Profile
Hof Architects was founded in 2011 in London by Stephane Hof to produce designs and studies in the fields of contemporary architecture, urban planning, landscape, interior and product design with the challenge of innovating and pushing the boundaries of what is possible.
The practice engages globally in providing solutions to contemporary architectural and urban issues. Hof Architects operates in a wide range of projects of all types and sizes, for private, corporate and public clients.
Hof Architects is about creating things, making things happen and working with people to shape a better environment. We are interested in the uniqueness of place. What it is and what it could be.
Approach
WHAT (Our Attitude Towards Design): We constantly experiment in order to reach the most innovative and unexpected proposals. In an increasingly complex and unpredictable world, we use advanced digital design and fabrication tools to anticipate the designs of tomorrow. Our proposals are flexible, and can adapt to varying uses and conditions throughout the day.
WHY (Our Belief): We want to give something back to the community: to make people think in a different way, to provoke curiosity and a desire to learn. We believe that the collaborative process is as important as the final result: everyone, including the client and community should be involved in the process.
HOW (Our Method): We grow buildings using simple rules similar to those found in nature, and therefore our designs are closer to landscapes than to conventional buildings. We want our design to grow from the ground, to be an organic extension of the surroundings accessible to everyone. Each design derives from in-depth analytical research, whilst also challenging existing thinking and seeking optimized and exciting design solutions.
WHO (The Bigger Picture): We build for future generations. We want the current generation to feel they have left a positive message for their children. Our designs are based on the environment, the structure, the materials, as well as the interaction with users.
OUR VISION: We want to blur the boundary between landscape and architecture to create a playful proposal that will be used in many different ways, sometimes unexpected even for us.
People
Stephane Hof | Founder; Principal Architect
Stephane Hof is a Belgian-born architect based in London since 1997.
Prior to founding Hof Architects in 2011, he worked at Zaha Hadid Architects for 14 years on some of the world’s most iconic buildings.
As Project Architect he successfully lead the design and realisation of the Terminus and Car Park Hoenheim North, Strasbourg, completed in 2002 (which received the Mies van der Rohe Award in 2003) and the Pierres Vives Archive and Library building in Montpellier, completed in 2012.
He completed the Alphabet Library in Montpellier in 2012.
Manifesto
Each project has a context.
We study it before we start.
We challenge design habits.
We create unexpected proposals.
We want to give back to the world.
We build for the future generations.
Every project we produce
overlap between pragmatic and Utopian outcome.
We create architecture by mixing and combining
conventional ideas and program.
If it look familiar,
we will try something else.
We take risks to avoid
contributing to conformity and banality.
We want building to emerge from the ground condition.
We grow building using simple rules.
We surprise, provoke curiosity.
We want people to smile and make them think !