A more beautiful location could probably not have been chosen by Trespa from Weert: on December 12, the Award for the Trespa / Archicomm Project of the Year was presented for the first time on the beautiful estate of Castle de Vanenburg in Putten. There was no lack of democracy because all those present could simply cast their votes on the spot for the nominees, who had already individually become Project of the Month last year. Managing director Bert Verweij of TBE-ZA Architects and Engineers from Volendam proudly accepted the award for Project of the Year.
Jim Wolters, account manager Facade at Trespa, who reviewed the nominees before voting began, says: "We had not 12 but 13 nominees in this first edition because we started counting from November 2022 until now: 13 months. The competition was stiff because each project had its own unique value and characteristics. The results - especially in the top 3 - turned out to be a Close Call."
Trespa, manufacturer and supplier of high-quality HPL materials - such as facade panels, facade boards and panels for indoor use, which ultimately must lead to innovative and high-quality architectural solutions - had left nothing to chance on this December afternoon in Putten. A great program with great content, more than excellent catering and plenty of knowledge sharing and inspiration, all leading up to the moment suprême: the announcement of the winner. Of course the team of TBE-ZA Architects and Engineers was delighted to win the Award. Left or right: it is a historic Award because if this event will grow into much more and even more appealing than it already was, then this Volendam office will always be able to say that it was the very first to win this Award.
And that the presentation of this Award will be on the program again next year is one thing that is certain, said René van Boxtel, Country Manager for the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands. "Of course we are going to evaluate well internally because you can always make the next event a little better, but this kick-off of hopefully a long series of Award ceremonies was already more than fantastic as far as I'm concerned.
A good turnout of many architects from around the country, almost all the nominees were there, a nice collaboration with the trade magazine Archicomm as well as a stimulating guest speaker."
By the latter, René is referring to Marjet Rutten, who, in the space of an hour, rushed through much-needed innovations in the construction industry. "To meet the Paris climate goals, a miracle actually has to happen. That requires a radically different way of designing, building, maintaining, collaborating and financing," she kicked off.
"The construction sector has an important role in reducing this substantially," she continued. "Because the construction sector has barely reduced CO2 emissions for the production of materials in recent years, the sector needs to achieve not 60% but even 75% by the year 2030. At the current pace, however, construction is going to emit at most 10% less. So there is a challenging task that the entire construction sector - including the architects of the Netherlands who are at the start of each task - must do our utmost to achieve." In short, a tough assignment for designing and thinking along!
The fast-growing architecture platform Archicomm - cooperation partner in this Award presentation - also presented itself. Editor-in-chief Jerry Helmers, who together with project manager Folkert van der Werf had also traveled to Putten, stimulated the attendees with a number of tough questions ("Will the architect survive the year 2024?" and "Will Artificial Intelligence take over the role of the architect?") but above all challenged the architects in the room to speak out with their own vision of the future. "Bring on that guest column on our platform! Set the world in motion."
Organizer Jim Wolters, account manager at Trespa, who had taken care of the entire coordination of the event, looks satisfied. "Fair is fair ... when you are a company organizing something for the first time and with which you have the ambition to grow in the future, you know you have to pull out all the stops right away to put the event on the map. I think it succeeded, judging by the response. But I agree with my colleague René van Boxtel that of course we are going to evaluate well. With all that knowledge and feedback we are going to make the next edition even greater. I am therefore very much looking forward to the coming years!"
Client: Royal Boon Edam
TBE-ZA Architects and Engineers, Bert Verweij (general manager), Ewoud Blok (management, architect) Danny Kok (architect)
Client: A3 architects, Jeroen Bestman (architect)
Client: Bugter Construction Consulting, Frans Bugter