Ben van Berkel studied architecture at the Rietveld Academy in Ams- terdam and at the Architectural Association in London, receiving the AA Diploma with Honours in 1987.

In 1998 Ben van Berkel and Caroline Bos established UNStudio (United Net). UNStudio presents itself as a network of specialists in architecture, urban development and infrastructure. Current projects are the restructuring of the station area of Arnhem, the mixed-use Raffles City in Hangzhou, a masterplan for Basauri, a dance theatre for St. Petersburg and the design and restructuring of the Harbor Ponte Parodi in Genoa. Ben van Berkel has lectured and taught at many architectural schools around the world. Currently he is Professor of Conceptual Design at the Staedelschule and for the Spring term 2011 he was awarded the Kenzo Tange Visiting Professor‘s Chair at Harvard University Graduate School of Design. Central to his teaching is the inclusive approach of architectural works integrating virtual and material organization and engineering constructions.