PERSONALIA
Boris van der Staak
24 juli 1973 Dutch CONTACT
(06) 28 31 40 49 bvanderstaak@gmail.com
ADDRESS
Stationsweg 145
Den Haag
PERSONAL INTERESTS
Food (grow/collect/ferment/ prepare)
Cycling, surfing, skate boarding Art and design
REFERENCES
Maarten van Bremen, Adam Visser, Folkert van Hagen, GROUP A (010) 244 01 93
Hakan Zor, RET (06) 28 24 82 24
Five years ago I made a decision that would drastically change my life. My world was quite balanced at that time; I worked as an independent project manager and had a steady income with which my private life was in a neat balance. But more and more I longed back for the days when my work consisted of creating and doing things instead of managing and coordinating. In addition, it became time to focus more on socially relevant issues, such as how to keep our cities liveable and healthy. And I increasingly wondered how great it would be if I could give my passion for architecture and design a place in that. It was time for a second career.
I found a junior position at an architectural firm and joined students half my age in the lecture halls. I enjoyed the work and made new friends.
Because I was used to managing projects as a project leader, I quickly gained a firm position with -
in architecture with, among other things, a great responsibility for a complex housing project at GROUP A. Over the past three years, I worked on it in various roles, as a designer, project leader, and coordinator on sustainability. Unfortunately, my employment also ended with that project. Since the reorganization at GROUP A, I have spent my time on several small-scale private projects and try to contribute on another scale to making cities liveable, such as in the advisory board on the participation of the Central Innovation District, the urban densification task of The Hague. In addition, I am working on the renovation of my own family house. I use this design and renovation project to gain experience with bio-based construction. And, in addition, I am busy completing my master’s degree in architecture at the Academy of Architecture.
THE OVERHAUL PROGRAM OF THE RET METRO FLEET MADE ME DECIDE TO SWITCH FROM TECHNICAL PROJECT MANAGEMENT INTO ARCHITECTURE
AT THE ACADEMY, WHERE I WILL START MY GRADUATION PROJECT IN A FEW MONTHS
Although this period is also very valuable to me, it is time to find a job at a big firm, where I can scale up and make a bigger impact on the topics I find relevant. I therefore am very explicitly looking for a broad role. I want to design but also work hard for socially relevant developments, such as in the field of sustainability in architecture and construction. In addition, I like to fulfill a leading role as a link between colleagues, consultants, clients, and the government. I am at my best in projects where I can combine project management with design.
This portfolio is a summary of the architectural projects of the past years in which I had both a substantive design role and process responsibility. It is a collection of projects from GROUP A, Urban Climate Architects, several study projects, and the biobased renovation project that I am currently working on.
REPRESENTING AND PARTICIPATION IN THE DENSIFICATION PROGRAM OF
EXPERIENCE
MEMBER OF THE ADVISERY GROUP FOR CIVIL PARTICIPATION
Central Innovation District, The Hague
SPATIAL DESIGNER
Townhouse renovation, private project
SPATIAL DESIGNER & PROJECT LEADER
GROUP A, Rotterdam
Design, team and project responsible for a housing block of 375 apartments/50.000 sqm BVO, parking garage, services and offices in the Utrecht Merwede Kanaalzone during VO en DO phase.
SPATIAL DESIGNER & PROJECT LEADER
Urban Climate Architects, Delft
Team lead and design responsibility of several transformational projects in different design stages
PROJECT MANAGER
RET (public transport company), Rotterdam
Project leader of the long term overhaul program of the metro fleet. Team management of 35 project employees and € 40 mln budget. Stakeholder, financial, procurement and supply chain management.
