The Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) has announced that Ellen van Loon steps down from the OMA Partnership after 26 years. 

OMA announced Van Loon's retirement on its website, and it said: "After 26 years of working with us, Ellen has decided to enter a new phase in her life in which she will have more time to herself." 

"The OMA Partnership thanks Ellen for her good spirits, competent leadership and invaluable contribution to the development of our practice. We wish Ellen all the best."

"She is, and will remain, a dear friend to all of us. Ellen’s ongoing projects have been handed over within the office, and will continue under the leadership of other OMA partners," stated the firm.

After joining OMA in 1998, Ellen van Loon became partner in 2002. She has overseen construction projects that have won awards and combined elegant design with precise execution.

One of OMA's hotly-anticipated buildings, Factory International Aviva Studios, with flexible performance spaces in Manchester, was led by Ellen van Loon. Image © Marco Cappelletti courtesy of OMA and Factory International

Among her completed projects are Aviva Studios (home of Factory International) in Manchester, 2023, the exhibitions Beyond the Surface and Monumental Wonders for SolidNature in Milan, 2022-23, the shop-in-shops for Jacquemus at Selfridges and Harvey Nichols in London and Galeries Lafayette in Paris, 2022, the temporary store for Tiffany & Co. on Avenue Montaigne in Paris and showroom in Doha, 2022-23, the Bvlgari Fine Jewelry Show, 2021, Brighton College, 2020, BLOX / DAC in Copenhagen, 2018, Rijnstraat 8 in The Hague, 2017, and Lab City CentraleSupélec, 2017.

OMA renewed a former governmental building in The Hague, Netherlands with super flexible workspaces and open-plan layout to experience new ways of working and provide direct interaction with the surrounding city. The project was led by Ellen van Loon. Image © Delfino Sisto Legnani and Marco Cappelletti

Ellen's portfolio also includes the Fondation Galeries Lafayette (2018) in Paris; the Qatar National Library (2017); the largest building in the Netherlands, De Rotterdam (2013); the G-Star Raw Headquarters (2014) in Amsterdam; the CCTV Headquarters in Beijing (2012); the New Court Rothschild Bank (2011) in London; and Maggie's Center (2011) in Glasgow.

OMA is one of the multi-partner companies in the world. OMA Partners include Shohei Shigematsu, Jason Long, Iyad Alsaka, Chris van Duijn, David Gianotten, and Reinier de Graaf alongside the founder Rem Koolhaas.

Top image in the article: Ellen van Loon, courtesy of OMA. 

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