the first generation I the alumni of BOSS I 25 years of vinex duality I sustainability the past 25 years I playing the political game for Aedes I where do MBE alumni work? I lustrum: het kwartje valt I urban development management I the magazine I COA. yesterday, today and tomorrow I I have a dream I The view of a developer: VORM I BOSS, described by its students and alumni
COLOFON
BOSS Magazine is a publication of BOSS. BOSS is the study association of the department Management in the Built Environment, faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, TU Delft.
COMMITTEE
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Liesbeth van Walsum
SPONSORS
Dura Vermeer Fakton ABC Nova Peak Development COD Development Pioneers OVG Real Estate VORM Voordaen Vastgoed Stebru TU Delft
EDITOR
Nina van Wijk
EDITOR
Charitini Kougea
DESIGNER AND EDITOR Denise de Blok
CONTRIBUTORS
Alyssa Kraag Astrid Potemans Bob Witjes Corina Regales David de grauw Edwin van Dijk Hans de Jonge Jan Ruiz Pion Janet Vollebrecht Joke Villanueva Khushboo Asrani Lisa Kuijpers Liselotte hoogewerf Lizet Kuitert Maarten Schaepman Marko Marskamp Nick van Assendelft Nils de Kat Paul Oligschläger Peter de Jong Sannah Scholtes Silvie Bruijning
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PICTURES 14 https://arch-lokaal.nl/breda-vinexin-breda/ 17 https://mapcarta.com/17834950 https://www.funda.nl/koop/ verkocht/krommenie/huis-40417559atalanta-38/ https://www.oozo.nl/woningen/ zaanstad/krommenie-west/willis/ woning/743377/woning-soldaatje-19krommenie https://www.volkskrant.nl/ economie/vinexwijk-is-helemaalniet-saai-eenvormig-of-eengetto~b908e256/ 18 https://thuer.com.ar/blog/2011/ world-press-photo-2010 21 https://www.bethanie.nl/wonen-bijbethanie/ 33 https://www.gebiedsontwikkeling. nu/artikelen/hoe-veemarkt-utrechtparticipatie-duurzaam-werd/ 36 https://www.architectuur.nl/ nieuws/coa-ter-apel-geopend/ 38 https://www.architectuur.nl/ nieuws/coa-ter-apel-geopend/ 42 https://www.architectuur.nl/ nieuws/coa-ter-apel-geopend/ 47 http://www.archilovers.com/ projects/196026/sluishuis.html
REAL ESTATE PEOPLE ...Lost architect...
You real estate people really think you‛re better than the rest...
Dude, that‛s our printer...
I beg to differ!
By Joan Ruiz Pion
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EDITORIAL
T
his year, 2018, BOSS Students reached the age of 25. A celebratory occasion that we did not want to let pass unmarked. On the 16th of March 2018, this milestone was commemorated with a large group of BOSS members, MBE-alumni and MBE-staff. The programme and photos of this festive day can be found further on in this special edition of the BOSS Magazine, but I would like to use this editorial to pay tribute to the establishment of this student society. In my own experience, and -as it turned out- also in that of the MBE-alumni who shared their best memories of BOSS for this magazine, the presence of BOSS adds a very valuable second dimension to the student days of an MBE-student. This master track has always focussed on combining the scientific with the practical real estate world, and this ambition is strongly emphasized with the activities organized by BOSS. The Business Tours are often mentioned in particular, since these trips do not only bring the participating students into close contact with different types of companies,
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but also contribute to the close relationship between students. As a result, after graduation, BOSS Students members automatically become a BOSS Alumni member and continue to stay in touch during their working years. In comparison to other master programmes of the Architecture faculty, this solid connection is very unique. We can truly speak of a triangular relationship between the educational context, the students and the real estate sector – with BOSS being at the connecting centre of it all. In this BOSS Lustrum Magazine, by means of different themes, we look back on the past 25 years, see where we stand now and cast an eye to the future. The result illustrates that the real estate practice is very complex and constantly changes. Let us therefore use this unique network of students, practitioners, researchers and scientists to learn from one another and join forces in addressing the questions we are faced with. Now and in the future. Liesbeth van Walsum
From left to right: editor-in-chief Liesbeth van Walsum, editor and head of design Denise de Blok, editor Charitini Kougea, editor Nina van Wijk
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CONTENTS
25 YEARS OF VINEX DUALITY
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THE FIRST GENERATION
LUSTRUM; HET KWARTJE VALT
26 36
48
THE COA. YESTERDAY, TODAY AND TOMORROW
BOSS, DESCRIBED BY ITS STUDENTS AND ALUMNI I HAVE A DREAM HANS DE JONGE
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8 12 14 18 20 22 24 26 32 34 36 44 46 48 52
The first generation The alumni of BOSS – part 1 25 years of vinex duality Sustainability the last 25 years Playing the political game for Aedes The alumni of BOSS – part 2 Where do MBE alumni work? Lustrum: het kwartje valt Urban development management the last 25 years The magazine The COA. Yesterday, today and tomorrow The alumni of BOSS – part 3 The view of a developer: VORM BOSS, described by its students and alumni I have a dream
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THE FIRST GENERATION Written by Liesbeth van Walsum
About Janet Vollebregt: Janet was one of the initiators of BOSS in the year 1992/1993. Nowadays, she practices art, architecture and consulting. As stated on her website, Janet’s mission is to increase vital energy or ‘Chi’ in spaces by means of art and architecture. This stems from the believe that people feel better and are more productive when living and working in balanced environments.
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I
N 1992-1994, JANET VOLLEBREGT WAS PART OF THE VERY FIRST GROUP OF -AT THAT TIME- REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT (‘BOUWMANAGEMENT & VASTGOEDBEHEER’, BMVB) STUDENTS. SHE COMBINED THIS MASTER TRACK WITH ARCHITECTURE AND CONNECTED THE TWO IN HER GRADUATION THESIS IN LONDON AT A COMPANY CALLED DEGW: A NOWADAYS LEADING COMPANY IN THE WORKPLACE SECTOR PROVIDING CONSULTANCY & DESIGN SERVICES. THE RESEARCH FOCUSSED ON MODERN OFFICE CONCEPTS AND USER ORIENTED DESIGN, AND JANET HAS BEEN OCCUPIED WITH CREATING SPACES THAT ADD TO ITS USERS’ WELLBEING EVER SINCE. The aspect that Janet values most about the BMVB master track was the fact that they studied true real estate projects through role play and simulation. Reflecting on those years, that first group of students truly loved those projects and completely crawled into the skin of the role they played. They were all highly motivated and still incorporate that positive energy in their daily practice. While studying, a group of students believed that this new master track was in need of its own Student Society to counter balance Stylos; the general student society of the architecture faculty. In their opinion, architecture students could sometimes take themselves and their work a bit too serious – by being creative for creativities sake, without substantiated reasons. The idea behind BOSS was to initiate
BOSS magazine - lustrum edition 2018
discussions on all aspects of the construction chain and to add more ‘fun’ to it as well. BOSS was founded on act by Marion van Bree, Babette Monsma, Eduard Elias and with support of Leon Theunissen, who was an assistant of the BMVB professors at that time. The first board moreover consisted of Paul Geerman, Eduard Elias, Stefan Kusters and Janet Vollebregt. After her graduation, Janet was invited to work with Twynstra Gudde Management Consultants to improve the cooperation with DEGW and to develop a consultancy tool for modern user based office design. Janet expresses great appreciation for her working period at Twynstra Gudde, as she learned a lot about professional project management and organizational politics. She had the opportunity to develop a consultancy tool and to apply it in practice. In addition, she worked with many different clients, gave lectures, wrote publications and even appeared on television to discuss the topic. Due to a strong need for change and thirst for new experiences, Janet left Twynstra Gudde/ DEGW in 1998 and started working as a free-lance consultant and designer. In the same year, she started her PhD at the department of BMVB. After a few months, however, it became clear that her subject
“In my opinion, BOSS should change its name...�
Janet Vollebregt, presenting her Master thesis in 1994
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did not entirely fit with the rules that applied to a PhD research. Therefore, Janet decided to write a book about it instead. The book was given the name CHAORDER; passion and identity as a basis for user oriented architecture. It was written together with a former Twynstra Gudde colleague and published in 2002. She combined this with a special interest in the Asian culture, by studying Feng Shui and the Japanese healing art Jin Shin Jyutsu. After working as a consultant for many years, Janet slowly switched back to design, building and arts, by integrating wisdom on healing energies and developing her very own projects in Brazil. Together with her partner, Xavier de Bode, Janet developed a 22 ha
ecological and architectural project in a natural park and a floating spa in Brasilia. In Brazil, she also started working as an artist, creating Art.Chi.Textures: artworks that intend to increase ‘Chi’ or Vital Energy in the space it is placed in. Nowadays, Janet’s work, in both architecture as well as art, continues to focus on creating art and spaces that support people’s energy levels, concentration, productivity and wellbeing. Looking back, Janet really enjoyed the pleasant atmosphere of the BMVB group and the team spirit they all shared. At the lustrum event of this year (March 16, 2018), she still recognized that magic, positive vibe. The cooperative spirit is contagious and unique: people being truly interested and
The very first generation of BMVB students, at an end of the year barbecue at Sollheim
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enthusiastic about their studies, and willing to share their knowledge and opportunities with fellow students. Besides that, Janet was very positively surprised by the large, professional student society that BOSS has become over the past 25 years. There is, however, also some advice that Janet would give to the next BOSS Students Board. If Janet was part of the current BOSS Students Board, she would focus more on sustainability; on defining sustainable development and on the realization of sustainable projects through the cradle to cradle concept. Apart from that, she would focus on her field; on designing energizing spaces. Organizational wise, she would recommend the current
board members to remain in close contact with the other departments within the faculty. Related to that, Janet suggests that BOSS changes its name. In her opinion, what once started as a joke -presenting yourself as the ‘boss’ in contrast to the seriousness of the architecture studentscould be misinterpreted as a snobbish attitude. The problem with a name, however, is that people get quite attached to it. Therefore, we are very curious to see if BOSS will indeed be calling itself differently at the next lustrum event in 5 years from now‌
www.janetvollebregt.com @casaaltoparaiso @janetvollebregt @janetvollebregt.art
An act performed by Stefan Kusters, Jan Pieter Klep, Barbara Wassenaar, Alexandra den Heijer and Monique Arkesteijn at the end of the year barbecue
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THE ALUMNI OF BOSS - PART 1 Edited by Denise de Blok
SO MANY ALUMNI, SO MANY MEMORIES, SO MANY CAREER POSSIBILITIES. THROUGHOUT THE MAGAZINE, WE INTRODUCE YOU TO SOME OF THE ALUMNI OF BOSS AND THEIR MEMORIES.
