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Laurent Ney is a civil engineer and architect trained in Belgium and Germany. Since 1995 he has been a lecturer on structural engineering in several Belgian universities.

In 1996 he founded the engineering firm Ney & Partners in Brussels and Luxemburg. Since 2012 offices were opened in Tokyo, Hanoi, Bordeaux and Delft.

Laurent Ney combines a practical and theoretical knowledge. His approach is characterized by structural designs based on research: optimization and form finding. The search for simple construction methods and sustainability is integrated into all his structural designs.

He has published several books outlining his design philosophy and is a frequent keynote speaker at international engineering conferences, including IABSE, IASS, and Footbridge. Many of Ney & Partners’ bridge designs have received awards both in Belgium and internationally, recognized for their innovative approach.

Jeroen Vander Beken graduated as a civil engineer from Ghent University (BE) in 2006. He began his career at Ney & Partners, where he worked as a structural engineer on various innovative buildings and complex competition projects by prominent architects both in Belgium and internationally.

In 2014, Jeroen was appointed Project Leader of the building department and, two years later, he became a Partner at the firm. Since 2018, he has been serving as Managing Director alongside Laurent Ney, the Founder of Ney & Partners. In 2019, Jeroen co-founded the Vietnamese office in Hanoi.

Beyond his strong management capabilities, Jeroen fosters a collaborative environment that supports research focused on integration, optimization, buildability and sustainability. His approach explores the boundaries of the traditional comfort zone of structural engineering. Jeroen has also co-authored numerous publications for Ney & Partners.

Nathalie Ries graduated as an architect in 1992 from the Brussels Institut Supérieur d’Architecture d’Etat La Cambre (BE). She co-founded Ney & Partners in 1998 and T6 Ney & Partners in 1996. Nathalie received the Belgium Architecture Award and the 2nd prize Energy Awards in 2002 for the designed mixed house & office building Elena in Brussels.

Nathalie is an essential link in the legal and administrative structure of Ney & Partners. She is responsible for the office management and daily operations of the offices in Brussels and Luxembourg.

Vincent Dister is a civil engineer graduated from the University of Liège (BE). He began his career as a researcher before joining Ney & Partners in 2001 as a Project Engineer. In 2010, he took the role of Project Leader within the bridge department and became one of the first Directors of Ney & Partners in 2011.

Vincent works mostly on large scale bridge infrastructure in the southern part of Belgium and Luxembourg. Among his skills we can count analysis and restoration of old (railway) infrastructure as well as high end contemporary engineering solutions.

Mathieu Jacques de Dixmude holds a Master’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Liège (BE), graduating in 1993. With over 30 years of engineering experience, he is a Chartered Structural Engineer (MIStrucE). He has developed extensive expertise in the design of buildings, including steel, concrete and timber structures, as well as high-rise buildings and complex transformations. Prior to joining Ney & Partners, he worked at the engineering firm Simon & Christiansen in Luxembourg and was an Associate at Arup in London.

In 2007, Jacques de Dixmude joined the Luxembourg branch of T6 Ney & Partners and became a Director in 2010. He also serves as a Project Leader in the building department at Ney & Partners’ Brussels office. He manages teams and projects of various sizes, covering the full project cycle from initial design through the handover.

Matthieu Mallié graduated in civil engineering from the Université Libre de Bruxelles (BE) in 2000. He joined Ney & Partners in 2004, became Project Leader of the bridge department in 2010, and was appointed director in 2011. In 2018, he co-founded the French office in Bordeaux. He oversaw numerous projects in Belgium and abroad, among which the iconic Tintagel footbridge. Since 2017, he has personally designed several footbridges and special structures in France and Belgium.

Matthieu has also been a visiting professor at Vrije Universiteit Brussel/Université Libre de Bruxelles, where he teaches ‘Integrated Structural Design’ at the second Master’s studio. Matthieu has co-authored numerous publications in scientific reviews for Ney & Partners.

Olivier Gallez graduated as an architectural engineer from UC Louvain (BE) in 1997 and obtained a Master’s degree in Urban Design from UPC Barcelona (ES) in 1999. Before joining the office Ney & Partners in 2004, where he became one of the Partners in 2010, he collaborated for some years with architectural offices including RCR Arquitectes in Spain. Since 2013, he has been a guest lecturer at the UCL, where he teaches on structural and territorial engineering for both engineers and architects.

As a beginning engineer, Olivier was involved in projects of various scales and natures, including the design of special structures, new constructions, structural assessment of special UNESCO sites in the Middle East and co-operation projects in different African countries. In Belgium he focuses on renovations and listed monuments from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries by famous modernists such as Victor Horta, Marcel Leborgne, Albert Van Huffel and Victor Bourgeois, but also earlier constructions including the structure of several church buildings, which he thoroughly investigated. His practice is characterized by using contemporary techniques for the conservation of historic buildings and a deep knowledge of the behavior – degradation – of building materials.

Eric Bodarwé holds a Master’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Liège (BE) and has been with Ney & Partners since 2002, becoming Director and Project Leader of the bridge department in 2010. He brings extensive experience in large-scale river infrastructure in the Netherlands, including landmark projects such as ‘De Oversteek’ and ‘De Lentloper’ in Nijmegen.

