‘No less than 154 metres up into the air, in the heart of the Cool residential area. Quite an iconic building. We will carry out our work within a protective cocoon that grows along with the building shell and the façade. The snowy-white façade elements and the load-bearing columns are the only prefabricated elements; the entire concrete structure and 48 floors will be poured on site. And we have also come up with a very efficient routine for doing this.’

‘Four kilometres of technical structures, the architectural highlight of which is a 945-metre long immersed tunnel under ‘het Scheur’. Precise preparation is the key to success for such an extensive project involving such technical challenges. That’s why we have decided to first build the entire project in digital form. The tools we use include 4D simulations that enable us to look ahead and identify any bottlenecks in our planning schedules and any unsafe situations before they actually arise.’

‘There are some challenges to building right next to a hotspot like the Leidseplein square. The building site is jammed in between a canal, a tram track, and terraces full of atmosphere. This leaves us only a couple of square metres of room to manoeuvre. However, that’s not a problem. The builders travel to the work site by public transport and special materials and equipment are delivered in the early hours of the morning. And we are completing the square in two parts, after which we can continue our work underground undisturbed.’

‘Together with our partner MRP Development we translated the plans – which were already quite specific - for a new housing development into a unique area concept: Blue District. For the envisaged 2,600 homes we made a healthy mix of social rental, private sector rental and owner-occupied homes. We have made these and many other choices, to implicitly stimulate people to interact and move.’

‘We are creating an impressive 32,000 m2 of new floor area on the prestigious Amsterdam Zuidas. We are giving the WTC a complete metamorphosis, with more and state-of-the-art office space and a contemporary façade. And we are doing this work while some parts of the building continue to be used, the area in which we can work is extremely small, and the surroundings are being used intensively.’

‘It doesn’t get much better: our work provides 100,000 people with clean drinking water. And because the water comes from the mountains, no pumps are needed. The low-maintenance system is run mainly on knowledge. That’s why we are sharing our knowledge with local contractors and the Sri Lankans who are going to manage the system.’

‘Hurricane Irma caused a lot of damage to the Caribbean in 2017, including the destruction of the entire roof of the important airport of St. Martin. The renovation works were frustrated by the disrupted infrastructure, and by emergency services using the building as their operational base. In spite of everything, we managed to construct a new roof even though the new hurricane season was already in full swing. This roof is resistant to hurricane-force winds.’

‘Seven kilometres of motorway, including three kilometres of land tunnel, right next to residential areas and with the current A9 crossing our construction site. That’s quite special, of course. But what is truly unique is how we are working together. Rijkwaterstaat, the Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management of the Netherlands, the construction partners, suppliers, we are all acting as one. We communicate openly and honestly about performance and planning, but also about any nuisance we may cause.’

‘Besides quality, logistics was key to the success of this project. We had eight weekends in which the A15 was closed at night and ten consecutive days on the A12 to complete the project. Everything had to be done within these time windows. We prepared this meticulously, down to the minutest details. Our preparations paid off: the work progressed very smoothly. The A12 actually opened two days earlier than planned.’

‘Local residents feared that a bridge would change the character of the area. But together we found a design that actually emphasised its unique identity. An arched bridge subdued and matching the nearby bridges over the canal. With cleverly positioned approach slabs that keep the lines of sight clear. And we have restored some historical elements, such as blackberry bushes which had always been growing here.’