Who knows better how you want to use a building than you, THE USER? Nobody, of course! That is exactly why housing can never be a purely professional activity without the involvement of and control by the actual user. How this principle has led to one of the most sustainable renovation project in the Netherlands, you can read in this article. With the Library Concept Center, DOK Delft, the old inner city of Delft gained a very special public library.
I love to tell you more about how the separation between base building and fit-out, and the matching separation of project responsibility, led to such a wonderful sustainable building. The principles applied are also great for use on smaller projects, such as remodeling your home or your business premises. Please feel free to use my knowledge and experience to your advantage.
Housing is a basic need
I was closely involved in the sustainable renovation of DOK Delft. The city of Delft had asked me to be the project manager for the base building. In that role I have, created a custom skeleton with open spaces, facades and roofs with good insulation for the building and its installations for heat, light and ventilation that make a visit to the library enjoyable. On behalf of DOK Delft Marijke Timmerhuis was project manager for the total fit-out. How special, inviting and user friendly the facilities have become you can see on YouTube or a real time visit to DOK Delft itself. There is no way that the base building experts would have come up with this range of possibilities. That is why the actual users were closely involved with the facilities and the interior design. After all, housing is very personal. Whether it is about living, working or enjoying free time. Housing is a basic need, like food.
Housing requires interaction
One day you do your own grocery shopping, you choose the tastiest ingredients and enthusiastically get to work in the kitchen. Maybe some of those ingredients come from your own vegetable patch. On another day you have less time or are less hungry. You order a pizza or make a sandwich. Or you go out for a simple or more luxurious meal. So many people, so many tastes, so many moments, so many needs. Imagine what it would be like when someone who does not know you or has no idea about who you are, decides how, what, where and with whom you eat every day! A terrible idea. Okay, leaving the design and build of a car to the experts, that is wise. But the brand, the type and the accessories you want to pick yourself, right? When it comes to housing, even that is not enough. Of course you need professionals, in fact they are indispensable. But they must interact directly with users, user groups en their representatives. Otherwise you create buildings that nobody wants to use over time. In Holland we have more than 8.3 million square feet of vacant office space that silently bears witness to that fact.
We need each other
DOK Delft has become such a success purely because we have helped each other to make the best possible building, from a user perspective and from the perspective of social, economic and environmental sustainability. After completion, the municipality sold the building to the Triodos Real Estate Fund. The first five years this fund is the proud owner of one of the most sustainable buildings in Holland.
Take the next step and share your experiences
Do you want to take a next step? Come to the FREE* Masterclass. We will work with practical tools to instantly implement the actions of my ebook in your organizational, fiscal or financial projects and organization.
Join the conversation
Do you know how to build that new way and what you need? Do you know projects that also achieved this and maybe in similar ways? Share it in the comments below.
To your health and wellbeing,
Remko Zuidema
[remko_author]
This post is also available in: Nederlands
