Let go of the promise of 100,000 new homes annually and, as a construction sector, look much further ahead. That advice is being given to the new cabinet by Chief Government Architect Francesco Veenstra, who is currently working out a vision for public housing. "Building is still too much an act of stacking bricks."
"An honorary title?" Francesco Veenstra, still for a while State Architect, lets the question sink in for a moment, then blurts out a few phrases before replying like a down-to-earth Frisian, "It's just a job." We speak to him at the Jaarbeurs's Speys restaurant.
You are the figurehead of the design sector. The 'national coach' of the Dutch built environment. Do you carry that office with lead in your shoes?
"Well, no... That wouldn't help either. I work on so many different dossiers. On the contrary, I have to be able to run very fast."
Can you run fast?
"Well, I am a runner, so yes I can run fast. But honestly my times do get a little slower and slower."
Since your appointment in 2021, these have been quite turbulent times...
"A lot has indeed happened... I am now almost starting my fourth minister (Raymond Knops, Hugo de Jonge, Mona Keijzer, ed) on the housing and spatial planning dossier. That's quite special."
Do you have a favorite minister?
"No. As Chief Government Architect, I have to be able to work well with everyone. From builder to minister. In doing so, I serve the general social interest."
There is a significant housing shortage, but there are also issues of climate, nitrogen and biodiversity. How do you look at that?
"In the construction industry, it's very quickly about the 'what'. We talk about housing and infrastructure, as if the task is a matter of stacking bricks. It should be much more about building societies. That doesn't sound very concrete, does it? Because what exactly is that, building societies?"
Well?
"As a construction and design sector, we have to create conditions that ensure that people can develop and feel safe. In short, we have to make society resilient. In the debate, especially in construction, there is quite little attention to this. I think because the construction industry is naturally accustomed to acting decisively. And once a project starts, everything is focused on preventing delays and wasting money."
Why is that?
"We don't take enough time at the front to properly think through what is needed (in a particular area) and what will be needed in the future. The perspective of construction is 3, 5, maybe 10 years, while houses in a residential area can easily be there for 100 years. So you have to look much further ahead."
Former minister Hugo de Jonge put his signature on building 100,000 homes a year. Was he wise to do so?
"We recently advised the new cabinet with the College of State Advisors not to make promises it cannot keep. The promise to build 100,000 homes a year is one of them. For thirty years we have not come close to this kind of number. On the other hand, it does signal urgency."
You are coming out with a vision for public housing this summer. What will it contain?
"That the ministry should look more broadly at the housing task. It should not only be about numbers, but also about strengthening existing neighborhoods."
Is that an answer to factory-built housing?
"No, not at all. Factory housing is often cited as 'problematic' in the design community. I would say see it as an opportunity. Industrial building is not new, is not going away and will continue to develop in the coming decades. The question is: how can you harness its richness to create greater diversity in living environments? That is emphatically a design challenge."
Who is going to notice anything about this vision for public housing?
"The fact that a vision is appearing is already an important first step..."
Because we are just fiddling around now?
"No. But because as a sector we are therefore too little concerned with the perspective of future generations. Whether the vision creates new rules? I find those complicated..."
How do you actually view the STOER (Scrapping, Contradictory and Redundant Requirements and Regulations) program?
"I'm not against scrapping regulations, but what I find complicated about it: who does it benefit? In the lectures I give, I always come up with the example of ceiling height. The STOER committee proposes a lower height. But I fear that tenants and buyers are not going to notice anything about possibly lower construction costs, while the quality of their homes will suffer."
Are you pursuing a kind of paradisiacal public housing?
"Certainly not. With our vision we want to get the lower limit of 'good housing for everyone' sharp and clear."
You say the construction industry needs to look further ahead. What does that mean for the housing task?
"Society will consist of even more single-person households. Therefore, we should already be asking ourselves whether we should continue to massively build single-family homes, as we have been doing for the past 6, 7 decades. I think we need to think much more about other forms of housing, such as companion houses. These are social rental houses in which two households live, a form of soft splitting."
Your period as Chief Government Architect is almost over. Are you proud of what you have achieved?
"You won't hear me say that anytime soon. But I am proud of the fact that ministers embrace our advice (from the Board of Chief Government Architects and Chief Government Advisors, ed.) and include it in their considerations..."
You almost sound like a politician. Will you be the new Minister of Housing?
"I do not aspire to that. As Chief Government Architect, I can operate independently. That is worth a lot to me, because it allows me to make statements that are abrasive and sometimes painful, but which do help the sector and society move forward."
What would you like to give the construction industry?
"... Give spatial designers, architects, urban planners and landscape architects a greater role. Preeminently they have the ability to properly read and interpret the major social tasks of our time."
This interview is based on episode 15 of the podcast Bureau Stoer, powered by Jaarbeurs's Construction and Installation Cluster. You can listen back to that interview here.