PROJECT LEADER & INFORMATION MANAGER
Port of Rotterdam
Project leader and IT consultant for internal departments and nautical/logistic partners of the Rotterdam harbour
IT PROJECT MANAGER
Healthcare insurer ONVZ, Houten
Implementation of a new financial and administrative back and front office application
MANAGER FACILITIES
Florence, Voorburg
Project leader of the renovation of a nursing home and manager of the facilty department
TEAM MANAGER
Healthcare insurer Azivo-Menzis, The Hague
Responsible for the insurance administration
DESIGNER AND SUPERVISOR
Different small but complex private design and renovation projects
EDUCATION
MASTER OF ARCHITECTURE
Fontys School of Fine and Performing Arts, Tilburg currently at the end of 3th year
BACHELOR INTEGRATED BUILDING MANAGEMENT
Hogeschool Rotterdam Propedeuse
BACHELOR DESIGN AND INTERIOR ARCHITECTURE
Royal Academy of Art, The Hague Propedeuse
BACHELOR OF COMMERCIAL ECONOMICS
Haagse Hogeschool, The Hague
Bachelor degree
VWO ATHENEUM
Het Agnes College, Leiden
TRAINING AND COURSES
e.g. Prince 2 / PSM Scrum Master / Professional Leadership / Personal Effectiveness / Negotiating / Financial Planning
SOFTWARE SKILLS
Autodesk Revit
Adobe InDesign / Photoshop / Illustrator / After Effects
Trimble SketchUp
Microsoft Office / Projects
LANGUAGES
Dutch (fluent)
English (advanced)
German (moderate)
French (basic)
Italian (basic)
PROJECT
The design of three building blocks of in total 1440 apartments and accompanying facilities like car parking garages, huge garden parcs, offices, retail and services in both social and private sector.
COMPANY GROUP A
PHASES
Preliminary and detailed design, bulding application
LOCATION
Utrecht, Merwede Kanaalzone
ROLES
Design and project responsible for one of the three blocks of approximately 370 apartments/50.000 sqm BVO. Managing internal and external design teams, ensuring coordination and approval by the authorities and maintaining relationship with the client.. Designer and sustainability coordinator on all of the three blocks.
PERIOD
May 2022 - July 2024
At GROUP A I worked in various roles on Merwede. In this new city district of Utrecht, 6,000 homes will be built in the coming years. 1,500 of which - three building blocks - for the account of GROUP A, on behalf of Greystar. My primary responsibility lied with building block B.11, where, in addition to the project management, I was also working on the design of several buildings. However, I got the most satisfaction from a limited number of sustainable innovations, such as carrying out part of the construction in CLT. In addition, as project leader, together with the project architect, I was responsible for the quality of the project and its approval by the supervision and quality team of the municipality of Utrecht. My role was to integrate input from all consultants into the design and to manage the progress of the internal and external design teams. The size and complexity of Merwede suit me well. I like have to continuously switch between client, municipality, consultants, and the various internal and external design teams. On time, quality, and money.
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The complexity of Merwede had many different aspects. There was a fairly solid and compelling urban development plan with an enormous sustainable ambition that aimed for a high level of quality of life. Subsequently, affordability and sustainability were constantly under high pressure because every building was subject to a large number of urban development rules, such as the application of setbacks and the requirement to design the new city district based on the idea that a block is made up of a large number of different looking buildings.
In the project I worked with a large team of advisors, including our commercial client, the future housing association that became the new owner of half of the block, and different internal and external design teams. Because Merwede is very important to the city council and must not fail, a strict administrative process had been set up involving supervision and quality team reviews. Major changes occured during the project as a result of interest rate developments and construction cost increases. The already complex parking garage moved from below to above ground level due to building costs. The future owner of the garage, the municipality, asked at the end of the VO stage for major changes like bringing the ramp inside the layer of apartments.
I was responsible for the coherence of all disciplines and the management of the internal and external design teams. I chaired (technical) design teams with all consultants and the client. I shared the design responsibility with a project architect. Together with the architect partner, we took care of the preparation and presentations of supervision and quality team sessions. I also managed planning and finances and conducted additional work negotiations with the client. Additionally, I initiated activities and workshops with advisors and clients to take the project to a higher sustainability level. Merwede was designed in collaboration between the teams from GROUP A, the partner agencies ZOETMULDER and BETA and landscape architect BuroBol.
