CARLO ABDUL, CO-OWNER ENZO ARCHITECTS

Co-owner and architect Carlo Abdul, together with his associate Jasper van Rijn, runs ENZO architecture & interior design. The architectural firm has a wide range of portfolios. They develop housing, urban planning, remodeling and infill complete private high-end apartments and villas, as well as design social housing. In addition, Carlo and Jasper recently launched their new furniture collection ZOEN by ENZO. Who created Carlo's career?

Text: Mical Joseph
Image: ENZO Architects

What kept you busy at a young age?

"I was born in the Netherlands, but moved with my parents to Bonaire when I was five years old. My parents are from there and couldn't ground themselves in Holland. In my childhood, I was always outside. We actually lived "outside": we built huts, swam often and played until late on summer evenings. We enjoyed nature.

Besides being outside, I was always drawing and found out at about age 12 that I wanted to be an architect later. My parents had a little house built in the garden by an architect. When it was completed, I had a strong opinion about the finished product: I saw possibilities that others did not see. What others also didn't see was that I would go into architecture. I was often told, "you are doing mavo, you will never succeed in becoming an established architect.

At the age of 17, I moved back to the Netherlands where I did MBO Bouwkunde, then HTS and then Delft University of Technology. At the HTS I met my current companion Jasper van Rijn, we chose the same major: Architecture. Jasper's father had a small architecture firm and after HTS I worked with Jasper at the firm. So there I already learned some of the tricks of the trade.

Just on a side note: do you miss the outdoor life like you had in Bonaire?

"Yes, I definitely miss that. I go to Bonaire once every two years with my children to show them where I lived as a young boy. Every time I come back I see how beautiful and special the island is. It is totally different from Holland, here we live to work. On Bonaire it's the other way around: there you work to live, but at a slower pace. The residents live much more in the here and now! Having said that, I love the 'European system' and the Netherlands."

Carlo Abdul with his associate Jasper van Rijn

But how did you end up in your current job?

"As I indicated, I worked with Jasper at his father's house. In 2000, his father bought a former grain silo and we were asked by him if we wanted to design it. Of course we said 'yes' to this request! Jasper and I did everything from A to Z ourselves: from applying for permits at the municipality and checking zoning procedures to contacting the contractor and making budgets. Three years later the construction and our graduation began.

After construction, we and Jasper's father decided that we would move into the business together as a duo. In 2008, ENZO architecture & interior, our own architectural firm, was born. We changed the name (formerly Van Rijn Architects), the look and feel and put our own spin on everything.

We grew and grew, even during the crisis in 2008 the assignments kept pouring in. The agency started with seven employees, which I prefer to call colleagues by the way, and now the team consists of seventeen colleagues. We also set up ZOEN by ENZO: our own furniture collection."

Who was your wheelbarrow?

"Jasper's father was a mentor to me during the early years. He taught me the ins and outs of the agency. Jasper is the business genius and I am the creative brain. He knows what I can do and vice versa, so we complement each other well. Actually, the whole team is a wheelbarrow for each other where we keep raising the bar and authenticity and quality are paramount."

What is your greatest passion in your profession?

"Designing is my great passion, where I have an opinion about interior design, furniture and art (in fact, I also make some art from time to time). For example, our furniture collection started out of a passion and missing certain designs in the industry.

When remodeling a house in Amstelveen, I was looking for a sideboard, but I couldn't find the design I had in my head anywhere. From that we produced our own sideboard. So after producing a number of pieces of furniture, we set up the ZOEN by ENZO collection. An authentic line where you really see the passion reflected."

What has been the biggest learning moment in your career?

"The feeling of doing and undertaking things together Jasper and I had to experience for ourselves, so this was one and only learning moment. We didn't have a course or anything like that, we just went for it. Similarly, we still conduct performance reviews together with our colleagues. We don't want to have a manager in between, that just doesn't work, in our opinion. So we don't actually have the 'boss' principle. I don't want anyone in the company to call me their 'boss.' I'm just a colleague."

What do you learn during the current corona period?

"Why are we stressing about everything? Everything always has to be finished quickly and before the deadline. The current period makes me wonder why we give each other such a hard time and last year gave me many moments of reflection."

What advice would you give your 18-year-old self?

"Always go for your dreams and ambitions and if someone says you can't do it, work twice as hard AND believe in yourself."

Have you been a wheelbarrow for anyone?

"I try to be a mentor to my children, friends, colleagues and interns, but the same applies the other way around. We learn from each other every day."