Peter van Assche is an architect. He started his career as a researcher with the European Space Laboratory in Munich, before graduating with honours in Information Theory at Einhoven University of Technology. He wrote his Ph.D. thesis at the Institute for Experimental Mathematics in Essen, and it was there that he realised his creativity was better expressed in designing buildings. In 2001, he graduated from the Rotterdam Architectural Academy, having worked for eight years for architects such as Sjoerd Soeters, Dick van Gameren and Bjarne Mastenbroek. He played piano in bars and worked as an architectural journalist in Berlin. Peter van Assche has won several prizes, including the Iktinos Prize and has received a grant from the Netherlands Foundation for Visual Arts, Design and Architecture. Bureau SLA is a young Amsterdam-based architectural firm, founded by Peter van Assche in 2001. We execute a broad variety of projects on hugely differing scales from developing a vision of the future use of an island of twenty-four hectares to designing a bathroom of six square meters. We design lots of different projects inbetween designs for the renovation of historical buildings, a daycare centre for mentally handicapped people, public housing, a museum, interior design, art, a skatepark, bridges, urban plans and a cemetery. Whatever the scale, the size and the budget may be, we always strive to stay open for our clients’ wishes and desires. We do not believe that there are standard solutions. The result of this approach is fresh, inspiring and durable designs that show that we enjoy solving complex problems. Communication with its surroundings makes a building better. An urban plan has to be based on the manner in which people live, work and relax. With each project we strive to integrate these three levels: urban planning (stedenbouw in Dutch), landscape and architecture, hence SLA. A good building is built contextually to relate to its surroundings.