Although there was a clear division of design tasks, many of our design assignments were connected and asked for co-designing. Like between living and commercial plinth, parking and logistics layer, buildings and greenery. Special challenge were the outdoor spaces, such as the block opening, which formed the entrance to the communal roof garden, but was also the access to the parking
garage and bicycle sheds on the ground and first floor. In addition, the complexity here lied in the convergence of various challenges, such as the available free height in relation to the desired roof package, the bicycle staircase and platforms, the position of the tree and the green package to be planted, the fencing that was part of the landscape.
I believe that there are many opportunities to design our buildings a lot more sustainably, with much lower CO2 emissions and with a lower environmental impact. Although legislation is gradually moving us in the right direction, I believe it is our professional responsibility to accelerate on this issue. Sustainability should be an integral part of the design process. I try to deal with this every day and do not avoid talking about it. Within Merwede we managed to get our unsustainable client moving in the right direction, although only in small steps. The first was the design of this building, partly, in CLT.
But a bigger step were the agreements I made about a so-called ´concrete triangle process´ in which the concrete chemist, constructor and contractor, actively study on reducing the amounts of cement and reinforcement, by adjusting it to the available drying time and the outside temperature during construction. This has also led to requirements for the durability class of concrete and agreements about hot instead of cold tunneling, which reduces CO2 emissions by 40%. No rocket science, but without an agreement in advance, it forms an environmental risk for the actual construction.
I designed the facade and floorplans for one of the Merwede buildings, called Silo & Schepel, which contains 50 social housing apartments and which is composed of two related but different facades. The setback heights and color schemes differ, but at the same time there is a clear relationship thanks to the typical windows with a recessed heading bond brickwork on the flanks. These move across the entire facade in a playful manner to the outside of the sections, without disrupting the verticality. The shifts create a surprising facade composition in a building with similar apartyment layouts.
The left facade, which is made of lighter brick, has a second setback on the top floor. This is not visible from ground level, which further distinguishes the facade of both parts and further increases the variation in layering across the other buildings on this side of the block, without disrupting the low accent of the adjacent building at the northern block opening. The rear facade differs in structure and composition due to the lack of setbacks and the position of the transition from the dark to the lighter brick. This leads to an interesting interplay between the two related parts.
The transformation of an urban area in between the railway zone and city center of Deventer. I worked in this project in different design stages at multiple buildings and in different roles. The plot consisted of three offices which the owner could transfrom partially to apartments, under the condition that a vivid and socially safe area
would be created to connect the railway zone with the city center. The municipality wanted to activate the area that currently consists mainly of big offices, by making it a mix of offices and houses, with lively plinths and new public pathways.
PROJECT
Transformation of three former office buildings into apartments, with offices in the plinths and extensions on the existing roofs.
COMPANY
Urban Climate Architects
PROJECT PHASE
Feasibility study, skecthing, preliminary, detailed design, building application
LOCATION
Verzetslaan & Pikeursbaan, Deventer
ROLE
Architectural / technical designer and projectleader
PERIOD
November 2020 - May 2022
During a former project the ground floor of this warehouse in the city center of Doetinchem was transformed into a restaurant. The intended offices on the first floor didn´t fit the local zoning plan, and had to be redesigned into apartments. A sketch of the future apartments was already made and grounded in a pre-application by the local government. My role was to manage and create the preliminary and detailed design up to a building permit. Part of the project was the creation of the green communal patio, which was a big assignment considering the limited construction of the existing building. I also designed the entrance of the garage in the basement and part of the public space around it. As a project leader I had to coordinate all input with the external advisors and client.
PROJECT
Transformation of a warehouse into 12 apartments. The volume that is removed to create more daylight, is shifted to the roof, creating maisonnettes and a communal patio for the residents. The design of the garage entrance and the public area around it.
COMPANY
Urban Climate Architects
PHASES
Preliminary and detailed design, bulding application, technical design
LOCATION
Nieuwstad, Doetinchem
ROLE
Designer and projectleader, from preliminary design to building application.
PERIOD
March - December 2022
PROJECT
The interior design of a 125 sqm apartment in a monumental school. In the middle of the apartment a new multifunctional structure is created accomodating severall functions, like cooking, studying, washing. The bookshelf wall opens a staircase toward a compact guest room on the mezzanine.
