Biography

I am Benjamin Feenstra, was born in the Netherlands (August 1987) and recently graduated with a Bachelors degree in architecture.

My biggest passion is architecture. Since I was little, I used Lego to create cities. When I grew older I started to draw out house plans which evolved to entire cities. Several years ago I started my bachelor studies (architecture) in the Netherlands, which I completed last year. Next year I plan to study abroad.

Curiosity

I believe architecture is about curiosity and connecting different ideas, solutions and experiences. That is why I try to get as many diverse experiences as possible. “I believe architecture is about curiosity and connecting different ideas, solutions and experiences.”I want to get a broad perspective on architecture, people and the world we currently live in. Within years and the help of many people I developed a strong international focus. My goal always is to experience a country for a longer period of time and live amongst locals. The past years I was successful reaching this goal. I lived, worked and studied in five different countries; The Netherlands, Italy, England, Austria (Vienna) and the United States (New York City).

Own projects

For me, there are three kinds of projects. (1) Theoretical projects needed to complete my studies, (2) ‘real-world’ projects at (internship) companies and (3) ‘own projects’, projects I work on myself with no supervising company or university involved. “My most exciting ‘own project’ is a multi-million euro enlargement of a mega church.”My most exciting ‘own project’ is the enlargement of a mega church. Being 20 years old, I was asked to get involved in this project, which I did for a period of two years (until early 2009). In 2010 they asked me back in their team to be main designer. I now got the opportunity to design a multi-million euro project myself. During the course of a year I had many meetings and gave several presentations, culminating in a big presentation on stage of the main auditorium, which was really exciting. It is hoped that groundbreaking will take place in 2012.

Another ‘own project’ is the On Demand Experience. In 2011 a friend and I participated in the eVolo Skyscraper Competition. Out of 715 entries from 95 countries our entry was awarded an Honorable Mention. A result we are really proud of.

Director, entrepreneur, biker

My interests are diverse. I guess that is why I ended up being an entrepreneur and director. I co-founded a company specialized in making professional presentation materials for realtors and real estate developers. One of our projects was broadcasted on Dutch National Television. And several years ago I became part-time director. At that time, being 19 years old, I was the youngest member in the team. As director, I am responsible for supervising a camera crew of five people. I also have to maintain close contact with the producer, floor manager, multimedia and lighting-people.

Besides everything mentioned above, I simply love race biking, which is what I do whenever possible.