Architecture is the product of a combination of parties, of a process in which architects respond to their clients. Yet despite the attention paid to a few famed clients, like Truus Schröder, architecture is often examined and explained on the basis of the considerations of the architect, embodied in the object, and the ideas developed within the design discipline. This issue of OASE looks at the influence of the client on the way buildings or urban ensembles take shape. This is a historiographic revision: clients often prove to have creative impulses of their own, and their social views have had an impact on the evolution of architectonic cultures. The issue also includes conversations with clients who explicitly view their work as a contribution to the culture of building and the sustainable development of urban societies. In an era in which both clients and architects are compelled to reflect on their role and responsibility, a re-reading of architecture history from the perspective of the commission is more than necessary.

Rudy Stroink is well-known because of the nature of his projects, which often address a political desire to create an environment for ‘creative and innovative businesses’. Through his company, TCN Properties, Rudy Stroink seeks new opportunities for urban development, in which the essence of collectiveness plays an important role. In Stroink’s view, the often difficult and murky relationships between client, government and architect result in long, drawn-out processes in the Netherlands. Although Stroink considers himself socially motivated in his projects, this interview mainly concerns itself with the management of the process and finding opportunities for implementing new developments and concepts. The role of the architect, and of architecture, is secondary.