MARKO MARSKAMP
ALYSSA KRAAG
I started my master’s in Real Estate and Housing at a time when the news went around that developers had been too speculative and housing associations too greedy. Not a great time to prepare for such a career, you’d think. The resulting problems however, offered real material for applying a more abstract level of thinking. Thanks to BOSS we had the chance to show off our great ideas for a bright future on business tours, career days or study trips. We were welcomed as the visionaries who would rethink it altogether. Or at least, that’s how we saw ourselves and yes, maybe at times our visions were greater than our skills. Now, after our studies, we balance them, not by minimizing visions but by raising skills. After all, that’s how we have been taught.
I have many good memories regarding my time in Delft. Stroll around the faculty, having interesting lectures and most of all: organising the study tour to Hong Kong and Jakarta. My worst memory has been the moment I was biking to the faculty with my scale model. A gust of wind blew the whole model in my face. Ouch, the result of hard work during the night broken down in a second! At that moment, I decided I’d never again make a model at home.
GRADUATED IN 2014 PHD CANDIDATE, LAUSANNE UNIVERSITY
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GRADUATED IN 2015 REAL ESTATE DEVELOPER AT SENS REAL ESTATE
My period as a student in Delft is very valuable for my current job as real estate developer. The master’s prepared me for the real life and the steps I have to take in the development process. In my job I am working in the built environment, with real people who live and work there. I am trying to improve the city and the quality of life.
“Maybe at times our visions were greater than our skills.” - Marco Marskamp
NICK VAN ASSENDELFT
LISA KUIJPERS
LISELOTTE HOOGEWERF
My most memorable moments at the TU Delft were the ones I experienced during the two BOSS study trips. From beautiful skyscrapers and underground nightclubs in Miami to Cuban cigars and rum in the most authentic casa particulares in downtown Havana. Going on a two-hour sightseeing speed tour with our Tripmeister in London to see wildlife and climb Grouse mountain in Vancouver and cycle through San Francisco. My most tedious memories are the ones where I spent late nights at the Central Library to finish my REM report.
Imagine yourself, sitting on a Cuban rooftop terrace, drinking Mojito’s after visiting Cuban real estate companies. In a country where people are joyful and listen to salsa music all day, but have no freedom to envision new and innovative concepts. Imagine the change in perspective this gives you towards your daily life and career in the Netherlands.
My best and worst moments My best and worst moments are closely related. Every BOSS activity is a pleasure. However, all the morning afters of drinks during business tours, study trips and other activities have been a pity. Acting professionally and full of energy with a hangover is hard! However, I look back at crazy karaoke parties, dressed up rallies, proms and salsa evenings. Besides real estate there are more common interests that create a special bond between peers, but also between peers and teachers.
GRADUATED IN 2017 REAL ESTATE CONSULTANT AT CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD
Our prior knowledge about architecture and construction, as well as our experience with conceptual thinking, complex problem solving and the iterative design process, are a major advantage within the real estate sector and distinguish the design school students from the MBA students.
GRADUATED IN 2016 BUSINESS ANALYST - REAL ESTATE CONSULTING DELOITTE
BOSS was a very welcome addition to my studies, helping me to put the theory we learned at MBE into perspective by getting to know the real estate market, companies and ways of working in practice. Now that I’ve been working at Deloitte for over a year, I realize how much I have learned from all these trips and events, as you get to practice a wide variety of (personal) skills like networking, analysing/solving problems, and giving presentations or pitches. Thank you BOSS!
GRADUATED IN 2017 JUNIOR REAL ESTATE AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT ADVISOR AT ARCADIS
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25 YEARS OF VINEX DUALITY Written by Nina van Wijk
T
HE TWENTIETH CENTURY WAS A CENTURY OF DREAMERS. SOME DREAMT OF WORLD PEACE, OTHERS OF WORLD DOMINATION. SOME OF CAPITALISM, OTHERS OF SOCIALISM. EQUAL RIGHTS FOR ALL WERE A DREAM, AS WELL AS FREEDOM OF SPEECH. THE FIRST MAN ON THE MOON WAS A DREAM THAT BECAME A GIANT STEP FOR MANKIND; THE FIRST NUCLEAR BOMB A DISASTROUS ONE. A counter effect of the horrible ‘dreams’ of the twentieth century were dreams and ideals such as the nuclear family, providing hope and togetherness after desperate times. Technology has seen as the hope for the future, with its ability to perfect our lives and make everything easier and simpler. From skyscrapers to vacuums and from cars to radios, fordism was able to produce almost anything, especially after the invention of plastic. The sky was literally the limit. Amidst this century of change there has been one group of people that shaped the world around us, from the sizes of our patios to the sizes of our hairbrush; designers. All of them anxiously drawing and dreaming, coming up with a brave new world and materializing the ideas so many within our society were thinking of. Even if we did not know that we wanted it yet, designers had already pinpointed our desire and turned it into something great. Looking at our nuclear family and desire for some normalcy after decades of
war and terror, the urban designers had quite their fair share of influence at the time. The CIAM congresses influenced many neighborhoods, and if Le Corbusier had had the choice, the old city center of Paris would have been a set of apartment blocks by now. Architecture was seen as a political instrument that could improve and perfect our world. A perfect point of view during an age of dreams and hopes. Next to modernism, the twentieth century was also shaped by the arrival of suburbia. Endless lanes with perfect homes, leaf trees and green perfectly mown lawns. The nuclear family materialized. At the end of this century of duality and of urban planning, the concept of ‘Vinex’ neighborhoods arose. In 1991, the Vierde Nota Ruimtelijke Ordening Extra, a spatial planning decree stating all the new locations for housing between 1995 and 2005 was drawn up. In this decade, around 600.000 new homes had to be built, in order to meet the housing needs. Little did they know that ‘Vinex’ would become a whole new concept in the Netherlands, whereby ‘Vinexwijk’ (Vinex-neighborhood) and even ‘vinexmensen’ (Vinex-people) would speak to every Dutch’s imagination. Having grown up in two Vinexneighborhoods myself, I have experienced my fair share of ‘Vinex’-duality, from prejudices of others versus your own living
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“The Vinex neighborhood is the twilight zone for everyone who does not want to pay heaps of money for living in the city center, but is also scared away by the calm and quiet of the countryside.” experience, to living in quite a good location where you still cannot seem to find a bus stop. This has made me curious about what Vinex-dualities have arisen over the past 25 years and about what will happen to them in the future.