PROJECT PHASE
All design phases
LOCATION
Laan van Meerdervoort, Den Haag
ROLE
Architectural, technical designer and project leader
PERIOD
November 2010 - January 2011
PROJECT
Redevelopment of a shop and transformation of a warehouse into 3 apartments of +50 sqm with a balcony or terrace in the city center of Zwolle. The rather small floorplan of the building
COMPANY
Urban Climate Architects
PROJECT PHASE
Preliminary design, detailed design, building application
LOCATION
Diezerstraat, Zwolle
ROLE
Architectural / technical designer
PERIOD
November 2020 - May 2022
PROJECT
Transformation of a former office building into housing. A new layer with 6 apartments and a communal roof terrace was added to make in total 22 small rental apartments. Part of the development of the Deventer Verzetslaan en Pikeursbaan.
COMPANY
Urban Climate Architects
PROJECT PHASE
Feasibility study, sketch, preliminary, detailed design, building application
LOCATION
Verzetslaan & Pikeursbaan, Deventer
ROLE
Architectural, technical designer and project leader
PERIOD
November 2020 - May 2022
PROJECT
Design and extension of a rooftop terrace into a green urban roofscape. I used the different hights of the roof to create a playfull multilayer ensemble of different areas and functions for my clients and their young family. The borders of the new terrace were made of large planting elements, to create shade and coolness during hot summer days. Under the existing terrace flooring trees were planted to grow through the newly pierced holes in the wooden surface, to create more privacy.
PROJECT PHASE
All design phases
LOCATION
Archimedesstraat, Den Haag
ROLE
Architectural designer
PERIOD
September 2015
URBAN PLAN FOR CREATING A CULTURAL AXIS IN THE ROTTERDAM M4H AREA
BUILDING LANDSCAPES = THE EXPERIENCE
ENTRY FOR THE DUTCH PAVILION AT THE WORLD EXPO IN OSAKA JAPAN
ENTRY FOR THE REDEVELOPMENT OF A FORMER INDUSTRAL AREA IN ROTTERDAM
FEASIBILITY STUDY AND DESIGN FOR A HOUSING DEVELOPMENT IN THE CENTER OF ENSCHEDE
PROJECT
Complete renovation of a three story 220 sqm townhouse from the 1890’s, with the use of primarily biobased materials
COMPANY
Private assignment
PHASES
All
LOCATION
Den Haag, Stationsbuurt
ROLES
Overall design, building permit, execution, supervision, project management
PERIOD
Oct 2023 - current
This three layer townhouse from the 1890’s in the station area of Den Haag was in a fairly good condition, but drastically needed a lot of modernization. Because of the large living room stretching from the front to the back of the house, the residents were continuously in contact with the busy street. The garden at the back of the house was a peacefull and green area, but the six tall trees in it blocked a lot of daylight from entering the house. The floorplans were outdated and the large sliding doors at the back of the house could not be opened. Two rooms needed to be added on the second floor and the house could use some extra quality like a second bathroom and a larger kitchen. The back facade needed to be insulated.
And the house itself needed to be activated smartly. A family of five people, of which three children in puberty, asks for connectivity on one hand and for space for individuality on the other. Being the commisioner of the project I could do the renovation in a way that suited my sustainable ambitions. I decided to re-use, reduce and recycle, with respect for the house and the planet. The project became my showcase and research project on biobased building. I gained experience with designing and working with wood, wool, cotton and clay.
The house is disconnected from the busy street by shifting the orientation of the living room by 90 degrees.
The original small kitchen at the end of the hallway becomes part of the living room. The large garden room that is created becomes the main living space, where cooking is also done. A new storage room is introduced to separate the front from the back room. This is where the kitchen functions you prefer to keep out of sight are placed.
By creating a void, the already considerable height of the house is doubled. Both breakthroughs provide much extra daylight. The sunlight that enters the home via the back penetrates almost completely to the front of the house in the summer months. Two mezzanines are
created around the void. New spaces are activated here, from which the residents are in contact with each other, although with a certain degree of privacy.
