COMMITMENT
We are passionate individuals working as a team driven to realise our vision for sustainable buildings accessible to everyone.
Equinox aims to meet the criteria for becoming a ‘social enterprise’, which includes re-investing or donating at least 50% of our annual profits into projects that contribute to our environmental and social goals.
We would like Equinox to be such a place.
Our vision is to establish a professional yet family-like community, where people spend time with each other beyond office hours, everyone is valued for what they are, and personal & professional growth is supported.
COMMUNITY
We tend to stick to places where we are personally valued, can share a vision for a better world, and where the atmosphere is good.
CHALLENGE
We like to step out of the ‘traditional disciplinary boxes’ to achieve truly integrated design.
We prefer to take initiative, drive things rather than to follow and assume responsibility.
We are not shying away from technical details, constructive systems, financial planning, complex environmental simulations, or MEP integration.
We start with asking questions, researching the cultural context, analysing the climate, understanding the natural & built surroundings.
We validate design proposals by appropriate methods, such as environmental simulations, community involvement, or financial metrics.
CONTEXT
Global problems like climate change and urbanisation need local solutions.
COHERENCE
We approach design in a holistic way, maintaining an overview on the project across the ‘traditional disciplinary boundaries’.
Designing buildings & cities requires us to look at the whole (macro scale), then zoom into the detail (micro scale) and zoom out again to review the consistency.
A pillar of our methodology is establishing ‘project-specific design aims’ to underpin our work & contribute to the project's coherence.
Change is the only constant; therefore, we create systems that are on one hand robust and resilient, on the other hand flexible and adaptable to future change. We apply circular economy strategies and design for spatial flexibility, modularity and disassembly by using prefabricated technology and dry construction methods wherever possible.
CHANGE
We are proponents of a sustainable built environment that accommodates change.
CARE
“God is in the detail” – we take Mies van der Rohe’s advice seriously.
The ‘micro’ scale, e.g. construction detailing or component design, is often overlooked in the built environment; however, there is no integrity without excellence at this depth.
We are maximalists, which means we pay attention to the last detail and are not satisfied until we found a way to solve it.
We are taking pride in a curious approach to what we do, investing time into research, looking at alternative options, pushing the boundaries, embracing innovation, challenge and remaining open to be challenged.
CURIOSITY
We love discovering new things that make our work, and world, better.
CREATION
We believe that ‘nature’ is the most brilliant designer and the built environment needs to learn from it.
Designing with nature means environmental sustainability is non-negotiable, regenerative systems are key. We use the most advanced knowledge and technology to distil complex problems into highly optimised solutions that are simple and elegant.
Our communication aims to be as effective as possible, complementing clear and concise text with graphic content. We are using simple and colourful diagrams to capture complex ideas, which can be quickly understood by our clients, other professionals, and layperson alike.
CLARITY
We are advocates of clarity in both design and communication.
CULTURE
We are an international and interdisciplinary practice with a unique atmosphere, where everybody is treated equally, cultures meet and create an exciting mix of skills and ideas.
We are passionate about psychology, group dynamics, and understanding how different personalities can best work together.
We engage with coaches and trainers to help us grow together as a team.