RURAL VERSUS URBAN
Vinex neighborhoods are often found in very typical and similar locations; at the outskirts of a medium-sized town or larger city, filling in empty spaces in between cities and making sure every possible inch of land in our dense country is optimized. This makes it hard to define exactly what your urban environment is. Especially in the nineties, when the neighborhoods were all under construction, it could feel quite rural. Nothing much really happened, people only came there when they wanted to be there. Next to that, you had and still have easy access to grasslands and polder landscapes that mark the end of your city. If it weren’t for your neighbors, you might feel as if you are really living on the countryside. On the other hand, city centers are more often than not close by, as well as access to thoroughfares. Although you might feel quite disconnected from the lively and busy quarters of your town, it is never really that far away. In that sense, the Vinex neighborhood is the twilight zone for everyone who does not want to pay heaps
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of money for living in the city center, but is also scared away by the calm and quiet of the countryside. A duality that has made the Vinex neighborhoods very attractive over the past decades.
YOU HATE IT OR YOU LOVE IT
That attractiveness brings me to the next duality: public opinion. I might be prejudiced on this matter, as I lived and breathed Vinex during my childhood, but I have always enjoyed its calm and quiet, its perfect lawns and new playgrounds. No squeaky floorboards, faulty central heating or single-pane glazing. Vinex is the perfect Dutch suburbia. However, in general, Vinex is frown upon. The neighborhoods are seen as monofunctional with boring and uninspired architecture. They are seen as the places where nothing happens. It is as if suburbia turned into a suburban nightmare, and its name is Vinex. It might be hard to say who is right, but a rule of thumb could be that people hate (or are indifferent to) Vinex up until they actually start living there. In the neighborhoods where I grew up, homes were never on sale for long, and the neighborhoods were and are marketed as ‘in demand’.
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UNIFORMITY AND DIVERSITY
Row housing, a small front yard, neat sidewalks with trees or small shrubs and parking spots. At some carefully selected spots a playground can be found, often in a cul-de-sac or near the neighborhood park. To add some variety, some streets will have semi-detached homes (in Dutch: twee-onder-een-kap) or detached ones. However, in general the streetscape is repetitive, typical and uninspired. On the other hand, many small or some larger differences bring subtle varieties in the streetscape. Different layouts of the front yards, a buxus clipped into a heart shape, or a different color of the window frames. Within these almost mechanically produced neighborhood, its inhabitants take on every opportunity to show they are unique and diverse, but they will do this within the framework of the built environment. They simply respect the neighborhood as is too much to make radical changes. Radical changes might be found in the homes that have been designed and built under own management. The owners might have been bound by certain rules of appearance or a certain architectural style, but the limits of these are pushed to make an individual statement. This leads to streets that reminds us of American suburbia: detached
homes, two cars, inhabited by happy nuclear families. But not only the architecture of the Vinex neighborhood is uniform and diverse at the same time. . Its inhabitants are so as well. While the neighborhoods are often accused of being monocultural and all-white, Vinex areas in the larger cities actually have a diverse set of inhabitants. The Vinex qualities are seen by many families with different backgrounds and this might result in a more diverse neighborhood than meets the eye. The problem with its diversity might not be that it is not there, but that it is always behind closed doors. Vinex neighborhoods are seen as slaapwijken (sleepy neighborhoods). Everyone is gone during the day, inside their homes at night. And who knows what can be found behind these closed doors. Maybe the small gestures of individuality on the outside hint to major personal statements on the inside.
And this liveliness is situated in its duality and its ability to survive that duality every day. The coming 25 years will undoubtedly be another repetition of perfect families leading their seemingly perfect lives. But at the end of those years, the Vinex neighborhoods will still look different than they do now - whilst also looking very much the same. And that is Vinex’s duality.
Those contrasts between outside and inside, between private and public, collective and personal, are also part of the identity of Vinex, if there even is one. And the fact that these neighborhoods already evoke such contrasting opinions and ideas after only 25 years can be an omen of many developments to come. Many might find Vinex areas to be ‘dead’, but they are actually as alive as many other Dutch neighborhoods.
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SUSTAINABILITY THE LAST 25 YEARS Edited by Charitini Kougea
1993
FIRST UN CONFERENCE ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
1996
ESTABLISHMENT OF PASSIVHAUS INSTITUT IN DARNSTADT,
This institute has played a crucial role in the
FLOODINGS, URBAN HEAT ISLANDS, no energy use. TROPICAL STORMS: THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON OUR PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT HAVE 1997 PUBLICATION OF THE WHOLE BUILDING DESIGN GUIDE BECOME VISIBLE LAST 25 YEARS. This guide shares the latest information regarding WITH CONFERENCES, DESIGN GUIDES building professions. AND PARTNERSHIPS, THE BUILDING SECTOR TRIES TO MINIMISE THE PRESSURE ON OUR PLANET. 2000 LAUNCH OF THE LEADERSHIP IN ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL
This program, developed by the US Green Building dozens of other ratings and certification such as BREEAM
2002
CREATION OF THE WORLD GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL
2010 SOLAR PANELS ON BUILDINGS START TO RISE
2012
2017 LAUNCH OF MARRAKECH PARTNERSHIP FOR GLOBAL CLIMATE
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Companies, institutions and experts do collaborate in this
PUBLICATION OF RIO +20
50 years after Silent Spring, 40 years after Stockholm and to secure agreement on “greening” world economies sustainable and fair use of resources. To do so, sustainable
The focus of this UN gathering is focused on life in cities. and developing cities that are resilient against climate
BOSS magazine - lustrum edition 2018
GERMANY
development of the passivhaus concept that is focused on maximum user comfort with
sustainability, with a focus on technical solutions and integrating the different
DESIGN PROGRAM
Council, is the first green building rating system in the world. It is followed by and WELL.
council to minimise the impact of the building sector in our environment.
20 years after the Earth Summit, the global community reconvenes in an effort through a range of smart measures for clean energy, decent jobs and more development goals are created.
ACTION
The biggest challenges are creating affordable and qualitative housing for everyone change. 21
PLAYING THE POLITICAL GAME FOR AEDES Edited by Denise de Blok
About the author: Bob Witjes is lobbyist for Aedes, where he represents over 300 housing associations. Next to that, he is the chairman of FORUM, the Dutch organisation for social housing. He graduated from our faculty in 2016 with research about unfairness in the process of appointing social rented dwellings. He won the thesis prize of the ministry of Internal Affairs for his research.
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‘A
EDES, THAT HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH HOUSING ASSOCIATIONS, RIGHT?’ IS THE REGULAR REACTION OF PEOPLE WHEN I TELL THEM I WORK FOR AEDES. MOST PEOPLE DO NOT REALLY KNOW A LOT ABOUT AEDES. FOR ME, THAT WASN’T ANY DIFFERENT WHEN I STARTED AS AN INTERN IN 2015. AFTER MY INTERNSHIP, I DECIDED TO GRADUATE THERE AS WELL AND CURRENTLY I AM WORKING FOR AEDES AS A LOBBYIST. SINCE THEN, I HAVE LEARNED A LOT. AEDES IS AN ORGANISATION THAT REPRESENTS OVER 300 HOUSING ASSOCIATIONS IN THE NETHERLANDS. THE ORGANISATION OPERATES IN AN INTERESTING FIELD: IN THE MIDDLE OF THE POLITICAL GAME OF THE HAGUE AND INFLUENCED BY SEVERAL SOCIETAL ISSUES. Last years, the political climate in the Netherlands has not always been in favour of housing associations. The past decades, housing associations have had relatively large freedom. However, some incidents led to the conclusion that associations should return to their core tasks. The minister of housing, Stef Blok of the VVD implemented a new Housing Act in 2015, which decreased the playing field for the associations substantially. The stricter political climate has had a large influence on the work of housing associations, who had to adapt to the new situation. This made it an interesting period to start working at Aedes. For me as
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a lobbyist, the challenge is to create some freedom for the corporations, without completely ignoring the political ideas of the moment. To do so, I have conversations and discussions with several representatives of housing associations, politicians of the Tweede Kamer ( House of Representatives) and civil servants of the ministry of Internal Affairs. In the end, it is the content that will convince my negotiation partners. I am continually explaining the effects of potential regulations on the work field of housing associations and on the housing market as a whole. I am suggesting small changes in regulations that could make a considerable difference for the associations, without the need for politicians to change their standpoint. An additional challenge is the difference between housing associations. You could imagine that every housing association has its own views and ideas. A change in regulations could be a gift from heaven for one association, while it turns out to be a nightmare for the other. So, in the end I am not only convincing politicians
“The challenge is to create freedom for corporations, without ignoring the political ideas of the moment.“ and civil servants, but I am also convincing the housing associations itself why this change is a good idea. This is a big challenge, but it is fun to do! To conclude: my job is a combination of deep knowledge, analyses of consequences of interventions on the future and, of course, playing the political game. It doesn’t matter for how long -or short- you have worked at Aedes, everyone gets really involved in the organisation. I have had my own responsibilities from the very beginning and I am challenged in my work every day. For me, it is great to work for Aedes and I expect to stay here for the coming years, making a real difference for the housing associations, their tenants and society.
