Ronald Schuurmans studied at the Technical University of Eindhoven in the Netherlands, graduating in 2006 with a master’s degree of science in architecture, building and planning. After graduation, he worked as a graphic designer within a commercial firm and on a freelance basis, and joined Foster + Partners in 2008 to work on the Central Markets project, an extensive mixed-use development in Abu Dhabi, for which his principle focus was the Souk – a contemporary interpretation of a traditional Middle Eastern market complex. He relocated to the Abu Dhabi site office later that year, where he coordinated a number of building packages during the construction phase of the project.