OMA announced Van Loon's retirement on its website on 23 July, stating that: "It goes without saying that we deeply regret her decision. Ellen has been a trusted colleague and powerful force within our firm for decades. She also is, and will remain, a dear friend to all of us."
Van Loon had was based in the Rotterdam office and was the only woman in the team of eight partners that make up OMA, con numerosos proyectos premiados y nominados a premios muy reconcidos.
Her project portfolio also includes the Netherlands Embassy in Berlin, Rijnstraat 8 Dutch government offices, and the transformation of a 19th-century structure into a gallery for the Galeries Lafayette Foundation, in Paris.
The practice was initially founded in 1975 as Dr. Caligari Cabinet of Metropolitan Architecture, and a few time after, definitely as OMA by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas alongside Elia Zenghelis, Madelon Vriesendorp and Zoe Zenghelis.
Recent projects completed by the studio include a bridge in Bordeaux intended to double as a public space and an early-1900s bakery in Detroit that was converted into an arts centre.