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THE ALUMNI OF BOSS - PART 2 Edited by Denise de Blok
SO MANY ALUMNI, SO MANY MEMORIES, SO MANY CAREER POSSIBILITIES. THROUGHOUT THE MAGAZINE, WE INTRODUCE YOU TO SOME OF THE ALUMNI OF BOSS AND THEIR MEMORIES.
SANNAH SCHOLTES
DAVID DE GRAUW
I have many good memories of my time with BOSS! The best ones are the two study trips I have participated in. You learn a lot, enjoy the nightlife and explore a city. Perfect! Another good thing are the close friendships that are made at the master. Still, I see a lot of my fellow students nowadays.
Looking back at my period in Delft I’m glad I had the opportunity to do some amazing things. These years have greatly contributed to the person I am today. Even though the whole period has been wonderful, the last year is the one that will stick with me the most. I was one of the first to have the honour to study the Circular Economy in the built environment.
GRADUATED IN 2015 DEVELOPMENT MANAGER AT MOLSBERGEN DEVELOPMENT BV
One thing I will definitely not miss, is working all night the days before final presentations. Even with that in mind, I started the architecture-track of our faculty. But only after the first lecture I realised that Architecture and I were not meant to be and switched to the master RE&H. That was the right decision. Right now, I work at a development office, where I can adapt the knowledge and experiences from my study. But in the end you will learn most when you start working!
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GRADUATED IN 2014 PROJECT- AND PROCESS MANAGER AT ABC NOVA
After my graduation the Circular Economy and its development are still subject of my interest. I still use the analytical skills developed during the master’s. An example is a complex context with multiple stakeholders and different requirements in which some projects are developed. As a graduate from TU Delft I analyse these contexts and advise a pragmatic solution that suits the needs of all stakeholders as well as possible
“I will definitely not miss working all night the days before final presentations.”- Sannah Scholtes
ASTRID POTEMANS
SILVIE BRUIJNING
CORINA REGALES
The day after I graduated in July 2017, I woke up to an email from Leentje Volker with the subject line “Congratulations?”. To be honest, I never thought I would have stayed in academia, but I did, and I have not regretted it for a day. I am conducting a PhD research at the Chair of Public Commissioning on the relationship between public clients and contractors, and I apply the knowledge from the master quite directly. My best memory is definitely the urban redevelopment game – a very rewarding course, if you put in the energy.
The interaction between practice and theory, provided by companies and alumni during lectures and business tours have been most valuable for me. The relationship between students and teachers have been more interesting in the master’s course than during the bachelor’s as well. Funniest moments were caused by teachers and their pidgin English. Once, a teacher said “kill you darlings” instead of “kill your darlings”.
I started my bachelor in architecture with lots of excitement because of the balance it offered between creativity and engineering. Soon, it became apparent that my passion did not lie in drawing and making perfect models. Fortunately, I found likeminded students at the master Real Estate & Housing. Here, I got the opportunity to emerge myself in complex projects which were not only focused on design, but rather about integrating social, technological and economic elements in the built environment.
GRADUATED IN 2017 PHD CANDIDATE, DELFT UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
GRADUATED IN 2016 DEVELOPER / TENDERMANAGER REAL ESTATE AT DURA VERMEER
But best memories are made outside the lessons. Business tours with a hangover, evenings in the Ruif, eating chocolate muffins during lessons. These social events made me to the person I am right now and learned me what I wanted to do in the future. They have learned me to socialise and have fun with all kinds of people, a skill that is highly valuable during my job.
GRADUATED IN 2017 REAL ESTATE CONSULTANT AT BRINK MANAGEMENT / ADVISORY
Highlights include the BOSS study trip to Miami and Havana and having the opportunity to go abroad to Singapore. When I look back at my time, I see the great times I spent with friends, the inspiring atmosphere and the vast amount of knowledge I acquired.
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WHERE DO MBE ALUMNI WORK? Written by Charitini Kougea
BY STARTING OUR MASTERS AT MANAGEMENT OF THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT, WE HAVE DECIDED NOT TO BECOME AN ARCHITECT. BUT WHAT WILL OUR PROFESSION BE THEN? PETER DE JONG, ACADEMIC AT OUR DEPARTMENT, COLLECTED DATA ABOUT THE STARTING POSITION OF OUR FACULTY OVER THE YEARS.
What happened the past 25 years in the field of Built Environment, what was changed? Financial Crisis? Environmental Issues? Political changes? Shift to policy making? These are major questions that we need to clarify in order to understand how the graduate students of MBE chose their first job. Moreover, all the above sub questions could determine the professional direction that a young person select to follow. The way that we are going to figure out what happened is by using the actual statics concerning the first job of MBE graduate students. The presented diagrams, based on data collected by Peter de Jong, illustrate into which working fields the young professionals were allocated after their Master graduation. After selecting the data we divided them into three categories. The division was made according to time aspects, every category follows the next one chronologically, and a main factor that changed a lot of things the Built Environment: the financial crisis of 2008. But what was finally the biggest shift in these 25 years? What we can easily assume by analyzing
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the diagrams is that a new working field that entered as a new “first job”category: “Policy”. Other fields that faced changes are the “Project Management” and “Development”. After the crisis, the number of graduate students that worked in these field decreased dramatically. This could be caused by the decreasing number of jobs or the decreased attractiveness of the sector due to the poor financial situation of the construction industry. At the same time, there is an upturn in “Investments” after 2008, and especially after 2014 when the downward inclination of uncertainties in the Built Environment started. “Real Estate Consultancy” and the “Academics”fields seems to be less affectedby the financial crisis. Concerning the above, the things did not change dramatically since the Management in the Built Environment Master was presented in the early 90’s. Young professionals love the same things over the years but as everyone does, they are affected by sudden circumstances that may change the balance in the working field of the Built Environment.
1990-1999 1990-1999
2000-2008 2000-2008
Academic Academic Project Management Project Management Investment Investment Development Development Real estate Consultancy Real estate Consultancy Other 2009-2017
Other Policy Policy
2009-2017
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LUSTRUM: HET KWARTJE VALT Written by Liesbeth van Walsum
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HIS YEAR, BOSS REACHED THE AGE OF 25, WHICH WAS CAUSE FOR CELEBRATION. DUE TO THIS MAJOR MILESTONE, THE 25TH BOSS STUDENTS BOARD IMMEDIATELY AGREED ON THE NEED FOR A SPECIAL BOSS LUSTRUM COMMITTEE THAT WOULD CARRY THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE CELEBRATION OF THIS 5TH LUSTRUM. THAT RESULTED IN A COMMITTEE COMPRISING 5 ENTHUSIASTIC BOSS MEMBERS AND TWO BOSS BOARD MEMBERS. IN COLLABORATION WITH BOSS ALUMNI, THIS GROUP ENTHUSIASTICALLY WORKED TOWARDS THE ORGANISATION OF A BIG LUSTRUM EVENT THAT WILL NOT EASILY BE FORGOTTEN. Thinking about what a 25th anniversary actually means, you become aware of the fact that this number is equivalent to a quarter of a century. When BOSS was established, in the year 1993, most of its current members were not even born yet. 1993 was also the year in which the vegetable burger was put on McDonalds’s menu in the Netherlands. It was the year in which Audrey Hepburn, one of the most famous movie actresses of the 20th century, passed away. 1993 was the year in which Totò Riina, the most wanted mafia-man in Italy was arrested in Palermo. It was the year in which 150.000.000 people had climbed the Eiffel Tower. It was the year in which Donald Trump married his second wife, Marla Maples, an American
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actress. And it was the year in which Jurassic Park, one of the most successful science-fictionadventure-films of all time, was released. In that year, a group of -at that time- Real Estate & Construction Management (‘Bouwmanagement & Vastgoedbeheer’, BMVB) students believed that this master track was in need of its very own Student Society. 25 years later, this Student Society has grown into a professional organisation, with over 60 new members per year. In addition, due to the strong link to its alumni, 5 years ago, a group of former BOSSmembers decided to establish ‘BOSS Alumni’; a network for graduated real estate professionals. The strength and value of these associations was clearly visible during the lustrum event on the 16th of March, in which a group of 200 BOSS-members, BOSS alumni members and MBE-staff participated. Through an extensive programme, we looked back on the past 25 years, reunited with former fellow students and shared a lot of memories and experiences.
