Blog: Erik van Eck about the essence of architecture

Architecture that connects

Together with my wife, I have walked many kilometers in my life, and last year we started the Camino, from Geneva to Santiago de Compostela. With nothing but each other, a small backpack, water, and bread for the road, walking through the beautiful landscape, I feel like a rich and happy person. In the evening, we enjoy a simple meal and good conversation, sometimes together, sometimes with other walkers. You feel connected to the landscape you are slowly moving through and to the people who cross your path and share their fascinating stories.

Being on the road together, having time for each other and for reflection, creates a sense of community and happiness for many hikers. These experiences shape me as a person. As an architect, I try to translate this into architecture that connects.

For me, architecture has never been just about buildings. It’s about people. About places where we meet, work together, laugh, learn, and relax. Architecture that connects starts with understanding what drives people, what they need to feel at home and connect with each other.

For Canon’s headquarters in Venlo, we created an inspiring route with four green plazas that form an inviting journey through the nine-story building. Each green plaza functions as a green courtyard where informal meetings occur naturally. From here, you can enjoy breathtaking views of the Maasvallei and the surrounding wooded area. To encourage movement, synergy, and collaboration, the main staircase, coffee bar, and restrooms are seamlessly connected to the green plazas. The lush planting creates a warm, relaxed atmosphere and gives the office a familiar, homely feel.

I believe that architecture has enormous power to form and strengthen communities. A well-designed building can literally and figuratively bring people closer together. It can invite, inspire, and provide space for encounters. When that happens, something beautiful emerges: pride. Pride in belonging somewhere, pride in the place where you live, work, or live together. For me, that feeling is the essence of architecture.

The new headquarters for DSM-Firmenich in Maastricht is a wonderful example of this. It is the first Paris Proof national monument in the Netherlands. We transformed and expanded the former vocational school into a healthy and green working environment with a ‘clubhouse feeling’. Meeting, collaborating, and inspiring each other are central to this. At the heart of this clubhouse, the inviting atrium connects old and new. Here you can experience the grandeur of DSM-Firmenich, where past and present come together to form a wonderful meeting place.

In my work, I always seek collaboration. Because the best ideas don’t come from isolation, but from dialogue. By co-creating with clients, users, and other designers, we combine our knowledge and insights. This allows us to find answers together to the complex questions of today and tomorrow. There are no ready-made solutions — and that is precisely what makes our profession so fascinating. Every assignment requires openness, curiosity, and the courage to explore.

Themes such as biodiversity, climate adaptation, and circularity are playing an increasingly important role in this regard. I see it as my responsibility not to treat these themes as separate additions, but to allow them to come together naturally in the design. A building must be in balance with its environment and be able to grow in a future-proof way with the community that uses it.

For me, being an architect means constantly searching for connections—between people and places, between function and feeling, between now and later. It is precisely in that search that the beauty of the profession lies.

Because when architecture touches, brings people together, and inspires them, we do more than just build: we give it meaning.