Eric has led major Dutch infrastructure projects, from floodplain developments Ooijen-Wanssum along the Maas River to the Design & Build of the ViA15, a 12-kilometer motorway and cycling corridor designed to prioritize residents, wildlife and nature. Recently he also oversaw the architecture and structural design of Houten Hooipolder Zuid, the widening of the 38 km long highway with the replacement of two large scale river bridges (910 m and 300 m).

His expertise extends to special structures, including glass domes and membrane designs. Eric values good on-site execution and careful structural detailing which he combines with a results-driven approach, ensuring the successful delivery of complex, long-term projects.

Ryuichi Watanabe holds a Master’s degree in the Science of Construction and Architecture from the University of Tohoku, Sendai (JP) (2001). He began his career as a Project Architect working on urban planning and civil engineering projects at Studio Han Design in Tokyo. He joined Ney & Partners in Brussels as a Project Engineer from 2009 to 2013. Watanabe founded Ney & Partners JPN together with Laurent Ney in 2013, where he leads since then the office with 5 collaborators.

In addition to his architectural practice, he lectures at multiple universities, including Hosei University, Tohoku University, and Akita Public University of Art. From 2017 to 2023, he was a full-time lecturer at Hosei University’s Department of Design and Engineering. His expertise extends to exhibition curation and graphic design related to civil engineering structures.

Thijs Van Roosbroeck graduated with a degree in civil engineering from Vrije Universiteit Brussel (BE) in 2008. He began his career at Ney & Partners as a Project Engineer. In 2018, he becomes Project Leader for bridges and was appointed Director in 2020. Thijs is also a co-author of several publications by Ney & Partners.

In recent years, Thijs has been leading complex, large-scale integrated infrastructure projects in Belgium. These include, among others, the design and construction of the ‘Werken aan de Ring’, the redevelopment of the eastern section of the Brussels Ring Road, where new cycling infrastructure is combined with an upgraded public transport network and various green connections. He is also responsible for the transformation of a more than 20 km long section of the R4 in the Ghent port area. This project, which runs until 2030, includes the construction of multiple bridges and tunnels for road traffic, cyclists, railways and wildlife and aims to make the entire traffic flow more accessible and safer, while creating a continuous and cohesive landscape.

Benoît Mallet holds a Master’s degree in Mathematical Modelling and Mechanics from the Engineering School in Bordeaux (FR). Before co-founding the Ney & Partners France office, he worked as a Modelling Engineer at Ney & Partners in Brussels from 2008 to 2018. He coordinates a team of 6 engineers and architects and is in charge of the daily organization of the office in Bordeaux.

Joris Smits is an architect and structural designer with dual Master’s degrees in Architecture and Civil Engineering from Delft University of Technology. He began his career as an Architect at de Architecten Cie. From 1997 until 2019 he was a Lead Architect and Bridge Designer at Haskoning. From 2012 to 2019, he served on the Board of the Dutch Bridge Association (Nederlandse Bruggenstichting). In 2019, he co-founded the Dutch office of Ney & Partners in Delft.

Although he has worked as an architect since 1994, his design vision has been profoundly shaped by the understanding of structural behavior, material performance and the integrated construction process he gained through civil engineering. Ever since, he has designed hundreds of bridges and civil structures. At TU Delft, he teaches ‘Bridge Design’ and ‘Integrated Infrastructure Design’ since 2012. In 2019, he obtained his PhD with the dissertation ‘The Art of Bridge Design’.

Joris’ bridge designs are rooted in the Dutch engineering tradition and combine structural clarity with an expressive signature. His approach is always site-specific and aimed at sustainable quality.

Mai Nguyen Thi Tuyet holds a Bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Hanoi Architectural University (VNM) in 2007. She started her career as a Structural Engineer in several international firms located in Hanoi. In 2015 she started working for Ney & Partners and served as Project Leader. In 2019 Mai co-founded Ney & Partners VNM and was appointed Vice-Director. She earned a Master in business administration from FPT University, Hanoi, in 2022 and is currently leading a team of 23 collaborators in our Hanoi Office. Mai adopts a results-oriented methodology, ensuring the effective and timely delivery of complex, large-scale projects.

Antoine Broux holds a Master’s degree in civil engineering from Université Libre de Bruxelles (BE). He began his career as a structural engineer at Ney & Partners BXL in 2010. In 2016, he was promoted to Project Leader for structural engineering. In the same year he was also responsible for the business development in Southeast Asian Countries for Ney & Partners. When Ney & Partners VNM was established in 2019 Antoine was appointed Project Engineer and vice-director at Ney & Partners VNM.

Currently he works on the design and construction of large-scale complex building projects in Belgium. For the Vietnam office he leads the design competitions for infrastructure and is consulting engineer for building competitions in Vietnam.

Toon Maas is an architectural engineer who graduated from KULeuven (BE) in 2016. After graduating, he immediately started his internship at Ney & Partners, where he began his career in the bridge department. Toon quickly built a solid reputation as a designer, with a particular focus on integrating architecture and structure in public infrastructure projects. In 2019, he became a Project Architectural Engineer and works on various projects and international design competitions for bridge infrastructure. His designs are characterized by a focus on comfort, safety and sustainability, and his aim to improve the spatial quality of public spaces. As a member of the Sustainable Research unit at Ney & Partners, Toon contributes to the development of innovative and sustainable solutions. In 2023, he was appointed Director of Ney & Partners Architecture, where he leads a team of 16 architects and helps shape the firm’s architectural vision.