LUSTRUM EVENT SPONSORS:
The BOSS Lustrum committee, from left to right, from the top to the bottom: Heleen Luijt, Shuly Themans, Liesbeth van Walsum, Misha Gorter, Nienke Hakenberg, Jesse van Viersen, Filip Pliakis
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33
URBAN DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT THE LAST 25 YEARS
Written by Charitini Kougea and Denise de Blok
O
ver the past decades, the complexity of building developments increased substantially. Cities grew due to population growth and urbanisation. Instead of building at empty parts of nature around cities, more and more developments took place at inner city locations. These developments had to be fitted into an already existing structure of functions, forms and infrastructure. Therefore, the importance of the urban context of a building project and the number of affected stakeholders grew. These inner city developments asked for an approach on the level of the urban area: urban development management (UDM) as a profession came into existence. At the same time, national governments all over Western Europe started to diminish their influence in many fields. They decentralized and privatized several tasks and stimulated private parties to take initiative by decreasing the number of rules. This happened in the Netherlands as well. The government of the Netherlands has always been very active in the field of urban development management. They wrote National Spatial Planning Briefs wherein they exactly stated where dwellings and other functions should be built. However, with the turn
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of the century, they started to decrease their influence. They did not publish a new National Spatial Planning Brief, hoping to stimulate action by private actors. As a result, urban developments were managed in a completely different way. Governmental bodies are no longer in charge, but take a reactive role instead. All kinds of collaborations and partnerships between governmental bodies and private parties arose.
THE RISE OF PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS
With the rise of partnerships between public and private parties, the role and capabilities of the project manager had to be expanded. To do so, practitioners and scientist should collaborate. Hans de Jonge, Academic in the field of Real Estate Management and founder of the faculty of Management in the Built Environment, states that close collaboration between practitioners and scientists is a way to deal with the complexity of projects and to fulfil the demands of all different stakeholders. By doing so, the theoretical perspective could be included in every matter of daily life, leading to better project managers. In fact, what an urban development manager should achieve is creating urban places that can be enjoyed by all, by means of guiding and coordinating.
“UDM should deal with ways to keep our world liveable for the next generations.� The new context wherein urban developments take place spawned a demand for novel approaches, design concepts, planning instruments, and -above all- new professional competences. This asks for new types of professionals, next to architects, investors and engineers. There is a big need for people who can combine design competences with knowledge about other aspects of the built environments such as law, real estate, finance and management.
NEW CHALLENGES
The built environment is dynamic and therefore new challenges continually arise. The next big challenge is the incorporation of environmental and social sustainability into new and existing developments. UDM should deal with ways to keep our world liveable for the next generations. To do so, the focus should be on generating places that will increase the quality of life and will still be attractive in 50 years. Challenges such as using renewable sources,
reducing carbon emissions and responding to climate change will have a high influence on UDM. Besides that, in order to become social sustainable, participation and inclusion will become more and more important. Urban developments offer an ideal place for experimentation and could be used to express values. To conclude: UDM is continually changing and reflects society. There will always be new challenges and solutions, making it an attractive area to work in!
Development of Veemarkt, Utrecht: a sustainable neighbourhood designed and develop in collaboration with the end-users
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THE MAGAZINE Written by Denise de Blok
THIS LUSTRUM EDITION, IS THE 61TH EDITION OF THE BOSS MAGAZINE. THE LAST YEARS, MANY STUDENTS WORKED HARD TO WRITE AND EDIT THE MOST INTERESTING ARTICLES. FIVE MAGAZINES, ALL WITH A SPECIAL THEME OR DESIGN ARE PRESENTED HERE.
RECYCLE
2020
So much can change in 10 years! Many topics in #33 are still relevant, but used differently nowadays.
How well did the editors of #39 predict our near future?
JUNE 2008
JP Soeters, academic in Delft, writes about the building sector as a “vacancy machine”. Too much new supply is created, which will lead to problems in the future. He predicts that the housing shortage will be solved in a few years. Ehm, maybe in another 10 years? Yawei Chen, academic in Delft, writes that Chinese city development is flexible as it uses insights from both Western and Eastern practices. With the information of now, we know that several Chinese developments turned into ghost towns. How flexible are cities that are built all in once and are not connected to its users?
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JULY 2010
Peter den Hartog, unit manager at BOAG, predicts that the interests of the client and users will become more important in real estate development. He also predicts a decrease in companies that develop offices and retail and he thinks that skewed living will become an increasing problem in the housing sector. Lastly, he predicts that the development process will become more integrated. Wow, Peter is better in predicting the future than most fortune tellers. I am curious what he would tell us now about 2030!
CRISIS
INSPIRE US
DEBATE
“It has almost become a fashionable subject, ‘the crisis’”, Writes editor Arlette Mensing in #43. In this issue, the financial crisis is considered to be a chance for the building sector. There is time to reflect, reprogram and innovate.
#52 is all about inspiration and provides us lots of advice.
Even before the election of Trump as president of the USA, his face was chosen to represent the theme “debate” at #54. An interesting choice, as it is well-known that Trump prefers other persuading styles than debating...
JANUARY 2012
Rudy Stronk, well-known in the real estate sector, writes about new ways to approach the postcrisis city. He talks about the role of the community and the role of commercial real estate developers in this context. Fred Sanders, housing professor in Delft, writes about the increasing importance of social relations in the neighbourhood. This fits with the new idea of the “participation society” that was established around 2010.
MARCH 2015
Arthur Tolsma gives us a step-by-step plan towards a successful career: “if it doesn’t pay the bills, don’t follow your dreams”. Olaf Boswijk, owner of club TROUW, says: “make your dreams come true today, finish them tomorrow and reinvent yourself the next day”. John Heintz and Hans Wamelink give another piece of advice: “use the ignorance of the youth as a powerful force in the adoption and diffusion of innovation”. Bianca Seekles, real estate woman of the year 2013, tells us: “add people to your team that have skills that complement yours”.
NOVEMBER 2015
In this magazine, four provocative statements are made. All these statements are defended and rejected by different parties. This results in interesting bold statements that are substantiated as well. Bart Gout and John Angoh, editors of the magazine, state that housing corporations behave more professional than developers. Sarah Heemskerk, part of the BOSS board, states that DBFM(O) contracting is so ponderous that it kills all innovation.
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THE COA. YESTERDAY, TODAY AND TOMORROW
Written by Nina van Wijk
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HE PAST YEARS THE EUROPEAN MIGRANT CRISIS HAS DOMINATED THE MEDIA, EITHER WITH HEARTBREAKING PHOTOS, EYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS OR POLITICAL STATEMENTS. SOME OF THESE NEWS ITEMS INVOKED SADNESS, SUCH AS THE PHOTO OF THE DECEASED SYRIAN BOY ALAN KURDI. OTHERS INVOKED ASTONISHMENT, AS GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS IN EUROPE WERE TALKING AND TALKING ABOUT THE REFUGEE PROBLEM, WHILE AT THE SAME TIME UNRELIABLE BOATS CROSSED THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA, CREATING DESPAIR, FEAR AND BROKEN FAMILIES. MANY EUROPEAN AND DUTCH ORGANIZATIONS ARE COMMITTED TO HELP REFUGEES EVERY SINGLE DAY, CONTINUOUSLY TRYING TO PROVIDE MORE SAFETY FOR EVERYONE THAT ARRIVES AT EUROPEAN SOIL. ONE OF THESE ORGANIZATIONS IS THE COA, THE CENTRAL AGENCY FOR THE RECEPTION OF ASYLUM SEEKERS (CENTRAAL ORGAAN OPVANG ASIELZOEKERS IN DUTCH). THIS AGENCY, AN INDEPENDENT ADMINISTRATIVE BODY OF THE DUTCH GOVERNMENT, AIMS TO “OFFER ASYLUM SEEKERS A LIVEABLE AND SAFE RECEPTION AND SUPPORTS THEM IN PREPARING A FUTURE IN THE NETHERLANDS OR ELSEWHERE”.
About Edwin van Dijk: Edwin van Dijk is the head of the real estate development team at the COA, which has a long term investment budget of 350 million euros. Next to realizing short and long term housing for asylum seekers, he is responsible for the growth and shrinkage of his department. Aside from is work at COA, Edwin is also pursuing his MBA in Public and Non-profit Management at the Nyenrode Business University.
The COA plays a central part in the first chapter of the new life of refugees in another country. During the application period, the COA arranges shelter for the asylum seeker. If he or she is permitted to stay in the Netherlands, the COA will help to transfer them to a longer term residence. In 2016 around 31.200 asylum seekers registered in the Netherlands. Providing shelter for all these people is a
complicated task that is subject to developments inside and outside Europe. When crisis hits abroad, a flow of refugees can suddenly head to Europe, leading to an enormous inflow of people. This can happen almost overnight, whereas the stock of the COA is, quite literally, set in stone and it is not easy to shrink or grow quickly. For 24 years, the COA has been dealing with this and many other challenges. In March, I have had a coffee with Edwin van Dijk, head of the real estate development team at the COA, to talk about how the COA deals with these present issues, but also how the organization has developed over the past decennia.
