'Buildings we built, we tear down many years later ourselves'

It was the icing on the building cake for De Geus Bouw project leader Willem van der Hulst: the realization of Bejo Zaden's new headquarters in Warmenhuizen. Just before his retirement, together with head of preparation Pascal Klaver, he completed this innovative project, the end result being a unique building finished down to the smallest detail.

More than 110 years ago, De Geus Bouw was founded. The family business from Broek op Langedijk is now four generations on, and today the founder's great-grandson is at the helm. "And not only internally is it a family," says Klaver. "Our customers are also closely associated with us. 'Once tasted, always customer' is sometimes jokingly said with us."

Demolishing your own work

Klaver has now been with De Geus Bouw for 25 years, and Van der Hulst was employed for a total of 10 years when he retired. "There are colleagues who have sometimes worked for De Geus Bouw for 30 or 40 years," he says. "Because we have such loyal customers, it sometimes happens that years later you find yourself renovating or even demolishing the buildings you have built!" The latter was also the case with the construction of Bejo Zaden's new headquarters. "35 years ago we realized the previous office and it was in need of replacement," says Klaver. The idea of new construction had to grow for a while: renovation and expansion were considered extensively. Studies showed that only new construction could meet Bejo Zaden's current needs. "In 2021, the old office was demolished. In its place is now a beautiful new and innovative building."

Green innovations and new techniques

During construction, the best of the best was pulled out when it came to sustainability and renewable energy. "The building is very economical," says Van der Hulst. "It is self-sufficient in energy and climate-neutral because of a 200-meter-deep well drilling for geothermal heat. In addition, the building has a lot of flat roof, which is completely overgrown. The building screams sustainability and innovation."

In addition to green innovations, other new techniques have been employed. With the help of a GPS system, the building's dimensions are accurate to the comma. "There is no right angle in this building, everything is round, expressing the organic design," says Van der Hulst. "That realization was still quite a challenge," Klaver adds. "That's why we used satellites. Think of it this way: we use satellites to determine the exact coordinates. Then you go into the field with a stick that connects to those satellites and beeps at the exact point of your construction drawing."

An unexpected encore

The completion of this huge project also marked the end of Van der Hulst's career. "And what an ending this is," he says. "It was a huge challenge, and the project took a little more time due to various factors. As a result, I unexpectedly got another encore, and I am glad that I was still able to finish this beautiful project together with Pascal and the rest of the team."