Arnoud Olie (Architect and General director)

Architect

Arnoud Olie (1970) is an architect with a clear vision, moral and philosophy. With his unique take on art, architecture, entrepreneurship and society, his main goal is to inspire others. This makes him a true artist, who primarily sees architecture as a means to make the world – in its broadest sense – a better place.

He achieves this by designing responsibly rather than pretentiously, with the individual always in focus. As an architect, he carefully listens to the wishes of the client and analyses their lifestyle. While others stop at this point, Arnoud Olie pushes boundaries further. He reveals the real question underneath the immediate and obvious surface; the answer can sometimes be very surprising for the client. Through this approach, the client gets a better view of their wishes. As a result, he designs buildings that fit its users lives like a well-tailored suit.

Visionary

In many ways Arnoud Olie conforms to Nietzsche’s description of the “free spirit”. With his authentic and autonomous personality, he is not afraid to sail his own course. Through his unique vision on architecture and responsible entrepreneurship, he inspires his employees and clients to embrace the best in themselves and look deeper – with the ultimate goal to make the world a better and more humane place, especially thinking ahead of future generations.

Entrepreneur

Besides being a versatile architect, Arnoud Olie is also a passionate entrepreneur. The roots of his entrepreneurial drive lie in his Giethoorn origin, studying at the Academy of Architecture and in his sports background. His career began at the architect office Van den Belt & Partners in Zwolle: where he decided to stay after his internship. After six years, it was time for a change and he found a new employer in Clay and Brink Architects. When architect Maarten Clay retired, Arnoud Olie accepted partnership and went on with Pieter Brink. The company name changed to Bureau B+O Architecten (now B+O Architects). In 2006, architect Pieter Brink retired as partner, making Arnoud Olie director and sole owner of the company.

Quite soon after, the location of the office at the time, a farm in Ansen, proved to be too small. Arnoud Olie took a leap of faith when he purchased the old and dilapidated former gasworks in Meppel in 2007. With the historic building, Arnoud Olie had the chance to bring forth his visions and philosophy, which are continuously reflected within the agency. Under his leadership, B+O Architects has become one of the largest architecture firms in the Netherlands.

In recent years, he has worked on urbans issues as directing architect of several municipalities. In addition, Arnoud Olie has been involved in several large projects including healthcare facilities, offices, shops, private homes and social housing and various restructuring projects.

download resume Arnoud Olie

 

selection of publications

Dezeen office building ForTop
Archdaily office building ForTop
On Office office building ForTop
De Volkskrant house boat
Movie national opening liberation day
Movie entrepreneur of the year Drenthe 2013

Key note speaker

Arnoud Olie is also an experienced key note speaker. Because of his thorough knowledge of a diversity of topics, he knows how to grasp the essence of a meeting and go a step further. He is not afraid to both inspire and confront his audience, with the aim to give his listeners new energy and practical tools. Contact us about the possibilities to hire Arnoud Olie as a key note speaker.

Nyenrode business university / ABN Amro / Rijkswaterstaat / Garden Experience / Marketing Drenthe / Provincie Drenthe / Gemeente Meppel / Gemeente Staphorst / Agrifac Machinery / Stichting Certificering Restauratie / and others