“We need to talk to our buildings”

The Edge in Amsterdam is one of the world’s most sustainable office buildings. It is also an example of how digital technologies can help us to enable direct communication between people and their urban and architectural surroundings, making the use of buildings and city environments more efficient and productive.

Ron Bakker is a Partner at PLP Architecture, which he co-founded with Lee Polisano, David Leventhal and Karen Cook. His recent projects include The Edge, the world’s most sustainable office building developed by OVG Real Estate for Deloitte in Amsterdam; the refurbishment of a 1960s building in Westminster on behalf of Derwent London providing additional bespoke spaces for Burberry; a mixed-use project in Kuwait City, and a residential project in Kolkata, India. Ron has a particular interest in the architectural techniques that influence the qualities of gathering places in our cities and buildings, as well as the role of new technologies in the built environment. He speaks regularly at universities in Europe and abroad, at various forums on real estate, urban development and digital technology in architecture, including at TEDx.