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Architect Daan Roggeveen (MORE architecture) interviewed Alexander Pols about his career and collaboration with Hans Kollhoff and, of course, his vision on high-rise buildings. Listen to the podcast here.

After a collaboration of nearly 30 years with Hans Kollhoff, Alexander Pols is starting his own architectural firm. The meticulousness remains, but the approach is refined: architecture for the long term, rooted in the history of the city. With a curious eye, we are currently expanding our field of work to include more recent transformations in order to build upon the post-war city. From August 2026, the studio will continue under the name POLS_architects.

In a team with architects Hans van der Heijden, MartensWillems & Christoph Grossmann Architekten, we were invited to design four buildings for the area development of the new city center of Berlin, on the site where the city originated. Unfortunately, we did not win a prize, but it was a fantastic collaboration. The designs can be seen below.

On June 15, 2026, the STADgesprek 'Hague Beauty 2.0: The New Hague School and the Hague Portico' took place in the old American Embassy, focusing on beauty in The Hague. Beauty is by definition a subjective concept. That sometimes makes it difficult to discuss the aesthetic side of architecture and urban planning, says Alexander Pols. Moreover, our perception of beauty has changed over the centuries. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the Municipality of The Hague valued different elements than it does today. To illustrate this, Pols draws during his presentation from the book 'Bouwkunst in de stad en op het land' (1917) by architect Herman van der Kloot Meijburg.

Construction has started on phase 1 of the 'Rijnlust' ensemble on the Oude Rijn in Alphen aan den Rijn. Phase 1 is designed as an interpretation of the vanished country estate and comprises six apartments, which is currently under construction. Phase 2 is being designed next to it: here, three apartments are being built around a monumental plane tree.

The permit for our transformation project in Brussels is irrevocable. It was a long process in which the City Architect played a key role. With an improved plan, we are now finalizing the design for the tender, with construction starting at the end of 2026!