Julien De Smedt

Prior to founding JDS Architects, De Smedt worked with OMA/Rem Koolhaas, Rotterdam and co-founded and directed with Bjarke Ingels the architecture firm PLOT in Copenhagen.

The company fast achieved success and received significant national and international recognition for their inventive designs.

This included several commissions and competition wins as well as a Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale of Architecture in 2004 for a proposal for a new music house for Stavanger, Norway.

The magazine was established by architecture critic Hans Ibelings and graphic designer Arjan Groot in close collaboration with initial shareholder RSM Group.

Leading a team that includes collaborators Coldefy, Carlo Ratti Associati, NL Architects, and Ensamble Studio, in 2022, JDS Architects was awarded the commission for the renovation and refurbishment of the Paul-Henri Spaak building of the Espace Léopold complex of European Parliament in Brussels.