NINA: YOUR CURRENT POSITION AT THE COA IS HEAD OF THE REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT TEAM, COULD YOU EXPLAIN A BIT MORE ABOUT WHAT THAT ENTAILS? Edwin: I work together with other teams such as that of the real estate director. The real estate director focuses more on project development, whereas I focus on project management. Currently we are working on making existing locations more sustainable and bringing the quality level up to speed. Traditionally, the COA was located in old monasteries or trailers, and transforming these already cost a lot of money, but along the way you also realize you’ll have to do things differently. The privacy of
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“We benefited from the recession. Many offices were vacant due to the collapse of the real estate market” residents will be upgraded, and these locations are becoming more sustainable, which is also beneficial for the affordability of the stock on the longer term. Another part of the team is focusing more on the contact with the local government of the municipalities. Building an asylum seeker centre (azc) is voluntary, so we cannot force a municipality to build one. A new azc means an entire trajectory of conversations, discussions, asking questions and then we see if the municipality and possibly neighbors agree with the plan.
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Another current focal point is designing our new locations with a double function. The amount of housing we need fluctuates quite a bit, so creating a second function makes it easier to sell it in the future if necessary. By doing so, we avoid creating COAspecific real estate. There are two examples of this in Dronten and Luttelgeest. Llooking closely you’ll see these azc’s could be used for recreation purposes. In Amsterdam, at the Houthavens, the azc can be turned int a residential block afterwards. This is also a location where the azc can integrate easily and become a part of the neighborhood.
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N: DO YOU WANT TO ENSURE THE REFUGEES STAY ACROSS THE COUNTRY SO THEY BECOME PART OF THAT SPECIFIC MUNICIPALITY OR NEIGHBOURHOOD? E: Yes, and that is complicated. If you look at our locations, they are often located in the periphery, finding suitable locations here in the Randstad is more complicated. This also ties into the indirect employment of the area the asylum seekers are staying. They cook for themselves, which means they need to get groceries. Their kids go to school. In small towns this often means that for example the primary school can sustain itself. In smaller communities a new azc often benefits the whole area.
N: THE IN- AND OUTFLOW OF PEOPLE CHANGES CONTINUOUSLY. HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH THIS FLUCTUATING NEED? E: That is actually the question that currently troubles me. As COA we call ourselves a shrink-and-grow organization (in Dutch: krimp-en-groei organisatie, ed.), but the question is to what extent you are that way. The name makes it appear as some kind of “real time portfolio management”, but it of course does not work that way. This is the difficulty that we encounter in our work; the realization times of real estate versus urgent crises. In 2015 and 2016 we made the news with our enormous growth, but we actually already set upon this growth in 2013. We had 17.000 spots at first, which we first expanded to 21.000, then to 31.000 and finally to 54.000. In late 2015 this meant creating around 1000 shelter spots per week, or around 10.000 sqm.
N: THAT SOUNDS BIZARRE. E: Yes, it was a bizarre assignment, but luckily I had the opportunity to make this happen with a lot of people, also from external organizations. Next to that, we benefited from the recession. The real estate market had collapsed and many offices were vacant. There was a lot of urgency as well, which helped to create all these spots. But still, the question remains; how do you respond to these crises and are we responding in
the right way? To what extent are the expectations or plans you have actually feasible? We were on track to go to 90.000 spots: numbers you cannot even imagine. Next to the fluctuation of influx of people, the impact of Europe is also something we need to take into consideration. As COA, we aim to ensure our whole system is balanced. When the inflow and outflow of people are the same, our balance will be zero, meaning the system is in harmony. It does not matter whether you have a 1000 or 10000 people coming in, as long as the in- and outflow is the same. However, in the crisis people bought less and moved less, meaning that houses from housing corporations were less available. Suddenly the system did not move anymore. Thus, we try to ensure our system is in harmony, but it is complicated to what extent you are independent in that, because at the end of the day we are an agency sensitive to politics.
N: THIS IS ALSO SOMETHING THAT CAUGHT OUR EYE. THE COA IS AN INDEPENDENT ADMINISTRATIVE BODY OF THE DUTCH GOVERNMENT, MEANING YOU DO NOT BELONG TO A SPECIFIC MINISTRY. TO WHAT EXTENT DO POLITICS DECIDE WHAT WILL HAPPEN? E; We indeed aren’t part of a ministry, we do have a slight preference towards the Central Government Real Estate Agency (Dutch: Rijksvastgoedbedrijf).
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We sit with them to talk about specific buildings and see where opportunities lie. Politics are part of our everyday business. Changes in the cabinet, such as the coalition agreement, are felt immediately. We are then challenged to look at what these agreements mean and how we can fulfill the ambitions stated in them.
N: AND WHILE DOING THAT, YOU HAVE TO KEEP A GOOD RELATIONSHIP WITH THE PUBLIC AS WELL. THERE HAVE BEEN SOME STRUGGLES IN THE PAST, SUCH AS IN TER APEL. E: Yes, that is our task. We often say that people cry when we come and cry when we leave. When we are announcing a new azc, people are afraid of the unknown. There are many prejudices, some positive and some negative, and you try to talk about them together. However, over time, the azc starts to take an important position in the community. My colleagues are often thrown by the enormous amount of volunteers, such as local churches but also many others, who want to help out and ensure people have a good stay in the Netherlands. When the azc closes, kids have to leave the school for example and suddenly the local community is very sad that they all leave. At the same time, we have also had groups who caused inconveniences in the area. These are often groups that are so-called ‘safe landers’; they
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have no right on a legal status in the Netherlands but they come anyhow. Or, they have applied for asylum in another country in the EU, and have to leave, because of the Dublin Regulation (which stipulates that you can only apply for asylum in one country, ed.). These groups have very little to lose, so they might care less about their reputation.
N: SO THE MEDIA HIGHLIGHTED THIS ONE INCIDENT, BUT IT ACTUALLY IS A REALLY SMALL PART OF ALL THE AZC’S? E: This is something you notice in general with regards to azc’s. The media are triggered when something happens in one of our locations, but looking at the amount of incidents that actually happened, we are well below the Dutch average. But we simply are placed under a microscope. When we are in a location for a longer period of time, we work closely with the mayor and with the police to ensure everything runs smoothly. IS THIS A LARGER CHALLENGE THAN FINDING THE ACTUAL LOCATIONS FOR SHELTER? No, that’s not the case. When I first started working here (2010, ed.), we were working on long-term locations. That can easily take 6 to 8 years, because you have to make the design, change the land-use plan, ensure a match with the program of requirements, and so on. The past years suddenly there has been a lot of urgency because of the migrant crisis. In
“people cry when we come and cry when we leave” times like that, you reconsider what’s most important. Instead of focusing on quality, you focus on what’s possible to create within the time you have. Every roof means another place to stay. But still, safety and privacy always remain non-negotiable.
N; WE READ THAT THE COA HAS SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM LOCATIONS. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THESE TWO? E; Short-term locations have been created in a short timespan, we created almost 30.000 spots in a year, which is around half a million square meters. Many of these are located in vacant offices, but also in unit construction. These units also have a limited rental period of around 3 to 5 years. We know that after a period of growth, we will shrink, so you have to anticipate on that. N; SHORT-TERM LOCATIONS NEVER BECOME LONG-TERM? E: No, those are two separate processes. We are brainstorming about making the real estate portfolio more flexible, so you can respond to these growths and shrinkages yourselves. Examples of these are locations with lots of green around them. You can leave the infrastructure, and possibly place temporary units on the green if necessary. We create a blueprint of how to create many more spots quickly. This is in contrast to the past years, where we were mostly figuring out where to house people. Now we have the space
we need, but the market has changed and we cannot profit from the recession anymore. Companies that used to have a lot of units on stock, are now swamped with work. The availability of materials at our preferred suppliers is our newest challenge.
N: DO YOU FEEL THAT A NEW PHASE HAS STARTED NOW? SINCE THE AMOUNT OF REFUGEES ARRIVING HAS BEEN SHRINKING RECENTLY. E: We have actually been shrinking since 2016 and at the peak our real estate portfolio was at 60.000 spots. We are currently at 31.000. The plan is to push off more locations and then we’ll be as big as we were in 2013. However, the influx is twice as big as in 2013, but the outflow is also larger. Luckily, housing corporation have enough capacity to deal with the outflow at the moment. Under these conditions we don’t have to build more locations. Another continuous challenge is considering the refugee policies and how they influence us. For example, asylum applications via internet completely change your approach. Also, some refugees are invited to come to the Netherlands to stay here. They then only spend a very short time in our centers before moving on to a Dutch municipality. Our task becomes smaller, which changes the process, and the inflow-outflow will become more rapid.
