Skip to content

Ronald Hooft

Ronald Hooft, co-founder of architecture firm Prast/Hooft, in a black-and-white portrait, hand resting against his chin

Ronald Hooft

Ronald Hooft, the face of Prast/Hooft, an architecture firm he founded in 2003 with architect Herman Prast, brings a refreshingly unconventional approach to the world of design. Hooft has no formal training as an architect, but as a designer he focuses primarily on creating interiors and exteriors.
His artistic background has roots in fine art. After high school, he went on to the Rietveld Academy. While his drawing talent may not have been the most impressive, he possessed a unique gift for turning ideas into visual concepts that others could understand.


His first steps into the design profession came unexpectedly through the Seymour Likely Lounge, a café on Amsterdam's Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal, of which Hooft was co-owner. Here began a successful development that led him from modest commissions to more complex projects. First came requests for offices, houses and stores, and over time this gradually grew in size and complexity, steadily expanding his portfolio.

Check out the PH1 collection
Four yellow Prast Hooft PH1 chairs and barstools on black cross bases against a pink backdrop, in a Browse all PH1 Chairs banner

D-chairs combined with table V

Olive-green PH1 chairs on chrome bases in a dark restaurant interior by Prast/Hooft, under ring chandeliers

Hip interiors and a robust chair

Hooft's signature is clearly recognizable in several locations in Amsterdam: the former tobacco warehouse in the Nes became the popular stylish Brasserie Harkema. Another notable project is Club Escape on Rembrandtsplein, a popular destination for dance enthusiasts, and the Shoebaloo shoe store on PC Hooftstraat. 


Prast/Hooft also signed on for the magisterial Restaurant Vinoteca Gustavino on Zuid As. The open, white marble kitchen with a large wood oven and copper lamps above the kitchen, along with chandeliers made from hundreds of bicycle lights, make it a visual spectacle. 


Especially for restaurant Gustavino at the Zuidas, the very first PH1 chair was developed. Produced by Lensvelt in close collaboration with Ronald Hooft. The PH1 chair stood out for its robust appearance and open structure, combined with tough upholstery and a rugged finish. The leather upholstery was strikingly detailed with seams turned outward. PH1 chairs are displayed at Gustavino in white, olive green and brown leather.

See more of project Gustavino
PH1 chairs at black tables in Restaurant Gustavino, which seats 350 guests along its glass facade

Restaurant Gustavino can seat 350 guests.

The PH1 Barstool beside the lower PH1 chair, both in yellow upholstery on black cross bases

The PH1 chair got a sibling: the PH1 Barstool
PH1 chairs in brown leather along a long black table at Urban Industrial, interior by Heyligers D+P

PH1 Chairs_ Urban Industrial by Heyligers D+P

Twenty PH1 chairs in brown leather at the long table in Urban Industrial's lounge, under a felt dome pendant

There are 20 PH1 chairs set up in Urban Industrial's lounge area.

The Urban Industrial office by Heyligers Architecten: a long table of PH1 chairs under felt domes in a daylit hall

The office of Urban Industrial was designed by Heyligers Architecten.
PH1 barstools in pale leather lining the open kitchen counter at the Gin Sum Club in Haarlem

At the Gin Sum Club in Haarlem the PH1 barstool has been applied.

PH1 barstools along the copper GSC bar at the Gin Sum Club in Haarlem, under a coffered light ceiling

PH1 Barstool_ Gin Sum Club Haarlem

PH1 barstools in grey leather around a round white table at the Timmerhuis by OMA, under a sloping attic roof

PH1 Barstool_ Timmerhuis by OMA