- Interior
- Architecture
Thomas Geerlings believes that you can learn anything, as long as you spend enough time on it. He likes to pursue intellectual challenges and has a great love of interiors. This is how he entered the design world as a self-taught designer and founded the design agency Framework Studio fifteen years ago.
The Dutchman Thomas Geerlings radiates an enormous passion for what he does and knows how to convince partners and clients of his projects. He calls the satisfaction of his employees and the number of returning clients the most important indicators of Framework Studio's success. We are happy to contribute to the further spread of their work, because Imagicasa is also a big fan of the way this design agency deals with interiors and design.
What is your design philosophy?
‘I believe very much in the vision of life that everything can be learned if you put enough hours into it. And if you enjoy doing this, then there is automatically love for what you do and pleasure in your task. The book The Outliers, by Malcolm Gladwell, is similar to my vision.’ 
How would you describe your projects and/or style?
‘Our style comes from our working method. We work according to our own 'manifesto' in which we let the client's wishes, the building and the geographical location determine the direction of our design vision. Framework does not have a uniform design style. Our projects have similarities but are all clearly different. Because of this, our signature is difficult to recognise and perhaps therefore less interesting for clients who want to profile themselves with a design signature from their architect or interior designer.’
'Our projects have similarities but are all clearly different’
What are the most important values that characterise a project of framework?
‘The satisfaction of us as a design agency and of the client. We believe that all parties working on a project should be proud at the end of what they have realised. A building project is a complicated game of financial interests and aesthetic optimisations. We try to optimise all that and generate the maximum result for our clients. In doing so, we not only want to distinguish ourselves aesthetically, but also technically. Through our working method with internally technically trained designers, we create in a prominent way that also takes into account the footprint of our actions.’ 
How has the design agency changed since its inception?
‘The difference in experience and size is huge. The first two years I worked from our home in Amsterdam. This was during the recession and actually the number of projects grew very quietly and I was able to gain a lot of experience in a gradual way because construction was running at a very low level and all parties took the time to bring me to the level we are at now. I am still very grateful to all those parties for that. At the moment we have about twenty designers working in three countries on various projects.’
How do you see framework's international status evolving?
‘Through our studios on Ibiza and in Paris that we started a year ago, the cross-pollination is already starting to bear fruit. Not only do we have a lot of local projects, but also French people who are going to build in the Netherlands or Dutch people in Paris who want to build, and the same goes for Ibiza. Of course, it's very easy for clients to hold design consultations at hubs close to home and not have to keep going back and forth.’ 
What do you still want to achieve with framework studio?
‘I want everyone to enjoy working with us, to build Framework further with partners who will take us to an even higher level. The intellectual challenge must remain for everyone who works with us, otherwise work becomes just work. That is what I want to prevent. We want to spread love for the profession. What is a measure of success for us, and is our goal, is the number of returning clients who build or renovate a country house or a new house after a number of years and then commission us again. What I want to achieve is that everyone likes to step into Framework Studio and keep returning.’
If you want to learn more about Framework Studio, be sure to read our full article in Imagicasa Summer 2021.
Photography by Cafeine