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5 Leentje VoLker: “[...] Het is niet verstanding om bij een arcHitectuuraanbesteding de mening van de bevolking doorslaggevend te laten zijn.”

B NIEUWS #01

periodiek Van de facuLteit bouwkunde | tu deLft

30 augustus 2010

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2/3 Nieuwsbuilding technology's mirror imagea new home for the chair collectionmsc1 popularity poll

4 Nieuwsalumni symposium is coming to townotb jubileert en krijgt een nieuw thuis

5 BK in FocusPreview symposium: opdrachtgever zoekt architect

8 BK in Focusso you think you can solar decathlon 2012? read it and hurry to registrate!

9 Forumsense and nonsense of numerus fixus

9 Streets of BK CityWhat do you think about numerus fixus?

10/11 Projectstudio ghana: transformation of the urban structure of kumasi

12 Agenda

6/7 BK Reportsafter graduation the challenge startsreport on fresh graduates and their career after university. How do they survive during the crisis?

INhOud

6 BK RepoRts B NIEUWs 01 30 augustus 2010

After grAduAtion the challenge staRts

By AnnA Ghijs And MAArten KeMpenAAr

Jildou KliJnsma and Carlos Castillo – [4:69am] arChiteCten ‘sometimes it feels like we started off totally unprepared, and we still haven’t actually got enough knowledge to complete a full project,' jildou Klijnsma and Carlos Castillo remark with smiles on their faces, when we meet to talk about the beginnings of their architectural office [4:69 AM] Architecten. they started by creating a website and formula�ting a strong design vision. next to that they had to officially register at the Chamber of Commerce, buy computers, software licenses and so on. ‘We were confident about being strong designers, but it’s amazing how much more you need to succeed than just the things you learned in university. every step we take in our current projects is completely new for us, but it’s great to experience the positive and enthusiastic reactions of people we ask for help. Because that’s what we do, we use our network. And it works, if you're just not afraid to ask.’ Castillo remembers that most people were surprised to learn that he and his wife Klijnsma would be starting their own architectural office. the naysayers said we would never manage, especially during the crisis. ‘i strongly believe that this attitude

is based on a cultural difference. dutch people seem to worry all the time and concentrate on the opinion of others way too much. Why should you always be afraid to fail? We went for it, and if we fail, well than we just start over again.’ ‘every project we do originates from our network in one way or another. We did a house exten�sion for a client we met at the Tango, a bar in delft, and are preparing several projects for a client in France, we came in contact with through a photogra�photogra�pher friend of ours. Castillo is from Chile and always planned to start his own office after graduation. Klijnsma graduated two years earlier and started working for the real estate & housing department as there was a job opening at the time and they could use the money. especially considering the fact that Castillo couldn't work on a student visa. A few months after Castillo graduated they started their own office. ‘We chose the netherlands because i graduated at the tU delft with a very high mark. i thought this would help us get off to a flying start. if it doesn't work out then plan B is to go to Chile, live there, start over, and teach.’ For Klijnsma, remaining patient is the most difficult part of having their own office. ‘We have had and continue to have those uncertain moments in which we realize that we really need a project to come in or otherwise

we'll be out of money. We almost decided to go to Chile several times, but up till things have always worked out at the right moment. you just have to wait and see. it’s a very uncertain though free feeling to be your own boss and to be able to work the way you want to work. you can say that we're like kids trying to play with grown�up things. i’m sure we've picked stuff up that you’ll never get when you start off working for a big architectural company.’

simon de ruiJter – rarWhen the work dried up at the firm he was working for as a result of the economic crisis and his contract was not renewed in the summer of 2009, simon de ruijter decided to start his own company. the fact that he had done hts Bouwkunde (HTS is the Dutch higher technical school where the Architecture course is taught on a more practical level.) as well as university gave him en extra edge as he was able to do both design as well as detailing work. he knows one thing that is necessary in having your own business: being able to build and use your network. ‘i can definitely say about myself that i really like making new contacts thereby creating opportunities’. these traits have kept a steady stream of work coming in to his 6�month old design company. After graduation in 2007 he looked for work at architect’s offices. the

