of a rational analysis, the design takes shape by developing explicit ideas, making intuitive choices and establishing priorities. The result is a narrative concept that fires the imagination and lends direction to the project. This enables us to make spaces that are special yet feel familiar and are thus able to fit naturally into their surroundings. From the overall idea to the smallest detail, we want to tell our story convincingly. You could say that the concept of our designs echoes in the smallest detail.
Craft
This way of working calls not only for an out-of-the-box mentality from us as designers, but also for a sound knowledge of the profession. Such expertise is needed to let concepts come to life. Expertise in a range of fields, and the vision to integrate this knowledge into the design in a natural way. We also underline the importance of the quality of the completed work. Of architecture that takes the wishes of future users as its starting point. Of carefully considered architectural detailing. Of sustainable architecture, in the most literal sense of the word. Architecture that is easily able to stand the test of time.
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Strategy
Our projects are intuitive, adventurous and inviting. But they are also put together smartly and efficiently so that our ideas can be turned into reality. No inspiration without intuition, and no solid and feasible plan without reason.
Engaged
To us, every assignment we work on is unique, no matter what the scale. That calls for engagement. It is only on the basis of genuine engagement and understanding of all aspects of the assignment that we can realize remarkable and unique projects. Moreover, we see engagement as a team effort, in which everybody shares the same ambition for the project. The interests of the parties involved may differ, but all concerned share one goal: to make unique, valuable and sustainable buildings together.
Intuitive
Although every project starts with an analysis, the concept acquires form by establishing priorities and making intuitive choices. As a result, the concept becomes empathic and embodies the project ambition. The result is a narrative idea about programme, space and materials, an idea that lends the project both inspiration and direction. But intuition is also about what users and visitors feel about the completed building. The feeling that everything about a building is correct and clear, even though it may be unconventional and innovative. That is an important quality that we aspire to in all our projects.
Rational
Besides ambition, the translation of an appealing concept into a feasible design calls for extensive knowledge and experience and an innovative attitude. With a broad portfolio and a mixed team, we can deploy our knowledge and experience as an office throughout the entire project, right through to completion. In addition, we develop all our projects from the start in BIM. We consider this to be an effective platform for sharing knowledge with our client, the contractor and the other consultants on the construction team. In this way, our vision of an integral design process acquires meaning in the form of a rational and shared way of working.