Overzee is an architecture office based in Rotterdam founded by Kees Fritschy and Hellmer Rahms in 2020. We started our practice with small commissions for friends and family. Today, our scope of work has grown into a wide array of public, commercial and private projects all over Europe that include masterplans, landscapes, buildings and furniture.

We focus on kilometre-zero architecture: a pragmatic design and engineering attitude that combines sustainability, craftsmanship, and local aesthetic identity under a common, regional resource map, producing architecture that is both grounded in its context and beneficial to its environment.

Instead of fixed formal notions, our approach emphasizes the quality of process and dialogue, enabling the conditions in which meaningful and long-lasting designs that are site-specific can naturally emerge. We explore the distinct potential within each project, closely collaborating with clients to harmonise their ambitions with the site requirements.

Our focus on Km.0 make certain themes recur: we leverage the site’s climate for natural heating, cooling, and ventilation; we prioritise naturally sourced materials that withstand the test of time and blend with its surroundings; we re-use materials when it is sensible to do so. Our goal is to create gracefully proportioned, healthy, timeless buildings that enhance user experience while minimizing emissions and resource depletion.

Kees Fritschy obtained his master’s degree in architecture from the TU Delft (cum laude) and studied at The University of Melbourne before. He gained practical experience in the offices of Cepezed in Delft and Studio Maarten van Kesteren in Den Haag. Kees works as a multidisciplinary creative. Currently, he investigates architectural qualities through the medium of painting and teaches at TU Delft.

Hellmer Rahms Martín-Crespo studied architecture at the TU Munich and the University of Bath before obtaining a MSc at the TU Delft (cum laude), his graduation project being nominated for the national Archiprix NL. He has worked internationally on a wide variety of projects in the offices of David Chipperfield, HENN Architekten and Monadnock, overseeing the housing projects in Utrecht and leading the projects in Germany for the latter.

Dutch Architects Registration Bureau:

Hellmer Rahms 1.230222.003
Kees Fritschy 1.230703.006

2024. Utzon Foundation grant and residency to research Km0 ‘Kilometre-zero’ architecture in the Balearic Islands.

2024. Hellmer taught the studio ‘De architectuur van modulaire houtbouw’ together with Arnoud Seegers and Tjerk de Boer.

2023. Kees and Hellmer taught in the studio ‘Portiekflats Kralingen’ together with Frederik Pöll and Kevin Veenhuizen.

Since 2024. Kees is building technology tutor in the MSc1 studio ‘Heritage & Architecture: Revitalising Heritage’

2025. Overzee was selected to participate in Échelle Un, France’s first incubator for architecture offices organised by L’École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture Paris-Est.