economic crisis had not yet struck at the time. he quickly found a position as a designer at a well�known firm in rotterdam. ‘Architecture is a hands�on trade, something that you learn by doing. Looking over the shoulder of more experienced architects and bouncing ideas off of each other in a design team was what i was looking for in my first job.’ his hope for a design team experi�ence was short�lived however: ‘though the firm i was working for did interesting and challen�ging projects, as the ‘new kid’ i was too often left to my own devices and didn’t get the kind of guidance i was hoping for. i was thrown in the deep end and often had to guess what was expected of me. the lack of communication and everybody doing their own thing at times led to misunder�standings and improperly worked out assignments.’ though the times were often tough for a designer just starting out, he has remained positive throughout. this positivism as well as an abundance of energy and enthou�siasm were necessary for the step to full�time freelance work. the work didn’t roll in overnight however. the foundations had been laid years earlier during his studies when he would occasion�ally do drawings for acquaintan�ces. he laughs, ‘i pretty much told everyone i knew that i was intere�sted in doing freelance work.’ At this time he also did a Feng shui course which led to a couple of jobs. ‘i followed the path that was

the finanCial Crisis has hit the arChiteCtural world hard and espeCially for fresh fish, arChiteCts who Just graduated from university, it’s tough to find a Job and let alone Keep it. in an attempt to turn a negative into a positive, b nieuws deCided not to tell the umpteenth sad story about young arChiteCts woes but to emphasize those who are surviving. b nieuws ContaCted several different graduates of the faCulty and asKed them what they are up to now as well as their Key to survival.

7Jildou Klijnsma graduated in 2006 and teaches at the tu delft in the bachelor since 2008. before that she worked for the real estate & housing department. Carlos Castillo came to the netherlands in 2005 to start his master and graduated in explore-lab with a 10 out of 10 mark in 2008. in 2009 they started their architectural office. 469am.nl

as student he was assistent at the chair of design and Construction for several years and did an internship at benthem Crowel. he graduated in 2008 in both architecture and building technology. he works for Cepezed and is guest teacher at the faculty.

simon de ruijter set up his company Ruijter Architects Rotterdam in 2010. he graduated in 2007 with the theme: Privacy and the dynamics of density. rar.co.nl

“we’Re liKe Kids tRying to play with gRown-up things ... we've picKed things up that you'll neveR get woRKing foR an aRchitectuRal office.”

After grAduAtion the challenge staRts

redesign of a farmhouse, which is being constructed at the moment. ‘i got involved in these projects by chance, so from the outset i was self�employed. this offered me the possibility to choose my future workplace very carefully.’ six months after graduating with a combined Architecture and Building technology masters, Van sabben started working at Hootsmans Architectuurbureau in Amsterdam. ‘they offered me the opportunity to work on the façade of a very complex project, namely the new Court of justice in Zwolle. it was very important for me to work in an office where i could combine architecture with my interest for building techno�logy. it’s always important to choose your office with care as it should definitely fit your design style. it’s pointless to work on projects that you don't actually like.’After finishing the project at Hootsmans, Van sabben moved to Imagine Group, the office of Ulrich Knaack, for whom he already worked during his studies. Knaack is a professor at the Faculty of Architecture and his office is specialized in complex façade technology. ‘i always had in mind that i would work for several offices in the beginning of my career. it’s interesting to experience different working styles.’ Looking back, it was a smart choice up till now. i worked on very interesting projects at good offices.’ Van sabben has been working for Cepezed in delft for a year now and it really suits him. ‘i have the opportunity to work on big and challenging projects, which focus on building technology and sustainability.’ next to his work for Cepezed he teaches in the Bachelor program at the Faculty of Architecture. ‘i really enjoy it and at the same time it's a very valuable experi�ence. if there is time left, i work on competitions with friends from the university, like the Building for Bouwkunde competition.’i always had and still have the idea of eventually starting my own office, but at the moment i find working on a contract basis the best choice. A great advan�tage is the opportunity to work on big and complex projects. you learn a lot about how an office works, and the work is challen�ging. it’s not likely that you’ll start with that if you have an office of your own.

[4:69 AM] Architecten

Raymond van sabben

RAR

interesting to me and that brought me in contact with potential clients with similar interests.’ though freelance work offers flexibility and independence, a lot of time is spent looking for new assign�ments, making sure the invoices are paid on time... After six months of working as a zzp’er

i would like to get involved in design work or research that deals with this theme.’

raymond van sabben – CepezedAfter graduation Van sabben first worked on several freelance projects that he found through contacts. One of these was the

(zelfstandige zonder personeel: person with a company where they are the sole employee) and getting by just fine, de ruijter wouldn’t mind working for a company again: ‘i would like to move towards projects that are related to the theme of my graduation project which was high density urban environments.

project by RAR collaborating with Juli Ontwerp en Advies B.V.

interior impression of the BIM in Brussel, a project of Cepezed that must become the most sustainable building of Belgium.

transformation of two silo's into a house, one of the projects in France [4:69 AM] architecten works on. michelmaat.nl