Enter LUMI is run by partners in life and in work Mrs. & Mr. LUMI: spatial designer and curator Mira Matic and architect Jamie van Lede. They merge their talents to create vibrant green buildings, spaces and experiences. With a love for hospitality they also share their beautiful farmstead just outside of Rotterdam for meetings, trainings, teambuilding and a wide array of events.
Meet Mrs. & Mr. LUMI.
Mira Matic & Jamie van Lede
MIRA MATIC
(1975)
Mira is an experienced and passionate creative designer. 20 years of work in the Dutch Photography Museum has taught her to connect the conceptual realm of the artist to the practical world of exhibitions and interiors. As a networker and a people’s person, working with a broad variety of people from diverse backgrounds adds essence and meaning to her work.
Having worked with great artists such as Alfredo Jaar, Sebastio Salgado, Bruce Davidson, Martin Schuler and Jacqueline Hassing has opened Mira’s eyes to the magic of integrating art in spatial design. She thoroughly enjoys translating conceptual ideas into space, material and colour and has the technological knowledge and hands-on mentality to get things done within budget and timeframe.
Educated at the Royal academy of Arts in The Hague, Mira has a keen eye for detail and appreciation for strong concepts. She is highly sensitive to qualities of space and therefore enjoys working on architectural projects with her life partner who specializes in sustainable architecture and ecological design.
Together they run the architecture and design studio and rent out their ecologically refurbished farmstead for inspirational workshops, conceptual brainstorms and meetings. In this little paradise just outside of the city they created a backdrop for art, music, surprising diners and inspiration. It is also the place where they treasure their amazing collection of art and books.
When not designing or developing new ideas you can find Mira in her vegetable garden or amongst her many plants. Having been raised in a tradition of hospitality she welcomes you for a visit to discuss how we can collaborate.
TESTIMONIALS
Mira was an exceptional collaborator. We could have not done it without her and her extraordinary skills, her empathy and her passion. I am extremely thankful for her commitment to my exhibition!!!
Alfredo Jaar – artist and photographer
What incredible energy and expertise you display when it comes to showcasing photography. I have learned so much from you and hopefully we can continue our cooperation in the future.
Iris Sikking – curator at The Hague Art Museum
Mira, it was such a wonderful and rewarding experience working with you. You are true professional and being so detail-oriented really made the show perfect.
Martin Schoeller – photographer
Mira is open to all new and creative ideas and knows how to translate them into an exhibition that puts new ideas into context. With her hands-on approach and warm character she is fun to work with. I would highly recommend her to anyone looking for a smart and strong woman for any kind of creative project.
Mattijs van Bergen – fashion designer
When Mira gets on board, the Earth starts spinning faster. Big heart, a strong sense of justice, energy for three and a passion for beauty that leaves no one untouched.
Frits Gierstberg – art historian and curator
Sparkling, cordial, persistent, outspoken, proactive, assertive, solution-mined, sweet, creative, and strong.
Annette Behrens – competence assesor Willem de Kooning Academy Rotterdam
Mira gave me the finest support imaginable; loyal, generous in commitment, smart, innovative and open, energetic, and not willing to back down to anything less than the best.
Rein-Jelle Terpstra – visual artist
IR. JAMIE VAN LEDE MSC
(1974)
At the age of five, Jamie received a toolbox. Not long after, he mastered the first carpentry skills and built a birdhouse. When a bird nested in his creation he was sure of his calling: he would become an architect! Prior to his education at the Technical University of Delft, he travelled the world and fell in love with indigenous building styles that blended seamlessly with the environment and climate in which they evolved. This love has remained and since then Jamie has surrounded himself with piles of books on vernacular architecture and traditional cultures that showcase how to respectfully relate to the environment.
Shortly after graduating with honours and convinced and inspired by the need for a new sustainable look on architecture, he founded his own architectural firm in 2002. Not much later, Jamie was coined one of the top-20 Green Gurus by Building Business Magazine and became a much sought-after speaker on sustainable building, guest lecturer and writer for various architecture magazines.
