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'The sky is the limit' (literally!)
Roy van Hoorn, director BAAS Architects in Tilburg.

'The sky is the limit' (literally!)  

Roy van Hoorn, director BAAS Architects in Tilburg

It feels wonderful to start with such a quote. It is a phrase that inspires me in daily life. It excites me to keep developing myself and my environment and not let it stop you from striving for innovation and success. At the same time, I think it is a sharp introduction to introduce the topic of "lightweight" steel frame construction and topping in this context. 

As an architect, I first encountered steel frame construction within the villa construction segment in 2011. Not heard of steel frame construction before? In short, it is a building system that perfectly suits modern architecture. Think large structural spans, flexibility in installations, space for interior facilities and good thermal resistance, all in a relatively thin package structure. In conclusion, it is a material par excellence for bringing to life designs that have lots of glass and few visual obstructions. It offers the space to bring architectural concepts to their purest expression!

Meanwhile, I am increasingly involved in more complex projects, and within our architectural firm we often work out the engineering ourselves. I can no longer imagine a construction where steel frame construction does not provide the answer. 

But let me think bigger than just an individual task! Because I challenge myself to be able to make more impact with you. To embrace a social problem and express the synergy between architecture and building technology.  

In recent years, I have been involved in several developments in the form of "optopping. In other words, expanding living space on top of an existing structure. At a time when the amount of developable land is becoming increasingly scarce in the face of our increasing housing challenge, this sounds like a no-brainer, doesn't it? Taking advantage of existing structures, some of which are severely outdated, and seeing them as a foundation for a new residential environment. From a financial point of view, this also provides new opportunities for a developer that can be used to revitalize the existing structure! 

Weight gain, of course, is still an important and controlling factor in this. Hence my above reference to steel-frame construction as a "lightweight" building system, but specifically for the realization of elevations. It is by no means the only solution to the current housing shortage, but one that will have a real impact on this issue and will come to define the formation of our future cities. 

Let everyone in architecture, urban planning or working for contractors, municipalities and developers join hands to facilitate new living as the standard. With the objective of bringing our existing real estate and new architecture together in the service of extending the life span and respecting the zeitgeist of our cities. I am convinced that this will be one of the most important tasks for the coming years and that we need to proceed carefully with architecture so that in 30 years we can look back on this with social and architectural pride!

So, "The sky is the limit!

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