Already at the age of 14 he was working at his father's office designing furniture and finished his first architectural project at the age of 21.[6] As a twenty-year-old he traveled with his rucksack through rural China and lived there[7] with the locals spending three months before his studies began.[8] Ole Scheeren studied at the
Institute of Technology (KIT) in
Karlsruhe, at the
École Polytechnique Fédérale (EPFL) in
Lausanne and made a thesis at the
Architectural Association School of Architecture in
London receiving the RIBA Silver Medal in 2000 for his work called "MexT Project" which analysed social, territorial and economical phenomena in relation with space and architecture.[9]
After working in Germany, New York and London, Ole Scheeren began his work at the
Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) in
Rotterdam in 1995. In 2002 he became partner and director of the offices in
Beijing and
Hong Kong and responsible for the entire Asia business for more than 10 years.[10]
In March 2010, Ole Scheeren left OMA and started his own architecture firm named
Büro Ole Scheeren.[18]
As principal of Büro Ole Scheeren Group, Scheeren has completed a series of projects in Asia, including
Guardian Art Center, the new exhibition space and headquarters for China's oldest art auction house constructed in close proximity to the
Forbidden City in
Beijing;[19]DUO, a contemporary twin-tower
mixed-use development comprising residences, offices, Andaz Singapore hotel and retail gallery in
Singapore;[20] and
MahaNakhon, at 314-meters use to be Thailand's tallest tower and housing the Ritz-Carlton Residences.[21]
Ole Scheeren currently has several projects under development around the world, including one in North America; Fifteen Fifteen by Ole Scheeren will be a high-rise tower adjacent to
Vancouver's
Crown Life Plaza[22].[23] Empire City in
Ho Chi Minh City, a large-scale, three tower complex that tops out at 333 meters is currently under construction.[24] Further current projects under construction include the Headquarters named Shenzhen Wave in Shenzhen for the Chinese Tech-giant ZTE,[25] the hotel-resort Sanya Horzions on the
Hainan Islands in China,[26] and the luxury boutique-hotel ABACA Resort[27] in the
Philippines.
Scheeren also delivered the scheme for redeveloping Riverpark Tower, the
adaptive reuse of an existing office tower into a residential high-rise[28] in
Frankfurt, Germany. Empire City in
Ho Chi Minh City, a large-scale, three tower complex that tops out at 333 meters.[24]
Scheeren has contributed to various arts and culture projects and exhibitions throughout his career, including the
International Highrise Award,[29] Milan Triennale,
China Design Now in London,
Cities on the Move in
London and
Bangkok,[30] Media City Seoul and the
Rotterdam Film Festival.[31] In 2006 he designed two exhibitions for the
MoMA in
New York and
Beijing featuring the
CCTV Headquarters project.[32] He regularly lectures at various international institutions and conferences and serves on juries for awards and competitions.[33] In December 2022 the ZKM | Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe dedicated the solo exhibition "ole scheeren : spaces of life"[34] to the work of Ole Scheeren. Peter
Weibel, the former artistic and scientific director of the ZKM, curated the show in close dialogue with the architect.[35]
In September 2015 Scheeren held a speech at
TED in
London with the title "Why great architecture should tell a story?"[36]
"Biennale Venezia 2012“, Germany, 2012, Director:
Werner Herzog, Production:
DW-TV (Deutsche Welle).
"Faszination Wolkenkratzer - CCTV in Peking“, Germany, 2009, 30 min., Director:
Horst Brandenburg, Production:
ARTE Television, Launch: 5 July 2009 by
ARTE Television.
References
^Scheeren, Büro Ole.
"Büro Ole Scheeren". Büro Ole Scheeren. Retrieved 1 November 2023.