© Frank Hanswijk / Ronald Zijlstra
Lisa van der Slot and Bart van Leeuwen new partners at De Zwarte Hond
Ever since De Zwarte Hond was founded 40 years ago, we have believed that the great spatial challenges of our time cannot be solved without continuous improvement, development and cooperation. And above all, that working together makes us who we are. We are constantly developing and making ourselves stronger, not only by gathering knowledge and exploring new markets, but also by attracting new, young partners. As of 1 January 2024, we have therefore expanded our team of partners to include architect/urban planner Lisa van der Slot and urban planner Bart van Leeuwen. With this step, De Zwarte Hond is entering a new phase in which we not only have more to say, but also more to do.
Lisa van der Slot (born 1990) has been working at De Zwarte Hond since 2016 and manages the Rotterdam branch together with Bart van Kampen and Daan Zandbelt. Lisa and her team have acquired large and important projects such as Stadshagen in Zwolle, the transformation of Katshoek in Rotterdam and PEN in Alkmaar, and the Parnassia block in our beloved Rotterdam-Zuid. She has also put floorplan design on the map, both inside and outside the office, by publishing a magazine (Out There) with Henk Stadens about residential floorplans. Lisa gives lectures at home and abroad on this subject and others.
“Having grown up in a family business, I believe in the long term,” she says. “It’s nice to be able to develop within a large agency, and De Zwarte Hond offers that space. Within the collective that is De Zwarte Hond, we keep each other sharp, because together you know more than you do alone. We have an investigative attitude that allows us to really get things done as optimistic activists; the Out There about residential floorplans is an example of this. I hope to make more publications like this the near future, and above all to realise projects that really demonstrate our ideas. And, as an agency, to continue to explore how we can carefully create future-proof projects.”
Bart van Leeuwen (born 1987) has been working for De Zwarte Hond since 2015. From 2021, he has been based in our Groningen office, where he developed the urban planning department into a mature part of our agency. Bart works on urban development projects in station areas and redevelopment locations, including in Hilversum, Hoorn, Groningen and Heerenveen. Since January 2021, Bart has been spatial quality officer for the municipality of Assen. In addition, he is also a regular guest speaker, guest lecturer and graduation mentor at various branches of the Academy of Architecture in the Netherlands and at the Jade University of Applied Sciences in Oldenburg, Germany.
“After a wonderful time in our Rotterdam office, for the last two years I have been leading the urban planning department in Groningen,” he says. “Our team is young, international and, above all, enthusiastic. With this collective spirit, I work on complex, mainly inner-city developments. It’s nice to develop myself further in the place where De Zwarte Hond has its roots. There are a number of major challenges in the north of the Netherlands, so there is a great need for good urban design. I want to contribute to this. By combining projects with education and research, I want to be able to respond even better to these major challenges. I look forward to continuing to grow De Zwarte Hond together with our team, working on pioneering projects and further expanding our field of work to Germany, Sweden and Denmark.”
“De Zwarte Hond is very proud of Bart and Lisa,” says our creative director Jeroen de Willigen. “We are very happy that we have been able to keep them at the agency and that they will set the course with us to lead De Zwarte Hond into the future in a vigorous and innovative way. Their leadership is inclusive and generous, and above all, they are making the agency even better.”