Mission

Over the past decades, POLO in its various guises has become synonymous with high-quality architecture, interior design and urbanism. As we have grown, our workforce has diversified and so has the range of projects we tackle.

We are now laying the foundation for the next iteration of POLO, where a more flexible, horizontal organisation is to be a hotbed for budding design talent. We are a veritable platform: not only a meeting ground for our independently functioning teams but also an outstretched hand to experts and stakeholders outside of our office. We are setting the stage for temporary collaborations and long-term alliances to drive sustainable change.

More than just a purveyor of design services, POLO has the ambition to shape society through impactful and innovative spatial strategies. We widen project scopes, unleash the creativity of clients and endusers and continuously question ourselves and our methodologies; we initiate fundamental research and put pressing social issues on the design agenda.

POLO as a platform is more than just another design firm; it is a generous invitation, an open door, a level playing field, a podium that beckons. Come join us on our ongoing journey!

Past and present and future

POLO is the latest chapter being written in a story that started in 1991, when Mauro and Patrick founded Poponcini & Lootens ir architecten. Our rebrand into POLO Architects a few years ago marked a first shift towards a less hierarchical, more horizontally structured organisation.
Now we continue as POLO, plain and simple.

Diversity and dialogue

The expansion of our office workforce has been accompanied by an increased diversity in terms of nationalities and professional backgrounds. Integrating this wealth of wide-ranging experience into our design practice helps us to steer away from knee-jerk responses and ingrained thought processes. In a world where we are finally addressing existing inequalities and hierarchies, making sure that everyone’s voice is heard is not just ethical posturing: it is a stance that ultimately benefits the work we do.

Creativity and experimentation

A passion for creativity is the engine that keeps us going. The expertise we have built up over the years is not an end goal in itself; it is the air in the bouncy castle of creativity where we undertake our leaps of the imagination.

Initiative and interaction

At POLO we have the ambition to conceive a more sustainable society and shape the spaces that accelerate this transformation. As such we are not just designers reacting to a client’s brief — we are also spatial strategists looking for the underlying issues to be resolved. Every project is an opportunity to effectuate change, to critically evaluate past practices and question ourselves — we do not just rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic.