During the short existence of the studio Julius Taminiau established his studio firmly and was recently selected by Wallpaper* as “one of the most promising practices of the world”.

Julius Taminiau, founder of Julius Taminiau Architects, graduated in 2011 at the Faculty of Architecture at the Technical University of Delft. After his graduation he has worked for Carl Turner Architects in London where he developed his love and expertise for craftsmanship, detailing and social engagement. During this time Julius gained lots of experience at working on various scales and functions in “permanent” and temporary architecture, liaising with (high-profile) commercial and private clients, planning/conservation/environmental officers, and numerous consultants.

After the foundation of its own practice in 2015 in Amsterdam Julius and his team worked on various international projects amongst:
an “upcycled” 2000 square meter startup village (Amsterdam)
a small non-profit school (Zimbabwe)
a recording (music) studio (London)
his own floating family house & office (Amsterdam)

Julius has always a positive, enthusiastic and problem-solving focus on sustainability, without losing attention to architecture, or as he likes to call it: “sustainable modernism”. In the end most architecture should be built to last for at least 100 years.

Julius likes to believe that good architecture can make people happy. The studio always tries to give their projects a certain deeper atmosphere. He believes their minimalist design approach emphasizes the beauty and relation with: space, time, light, the elements, a few well picked neutral and natural materials, some beloved personal belongings, greenery and – very important – the users.

Music plays a big role in his life. It started by playing the violin, but he was more interested in modern music, performing as a dj and producer but also organizing cutting edge parties, combining music and art and developing his entrepreneurial skills.

The studio’s designs are often related to the analogy between music and architecture. Music is organised sound. Architecture is organised light. Music has – like architecture – structure, proportion and composition. Architecture needs – like music – rhythm, melody and soul.

More generally, Julius believes that this multidisciplinary interest results in a rich layered architecture. To look for connections with art, music, philosophy, anthropology, nature and even gastronomy and therefore creating a more connected and deeper architecture.

In order to deliver the highest quality we believe it’s very important to be involved from the initiation to the completion of a building and the formation of a highly talented “team” (consultants, (sub)contractors, suppliers, manufacturers etc) based on trust. We believe trust, communication and skills are the most important factors in a successful design.

The studio likes to work on different functions, scales and clients with a strong aim to continuously improve and challenge themselves and very importantly, reflect. We work with the newest techniques like 3D modeling combined with laser cutting but we also embrace slow low-tech craftsmanship techniques. These days it’s easy to overcomplicate processes and designs, often resulting in (financially) unfeasible projects. It can be quite a challenge finding the right balance in using the newest techniques and working with a very slowly innovating construction industry. Therefore we always try to be open-minded, flexible and adaptable. The studio has innovated, and developed various new materials and construction techniques resulting in a higher quality architecture and less cost.

These qualities have not been unseen and therefore Julius was recently selected by Wallpaper* as “one of the most promising practices of the world”.