Book essay · Recent publication
Not Another Vision
Essay in The Future of Cities, a collection of 21 visions for the future of cities.
Michael de Beer / Rotterdam & beyond
Turning change
into better places.
I’m a designer and spatial strategist. I connect the big picture with the places we live in—from urban futures to buildings and public space.
Urban thinking. A human scale.
01 / Work with me
How I
can help.
Bring a site, a challenge or an ambition. We can begin before the brief is settled.
Let’s make it spatial.01Project definitionDiscover the opportunity. Shape the brief.
When to involve me
A site or ambition needs a clear direction before the brief is settled.
What we can develop
Opportunity studies · concepts · briefs · spatial propositions for bids.
02Spatial strategy & scenariosMake complex choices understandable.
When to involve me
A site, city or region needs to respond to competing demands and long-term change.
What we can develop
Visions · mapped scenarios · spatial frameworks · design principles and feasibility testing.
03Designing placesGive an ambition form, character and use.
When to involve me
An ambition needs a spatial concept, masterplan or carefully designed intervention.
What we can develop
Buildings & architectural concepts · masterplans · public space · landscape interventions.
04Design guidance & supervisionKeep the shared ambition present as plans evolve.
When to involve me
Different teams and proposals need to contribute to one coherent place.
What I contribute
Design reviews · quality frameworks · spatial studies · coordination with designers, developers and supervisors.
05Talks & workshopsShare knowledge. Open up possibilities.
When to involve me
A conference, panel or workshop needs a spatial perspective on change.
What I bring
Talks · panels · interactive mapping · facilitated knowledge exchange.
Explore talks and workshops02 / Selected projects
From urban futures
to built work.
Cities, landscapes, buildings
and the spaces in between.
Project atlasSee the projects on a map
Tap a dot for its project. Zoom in to separate nearby locations. Open original project map
03 / Talks & workshops
Ideas get better
in conversation.
Future cities, changing landscapes and the everyday life in between.
Floating Future · SmartPort Summit
Speaker · A short-, medium- and long-term view of floating infrastructure and the energy transition in Rotterdam’s port. Part of the Floating Future session.
Dag van Gelderland · 2024
Speaker · Spatial futures and the role of water and soil in shaping Gelderland.
Water, cities & future places
Speaker and contributor · AFFR 2026, Land met een Plan and workshops on long-term spatial choices.
Clearing the acoustic fog · 2022
Speaker · Aural Diversity Network workshop, 16 September 2022. Listening, aural diversity and more inclusive public space. Workshop record ↗
Public life, listening & inclusion
Talks on No Street Is Lonely in Ethiopia, aural diversity and inclusive public space, and the scales of urban design at the University of Cape Town.
UDISA · Lectures & conversations
Organising and convening · Helped establish the first three Roelof S. Uytenbogaardt UDISA Memorial Lectures and accompanying exhibitions; organised Jonkershoek charrettes and an African cities series with Future Cape Town.
AZA 2012 · Student organising
Student organising committee member for the AZA 2012 conference in South Africa.
04 / Publications & exhibitions
Ideas in print.
Work in public.
Book chapter · 2022
Listen and Write!
Co-author with Klaske Havik · “Addressing Urban Soundscapes in Architectural Education” in The Sound of Architecture, Leuven University Press.
Explore the bookWriting & editorial work
Land met een Plan
Contributing author and editor of KuiperCompagnons’ Land met een Plan / Perspectief2121 publications. Author of “Groene waarde”, issue 1, 2021.
Read the publicationAtlantis · Essays & editing
Writer and co-editor at Atlantis, TU Delft’s magazine for urbanism and landscape architecture.
- Confronting the ImpossibleAtlantis 28.4 · July 2018
- Sonic SpaceAtlantis 28.4 · July 2018
- The road is not the wayAtlantis 28.4 · July 2018
- The City as a Market ↗Atlantis · December 2017
- Elusive Discomforts ↗Atlantis · September 2017
- In BetweenAtlantis · September 2017
- “Tools” · Photographic studyAtlantis · March 2017
Exhibitions & work in public
Exhibition · 2023–2024
Nederland op de tekentafel
Nieuwe Instituut, Rotterdam · Land met een Plan, developed with the KuiperCompagnons team, was included in the exhibition.
Explore the exhibitionExhibited project work · IABR
Ministry of Make! · Dordrecht
Design collaboration and exhibited work in an International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam context.
Exhibited research · World Design Capital
Foreshore+ · Cape Town
My future vision for the Foreshore was exhibited in the World Design Capital Cape Town programme. I also contributed to community participation around parks and neighbourhoods.
Exhibitions & convening
UDISA Memorial Lectures
Helped establish the first three Roelof S. Uytenbogaardt lectures and organise their accompanying exhibitions.
Project work in other publications
Featured project work
Stand van de Stedenbouw
BNSP · Includes projects I contributed to, such as Strijp-S and De Nieuwe Kern.
Explore the book
05 / A curious spatial practice
The big picture.
The lived detail.
I work across urban design, architecture and spatial strategy. Always curious about how an idea becomes part of everyday life.
Based in Rotterdam. Shaped by South Africa and the Netherlands. Currently at KuiperCompagnons, previously West 8 and GAPP Architects & Urban Designers.
A guiding manifesto
Cities in nature.
Every place we make is part of a living landscape. I believe the way we live and build should begin with water, soil, ecology and the life already there—and carry that care from the regional map to the built detail.
- Education
- Architecture · TU Delft
City Planning & Urban Design · University of Cape Town - Working languages
- English & Dutch
- Ways to connect
- Projects · Design collaborations · Talks & workshops
Beyond the studio
I also explore form and material through clay. Explore my ceramics
06 / Start a conversation
Have something
in mind?
A place to rethink. An idea to explore. Let’s talk.
Work enquiries · KuiperCompagnons
mdebeer@kuiper.nl Discuss a project Explore a collaboration Plan a talk or workshop