This week, we celebrate cepezed's 50th anniversary, or half a century of pioneering prefabrication, circularity and ‘different’ construction. I myself experienced half of this period. Freshly graduated, I started at cepezed with the idea of learning the full breadth of the profession. Meanwhile, I have been a partner and co-owner for twenty years and I know this is impossible. However, my design experience and strategic insight into construction, development and design processes did grow.
What grew above all is my trust in the cepezed team; a diverse group of people whose insights, knowledge and expertise are indispensable both in terms of design and business. We are more than an architectural firm; we educate, face technical challenges and apply the latest software. Our view of the profession is broadening as the context of collaborative partners, regulations and environmental issues becomes increasingly complex. After 50 years, the agency culture is more focused than ever on collaboration and co-creation, which also challenges me to take another step.
From this trust, our anniversary took a beautiful turn. Whereas previously, as partners, we would draw our own plan, we now left it to the team. This created the surprising starting point of looking forward rather than back, and using the anniversary year to learn. Lectures for the entire agency offered insights into new challenges and future perspectives. And in dialogue with external frontrunners, we delved deeper into current technical, economic and social issues.
The most surprising anniversary aspect was the wunderkammer, set up in cepezed's entrance hall. For this, each team member contributed an object that inspires him or her. The collection thus created makes the breadth of our team tangible and a special jubilee website uses the objects to show who we are, which lessons for the future we take to heart and which questions are still relevant. We are looking forward to the next 50 years! Learning the full breadth of the profession is impossible, but that's what's fun about it.
ronald schleurholts
architect-partner cepezed
column: trust