To let as much light as possible into the house, the fences around the void are made of stretched steel, which remains transparent thanks to the large meshes. A new bedroom wall is given a large door and window to create a viewline to the garden. The mezzanine on the side of the bedroom runs diagonally and makes it possible to look down from the bedroom into the void. The size of the void is also maximized by this intervention and a playful new line is created, which also makes the living room more interesting. The internal facade that was created with the void follows this same diagonal.
THE ORIENTATION OF THE HOUSE IS SHIFTED FROM THE STREET TO THE GARDEN BY ROTATING IT WITH 90 DEGREES
LIGHT IS BROUGHT IN BY CREATING A VOID AND REMOVING THE FORMER KITCHEN WALL
THE DIAGONAL MEZZANINE SHAPES THE VOID, ADDING SPACE AND CREATING NEW PLACES AND FUNCTIONS
A sustainable renovation does not exist. But the least you can do is to re-use as much as possible, don’t intervene when not absolutely needed and cherish existing structures. And above all, use bio-based materials if you do build new stuff. After preaching bio-based for many years, I finally got the chance to really practice the design and use, which really takes a different approach then traditional materials. The experience was priceless.
1 horizontal detail of the isolation of the back facade
2 the pine wooden window frames exceeded standard sizes. Isolation with wood fibre plates (Gutex)
ProjectStationsweg 145, Den Haag
OnderdeelDetail na-isolatie binnenzijde achtergevel
Conform opgave ProClima & Groene Bouwmaterialen
Opdrachtgever B. van der Staak Datum 1 september 2024 Formaat A4 Schaal 1:5
3 solvent free wooden plates I used for the light interior walls (Elka Vita)
4 clay plaster (Tierrafino) covering wood fibre plates
5 wool isolation (Isolena) in the new bedroom door
6 cotton fibre (Métisse) made of old jeans for the bedroom wall isolation
7 the infra red heating system consists of warm water tubes (WEM) and is covered by clay. It regulates humidity and buffers the warmth for a long while. It is considered to be very healthy and pleasant.
8 all existing mineral wool is being reused
A FUTURE SCENARIO for the year 2073 for the Rotterdam M4H area in which society experiences the planetary limits because raw materials are no longer available. Society has turned into a completely low-tech system where sharing scarce facilities makes the community stronger. The extreme task of housing 800 people per hectare in a society where virtually no construction takes place due to the lack of technology led to a complex puzzle that I solved in Excel. I continued to make the
design on an Excel sheet, to prove that you can create with any material available, whether on paper, digitally, or in this case, a program for financials and project leaders.
I used the program to mix typologies within the existing structures of the buildings of the HIWA fruit juice complex located in the Merwe Vierhavens. I then further developed one of the typologies into a multigeneration residential building.
THE FLOATING PAVILION is made of seaweed which de-integrades back into nature because of its natural substance. It tells the story of circularity and the need to embrace temporality. The application of unhealthy and everlasting materials is not preconditional to make good structures. Instead of depleting the earth’s resources, we will learn that continuation is in fact about the effort and attention people invest in it.
Seaweed is pressed and sundried into building blocks. The pavilion’s
structure is continuously expanding with new elements while the old blocks degrade and dissolve in the water. The pavilion is a social place, where people gather to relax and work on the structure. The elements are based on the Sargassum bricks that are used to build small houses with in the Caribbean area. This type of seaweed grows excessively due to nitrogen and global warming, threatening fishery and tourism.
ECONOMOLOGY was a quest for answers to serious questions such as how to deal with space, land use, and climate change. It enabled me to dive into nature, bio-diversity, and soil conditions. But also in the current complex task of finding more balance between the city and countryside, our food system, and water safety. I developed a
democratic agricultural system of citizens, farmers, water boards, and builders, in which wet crops such as flax, cattail, and hemp are grown in overflow areas of rivers. The synergy between water retention and soil conditions is an essential guarantee of our water and food safety in this system.