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N: COULD YOU TELL A BIT MORE ABOUT THE DEVELOPMENT OF COA OVER THE COURSE OF ITS HISTORY? E: The COA exists since 1994, and back then the arranging of shelter was done by municipalities. There were many different locations, such as trailers, churches and monasteries. In 2008-2009 there was a structural change in our strategy. We acquired some of our locations over the course of time, but many of them are monuments, meaning they are heavy on maintenance. Next to that, it is not exactly easy to sell them. That raised the question of what you will do with these buildings. It is not simple to find a new purpose for them. In 20082009 we started looking at how we can give locations several purposes, and this shaped our new strategy. The first locations that followed this path have been delivered now, and what you actually see is that with a little extra space you can suddenly give a building an entirely new life. In the new locations of 10000 sqm we housed 8000 sqm of housing and 2000 sqm of offices. In these offices there is education, health care, but also our own staff or partner organisations. When we sell this location in the future, we will earn money because of the value of the land, but also of the added value of the real estate. This is a radically different way of looking at our locations.
YOU RECENTLY FACED THE EUROPEAN MIGRANT CRISIS. HAS THERE BEEN A CHANGE IN HOW THE COA DEALS WITH THESE CRISES OVER THE COURSE OF ITS HISTORY? In our entire existence we had two major crises, namely during the Yugoslav Wars and currently the Syrian Civil War. Looking at these, you can see that the crises stay similar, but the way we are handling things is changing continuously. IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU’D LIKE TO SHARE WITH US? There is so much to tell, as it is such a unique task and organization. At times you are such a big player on the real estate market, and it is amazing what the COA achieves at these times. And you certainly cannot do that alone. You work with municipalities, contractors. It is great to see that, at the end of the day, we find a place to stay for everyone. To do so, we have had many different solutions, and we keep thinking about new ones and improving our method of working. We are publicly funded, so we use total cost of ownership to keep the bill as low as possible, but also ensure we meet the program of requirements. And the scale in which we do all these things, makes the COA a real unique organization.
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THE ALUMNI OF BOSS - PART 3 Edited by Denise de Blok
SO MANY ALUMNI, SO MANY MEMORIES, SO MANY CAREER POSSIBILITIES. THROUGHOUT THE MAGAZINE, WE INTRODUCE YOU TO SOME OF THE ALUMNI OF BOSS AND THEIR MEMORIES.
PAUL OLIGSCHLÄGER
MAARTEN SCHAEPMAN
I have many good memories of my time in Delft. The opportunities given to explore, combining fun and personal development. Whether it was travelling abroad to Barcelona or oversees to Melbourne, participating in student politics or joining student societies and their great activities such as BOSS’s Business Tour.
Best part of the master’s is the fact that I met my girlfriend Sophie there! I got to know her during my year as a member of the BOSS board in 2006-2007. I was responsible for organising the study trip to São Paulo and Buenos Aires. This study trip was fantastic, with a visit to a favela, lectures by several real estate companies and a visit to the urban development department of both cities.
GRADUATED IN 2015 SENIOR CONSULTANT STRATEGY & OPERATIONS AT KPMG
Working as a real estate and financial services advisor at KPMG I have come across several different types of clients, such as real estate developers and investors, large banks and housing associations. People skills and stakeholder management are just as important, to make sure that a strategy can and will be implemented and to really make an impact. These have also been a major topic in our MSc in Real Estate & Housing, from which I am now reaping the benefits.
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GRADUATED IN 2008 REAL ESTATE DIRECTOR AT CENTRAAL ORGAAN OPVANG ASIELZOEKERS
My worst experience is the fire in the faculty of architecture in 2008. I was working on my graduation in the library when I heard about the fire. Luckily, no one got injured and the community feeling after the fire turned out to be a very special experience!
“Me leading an academic life, it’s a privilege!” - Lizet Kuitert
LIZET KUITERT
NILS DE KAT
Ever since my very first visit, I’ve always felt at home at the faculty. Now a PhD candidate, I find myself being part of the friendly, open, sharing, stimulating, smart and inspiring group of MBE’ers, which I enjoyed most during my time as a master student. Leading an academic life truly is a privilege! During and after my graduation, I have worked in urban area development on different scale levels. The wide range of knowledge I have gained during my master then enabled me to take different views, which was advantageous in project group dynamics. And although the master’s did not offer a lot of research-related training, yet my interest in research was stimulated. As a PhD, the analytical and integral way of thinking I adopted during my master’s proves to be helpful, especially in bringing the different ‘building blocks’ of my research together.
Starting my bachelor’s in architecture I was sure I was going to become the new Frank Lloyd Wright. After too many autocad-nights I found out I wasn’t. I really like architecture, but I lack the patience/skills to only focus on the designing phase. At the same time, I can get very excited about the overall concept of a building. So I was very happy to see that the MBE master’s program highlights all parts and stakeholders involved in developing a building.
GRADUATED IN 2015 PHD CANDIDATE, DELFT UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
GRADUATED IN 2015 FOUNDER OF STUDIO HOLGERSSON AND ROOM4 This turned out to be very helpful when me and my good friend Gisbert van Baalen started coworking space ROOM4, whereby we also had to deal with all different phases of the building process and the actual use of it. Nowadays with Studio Holgersson, I help several companies with real estate concepts. This also involves many parts of the building process, such as the real estate strategy, the architectural changes and the way they use their buildings. For example, I really enjoy helping inspiring startups like Swapfiets and Physee with creating buildings that enable them to grow fast.
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THE VIEW OF A DEVELOPER: VORM
Edited by Nina van Wijk and Denise de Blok
V
ORM HOLDING B.V. IS A FAMILY COMPANY THAT ESTABLISHED ALMOST A CENTURY AGO. VORM ORIGINALLY STARTED AS A CONTRACTOR, SIMPLY BECAUSE THE TERM ‘DEVELOPER’ DIDN’T EXIST. TODAY VORM FOCUSES ON THE ENTIRE CONSTRUCTION SECTOR: HOUSING, UTILITY BUILDING, TRANSFORMATION AND RENOVATION. “With our experience and creativity we regularly win selection procedures. We often work together with other parties to realize the most attractive projects. For us, building is not only about foundation, insulation values and construction details. It has become a field of planning, organizing and coordinating. We translate a complex set of wishes into an adequate and realistic program within clearly outlined budget margins and planning.
THE ROLE OF SUSTAINABILITY
Society is changing and VORM is changing too. From disposable to super sustainable, from energy-consuming to energyefficient. That also impacts the building sector. Whether we buy a home traditionally or circularly, people will need to live somewhere, companies need offices and schools need educational spaces. Our role changes, but this doesn’t make the work less fun. We continue to innovate and think about how we can play an important part in the circular economy. While developing projects, we think it is essential to think about
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and shape sustainability. An example of this is the Sluishuis project, which is elaborated on below.
THE SLUISHUIS PROJECT: A PROJECT TO BE PROUD OF
We are incredibly proud of all our projects, let’s put that first. We work with tremendous enthusiasm, together with our partners, and want to make the most out of every project to create something great for residents, neighbors and the municipality. But if we need to highlight one project, that would be Sluishuis at the IJ river in Amsterdam. We carefully mapped the location and understood very well what makes Amsterdam so unique. Everyone knows everyone, even though there are many cultures and social layers. You don’t even have to leave the neighborhood to live a comfortable life in Amsterdam. We want the Sluishuis to be part of the unique character of this water-abundant city. This is why we want to use the design of Sluishuis to take the connecting step towards the city. IJburg is not a suburb, but a logical part of Amsterdam. The Sluishuis will be a spectacular and sustainable building that will be built in the IJ. The building has terrace apartments looking towards the IJburg and a tall open side at the waterfront. It creates a natural transition between
“IJburg is not a suburb, but a logical part of Amsterdam.” the small-scale low-rise in the neighborhood and the high facades in the center. BIG Architects and Barcode Architecten designed the Sluishuis to be a typical urban Amsterdam building block, complete with all aspects and amenities of the city life. Towards the wharf the building bends over and invites residents and visitor to climb the roof and enjoy the panorama view over the IJ. The Sluishuis arises out of the water, creating a gigantic opening for boats. The architects put extra effort in social sustainability, climate adaptation and innovative (re)use of materials such as
recyclable concrete and timber. On the roof, solar panels fulfill a major part of the energy use in the building. There is an optimal use of heat, by using geothermal heating. The building will add something and give something back to the city at the same time.