Amongst many prizes, he was awarded the first Good Green Design © Sustainability Award by The European Centre for Architecture, Art Design and The Chicago Museum of Architecture and Design. The prize is the Green spin-off of the Good Design© award, the world’s most prestigious and oldest of Design Awards.
As a pioneer in sustainable architecture, Jamie has worked on many innovations such as the first Smart Grid House in the Netherlands (for Enexis), the first Dutch housing renovation that produced surplus energy (Wageningen) and the design of the first building where the roof was fastened with Velcro making it circular, more watertight, more sustainable and healthier for the roofers.
In 2016 Jamie established the TREELAB Summerschool to inspire architects and designers to discover and implement their gifts and talents in the creation of a greener and more beautiful world. He is currently working on the LUMI Academy on sustainability and has taken courses in systemic work, deep democracy, Search conference, U-theory and more to reinforce his teaching skills.
TESTIMONIALS
Prof. dr. ir. A. van den Dobbelsteen at the opening of the exhibition on 15 years of architecture by Jamie van Lede in the Architecture Centre Haarlem:
Sometimes, not often, one is lucky to encounter an old acquaintance and to observe with admiration how wonderfully that person has developed during the years. That happened to me with Jamie van Lede.
In the late 1990’s while studying architecture at the Technical University in Delft, he came to me for an internship at the Dutch Institute for Building Biology and Ecology, where I was working as a sustainable building consultant. That in itself was already quite special, as not many architecture students were then interested in sustainability, let alone specifically looking for experience at an environmental consultancy firm. Jamie was eager to learn and a pleasant colleague, but as is often the case with students we lost touch and I had no idea what would become of him.
Years later, I heard about his architecture firm dealing with vernacular design principles and how he had won the Dutch Future of Energy trophy. His was one of the few young firms that acted from sustainability principles long before the architectural world got its wake-up call from the likes of by Al Gore, William McDonough and Michael Braungart.
From a distance I witnessed Jamie’s triumphal march with prize winning buildings and office interiors, where he showed that he also understands complex new business processes and is always looking for sustainable solutions.
When I moved to Delft and my children landed at the same primary school as Jamie’s daughters, I re-met a friend who was changing the world. Jamie is a free spirit of the purest kind and I wasn’t surprised to find out that he had decided to pursue his career without associates and employees. He just isn’t the manager type that wants to direct others. Jamie wants to understand and be involved in all aspects of the process: the person for whom he is building, the philosophy behind the brief, the properties of chosen materials, the actual building process. He is in there with head, hands and heart.
That was also the theme of TREELAB, the summer school he organized in the summer of 2016 based on the conviction that architects need to have more feeling for materials and the construction process. After all, the word architect derives from the old Greek root Arch-Tecton, meaning chief carpenter. This week in August on his farm just outside of Delft made an eternal impression on the participants. Through the combination of philosophical storytelling, creative design sessions and physical labour while building a small wooden cabin, his students understood, felt and reimagined what it means to build again!
No one can predict what Jamie’s next steps will be. Inspired by the many books that he reads, he will surely break new ground and again be an example to others. Knowing that it is the only way for humanity to survive he will keep trying to bring man closer to nature and in harmony with himself. In addition, his reinterpretation of archaic and vernacular architecture will bring a breath of fresh air to modern architecture and society. I know few architects who work with such pure motifs. Jamie’s drive comes from an ecological and social heart, his head holds the mind of a creative entrepreneur, and with his hands he can make things that many colleagues will not achieve behind their computers. This exhibition in the Architecture Center Haarlem about his 15 years as an architect is just a start.
prof. dr.ir. A. van den Dobbelsteen
Professor of Climate Design and Sustainability
Head of Department of Architectural Engineering and Technology
Delft University of Technology