This year, the Young Maaskant Award will go to architects Eileen Stornebrink and Willie Vogel, the founders of Studio Inscape – a collaborative practice for architecture and landscape that works on research, design, and dialogue from an ecological mindset. The award will be presented by Mayor Carola Schouten on November 20, 2026, at Rotterdam City Hall.

The jury awards the Young Maaskant Award to Eileen Stornebrink and Willie Vogel for their way of designing, working, and thinking. In their vision, architecture goes beyond building alone, with ecology, co-creation, and philosophy also playing an important role. This aligns well with the jury's vision, which deliberately sought out architects who view the creation of space as more than a physical task, who question and reinvent collaborations, and who look at the world with a long-term perspective.

In Studio Inscape, the jury sees a design practice with a solid foundation that, thanks to its broad approach and network, possesses the agility to tackle various types of assignments—from design and realization to programming and policy. Stornebrink and Vogel apply both their intellectual and design power to make important themes clear and open for discussion. In doing so, they explicitly include the perspective of non-human users, such as flora and fauna. In recognition and encouragement of their work, they receive the Young Maaskant Prize 2026.

Studio Inscape

Studio Inscape was founded in 2020 by Willie Vogel and Eileen Stornebrink while completing their Architecture studies at TU Delft, and is currently based in Rotterdam. The studio works on various scales, together with a broad network of experts and partners, to shape design- and decision-making processes in the natural and built environment. Through interactive and playful dialogues, Studio Inscape co-creates layered architectural designs and creative strategies. In doing so, Vogel and Stornebrink always work with an awareness of the environment and future generations.

Examples of their work include the temporary pavilion Pergola for the Rotterdam Architecture Month '24, which was made entirely of circular materials. They also developed the United Scheldt, including a serious game that introduces players to the ecological politics of the Southwest Delta from both human and non-human perspectives. Additionally, Studio Inscape designed the Children's Museum in the patio garden of the Noordbrabants Museum: a playing field with art columns of rammed earth and a garden design that references the Brabant landscape. During a residency in the South of France, Stornebrink and Vogel developed The Bioregional Game, a game format for regenerative strategies and design principles that they intend to apply further in future collaborations.

Eileen Stornebrink & Willie Vogel (photo: David Meulenbeld)

Eileen Stornebrink

Eileen Stornebrink (1994) obtained her Master's degree in Architecture from Delft University of Technology in 2020. During her studies, she gained work experience at the Parisian architectural firm OUALALOU + CHOI and as an interior designer at Starbucks EMEA. As a bicultural designer, she has a strong interest in polyphony and the intersection between material, cultural, and social values – something that was also reflected in her former role as a programmer for the Architecture Institute Rotterdam.

Willie Vogel

Willie Vogel (1994) obtained her Master's degree in Architecture (cum laude) from Delft University of Technology in 2020; in the same year, she also obtained her Bachelor's degree in Philosophy from Erasmus University Rotterdam. She is interested in ecological thought, materials, and craftsmanship. Vogel works as a researcher, writer, and lecturer at TU Delft and various architecture academies; she gained practical experience at the Berlin architectural firm Barkow Leibinger and the Rotterdam firm Korteknie Stuhlmacher Architecten.

The Young Maaskant Award

The Young Maaskant Award is an encouragement for architects, landscape architects, or urban planners aged 35 or younger, in which their architectural or urban planning work, whether executed or not, takes precedence. The award consists of a sum of 5,000 euros and a charter.

On Friday, November 20, Eileen Stornebrink and Willie Vogel will receive the Young Maaskant Prize 2026. The jury of the Young Maaskant Prize 2026 consists of Justin Agyin, San Dino Arcilla, and Ninke Happel.