MBE GRADUATES AT VORM
As MBE graduate, you could start working at VORM as a concept developer. What is better than realizing the project that you won at a tender? You are the one at the wheel to tender a great, high-profile project. Utilizing everything you got in a short period to make the project distinctive on all aspects, architecture, finance, technical details.
The function of project developer is also very challenging. Together with a team you develop projects from the first design phase until the start of construction. In this function you deal with all aspects of the process, from design to building. You can think of market research, finance, sale and technical aspects. It is a responsible and challenging job, especially because we realize high-profile projects.”
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BOSS, DESCRIBED BY ITS STUDENTS AND ALUMNI
if mbe was a drink, it would be:
Created by Nina van Wijk
beer
bossecco
gin and tonic
long island a vodka shot iced tea
in 5 years i see myself...
...in a jaguar. ...in the mirror in my penthouse in New York. ...i don’t even know what i’m doing tomorrow. ....working, working, working. ....being a boss in real life. ...in the quote 500. ...in an exciting job in which i am able to change current boundaries. ...singing on stage whilst drinking bossecco. ...as a unicorn. most challenging course: rem most enjoyable course: dcm & uad
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BOSS magazine - lustrum edition 2018
87% OF STUDENTS FROM THE NETHERLANDS
What is your native language?
THE REST FROM ITALY, GREECE, GERMANY, INDIA
N
LIA
ITA
ISH
ENGL
DUTCH GERMAN
GREEK
Where do you live?
Delft
Amsterdam Den Haag Zoetermeer Rotterdam Diemen Rijswijk Utrecht
What is your study background? 71% Architecture Bachelor at TU Delft 16% Bachelor other than TU Delft in the Netherlands 11% Bachelor outside the Netherlands
Future of MBE? Might be the same... Might be radically different Largest master track in architecture faculty... Completely international God knows... Something different... 51
BOSS in one word:
PROFESSIONAL
COMMUNITY
MONEY USEFUL VROLIJK KATERVERWEKKEND BOSSILICIOUS
SOCIALIZING
AMAZING
GROUNDBREAKING FRIENDS STUDENTS IRRESISTIBLE SUPER INTERESTING FOREST GOALS RECD CRAZY SOCIAL GROUP ZUIP TOP STOER GEZELLIGHEID DECADENT PROMINENT
FUN
BINDING SUPPLEMENTARY
BOSS CONNECTION LEGENDARY INDISPENSABLE BORRELS SEKTE
What defines an mbe student: OUTGOING
TALKING
BUSINESS AMBITION GOAL-ORIENTED DRIVEN
WILLINGNESS
FOCUSED
STUDYING COMMUNICATION CREATIVE TEAMPLAYER TALKER ACTIVE SKILLS ANYWHERE BORRELS BELONG
HUMORISTIC SKILLS BOSS ANYONE
BROAD
SMART
BOSSES
SOCIAL
ASSERTIVENESS EAGER BALANCING OPEN PROJECT
HARD WORK
CONFIDENT ENTERPRISING ANALYTICAL
FUN
ARROGANCE
WORKING GOAL EFFICIENT
NETWORKING
BLUE HEART
DETERMINED OPINIATED REALISTIC DRINKING SERIOUS DEDICATION MONEY ENTHUSIASTIC ACHIEVING GOALS
FUTURE-ORIENTED
CONNECTING PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONAL 52
BOSS magazine - lustrum edition 2018
MOST FUN ACTIVITY: business tour i
lasergamen ibt study trip 2017
boss lustrum
graduation
I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO:
recd study trip
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I HAVE A DREAM
Edited by Liesbeth van Walsum
W
HEN WE STARTED OUR NEW DEPARTMENT OF REAL ESTATE & PROJECT MANAGEMENT, MY DREAM WAS TO CHANGE THE REAL ESTATE WORLD, WHICH AT THE TIME WAS OVERLY FINANCIALLY ORIENTED AND FOCUSED ON THE SUPPLY SIDE. I WAS NOT VERY HAPPY WITH THAT. BEING A DESIGNER BY BACKGROUND, I FOUND THAT THE CONCEPTS OF QUALITY AND VALUE WERE NOT SUFFICIENTLY INCORPORATED. THE KEY PEOPLE IN THE INDUSTRY WERE UNLIKELY TO CHANGE, SO WE STARTED TO EDUCATE YOUNG PEOPLE THAT COULD GRADUALLY CHANGE THE SYSTEM. My idea was that the industry needs people who have a background in design, but choose to be in leading positions in the real estate industry later on. They would carry the message and then hopefully the real estate world would change. However, I noticed that It takes more than a few drops of red ink to change a bottle of blue ink to red; still over the years we have seen the industry change.
About Hans de Jonge: Hans de Jonge is one of the most remarkable and wellknown professors of our MBE-faculty. He created tons of knowledge and is always willing to share it. This article is part of the book ‘Dear is durable: presented on September 30, at his farewell
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I have been telling this story to students for years, sometimes feeling someone who is shouting in the desert. But maybe my dream can also become your dream. Look into your own heart and see what you can do with it. I call it disentangling the knots. If you look at the world right now, there are many big challenges that are
BOSS magazine - lustrum edition 2018
interconnected. It is obvious that we cannot go on like this. There is a connection between energy, food, water and urbanization. We know that around the year 2050 70% of the human population will live in cities. This generates many questions and challenges. The patterns of how we are thinking right now and the way we are operating in the Western world are not appropriate. We have to change our mindset. We have to create new concepts for cities and buildings that generate energy, that produce food, that make people happy, and to put our dreams into reality. Now - if we go back to the Dutch dream we have to be modest, because the concepts we are thinking of will be confronted with daily practice and evoke many challenges. I will go specifically into a few things that are in my dream. I think that future demand should mainly be accommodated in what we already have in the Western world: our legacy of the past. We still have to build new buildings, but this will add less than one percent to the existing stock. Accommodating our future need for space in existing buildings is a totally different ballgame. We have to make the stock useable, adaptable and sustainable and transform it in
“My dream is to add value to humanity by means of our profession.” such a way that people relate with it and feel attached to it. Otherwise we will extend the current problems into the future. We need to rethink it, redesign it and reuse it. And the last and maybe most important topic in my dream is to rethink real estate financing. The real estate world is still very dominated by financial principles. We have gone too far away from what real estate is really for: the accommodation of human needs. In the end we have created an industry that is producing despite human needs rather than for them.
have to look at what we have and what we can do with it. Look at it from different angles, with different principles and with an open heart and an open mind. I presume that your student’s minds and hearts are still fresh. So redesign the current stock and reuse it. Make buildings more adaptable to the human needs; some of which are constant but many of which are changing continuously. Design and construct buildings that are less like a harness and more like a jogging suit! Think less about eternal architecture and more about temporary solutions.
Let us look at the stock. The current building stock does not have an overall high level of quality. To improve its quality and to make the stock sustainable will not be possible for all buildings. Taking these out of the stock and replace it by better buildings can also be a good way to add quality. The majority of buildings will have to be renovated or transformed. This means that you really have to think about the possibilities of what we have already. Design thinking is a very powerful tool for addressing the questions we are faced with. The analytical way of looking at things ex-post, by evaluating and extrapolating the past is not going to generate the solutions we need. So we
The last and the most important part of my dream is value. I think that the essence of our profession is to add value. My dream is to add value to humanity by means of our profession. You can do it in several ways, looking at several values. To me the most essential value is to accommodate human needs – to enable people to enjoy and to get attached to their physical environment. Look at our faculty building. Why do people love a building like BK City that has various functional problems and that is not energy-efficient? It has to do with falling in love! If people are attached to their environment, they take care of it. If there is only one side of the brain, only
the rational side of the brain, we will calculate by formula the return on investment and end up having buildings that people are not attached to and want to throw away after 20 years, which is actually happening today. Seeing the human being as the core of our optimization, if you might call it that, is very important. Of course we have to know about financial values, and we have to understand the total cost of ownership, and we have to understand lifecycle costing. If we do not know those techniques, you place yourself outside the ballgame. People only listen to you if they know you understand these issues. I can talk to the bankers and they accept me, but they get nervous when I address the things that I have just mentioned.. So you can add value in many ways. Think about how you can add value with your interventions using both the left side and the right side of your brain, by designing and managing the built environment with your heart, led by the willingness to create quality and attachment. Then we can create environments that people actually like and are extremely valuable today. As a consequence they will last and this leads to my proposition: Dear is durable.
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BOSS magazine - lustrum edition 2018
BOSS-TELEPATHY
By Joan Ruiz Pion 57