making a difference as an architect

cepezed has had a sustainability coordinator for nearly a year. She stimulates research, shares and archives knowledge, expands cepezed’s network and motivates colleagues. It is both remarkable and entirely logical that the firm allocates a full time position to this role. Sonja Draskovic and her colleague Job van den Heuvel explain why.

It is no surprise that Sonja Draskovic became cepezed’s sustainability coordinator – the integrated sustainable approach was one of the reasons she joined the firm four years ago. “cepezed designs for an uncertain future,” she says. “For decades, this mainly revolved around disassembly and lightweight construction, in terms of kilos. More recently it has also extended to biobased materials and nitrogen efficient construction. By viewing buildings as a kit of parts, cepezed has in fact been practising refuse, rethink, reduce and re use for years. Even so, the reality is often still stubborn.”

As head of acquisition, Job van den Heuvel assembles design teams for tenders. He notes that the architect’s profession has grown more complex in recent years. “Sustainability is a necessity and is woven into the design. Various labels and scores are attached to it, each with their own methodology. When we realised that the complexity was causing knowledge within the office to become fragmented, we looked for someone who could bring this together, fill the gaps and help define our direction based on a clear sustainability vision. We were doing reasonably well, but we were doing isolated good things, without monitoring or guidance.”

Sonja emphasises the importance of collecting and interpreting data as part of the drive for improvement. “Data tells us where we stand and what can be improved. Collecting and interpreting this data is a key part of my work as sustainability coordinator. When I was working as an architect, I worked on one, at most two projects at a time. Now I hover above everything. It provides oversight and is simply very enjoyable. I use the knowledge I gain to create a roadmap with clear targets. For our CO2 strategy, our course essentially comes down to already following the European rules that will take effect in 2028.”

circular renovations
cepezed has around eighty employees and is currently working on the circular renovation of two Rijkswaterstaat offices, in Utrecht and Delft, and on Universe, a government office at the Binckhorst in The Hague. The firm recently received an honourable mention for PI Haaglanden at the local Berlagevlag awards, partly due to its nitrogen efficient construction. In the kit of parts, the firm increasingly applies biobased materials. The sustainability coordinator monitors developments in these fields.

The role was initially intended as a 24 hour position, but was quickly expanded to forty hours. This reflects both the workload and the firm’s ambitions. In some cases, cepezed sets sustainability ambitions even higher than those requested, together with the contractor and other external partners. Or it proposes retention instead of demolition and new build, as in the Wegapunt parking structure. Refuse remains the most sustainable step in the R ladder.

persuasion“Clients often do not make clear choices, they want everything, and these wishes can be conflicting,” Job says. “Having a sustainability coordinator at the table at the start of a project makes it tangible that we take sustainability seriously and have the knowledge in house. During the design process, Sonja monitors the promises made in the concept design, to keep everyone focused and motivated, but also to enable us to learn and bring this knowledge into new projects.”

With the knowledge cepezed gains and the data it collects, the firm can present substantiated sustainable solutions to clients. Job: “Architects see relationships between parameters such as cost, energy and material, and have the ability to persuade. They can convince people. That involves a strong narrative and compelling imagery, but also engaging stakeholders, gaining trust and keeping people on board. Our motivation is to deliver the most sustainable outcome possible within the available budget.”

Sonja says she is generally drawn to urgent issues. “The construction sector is responsible for a very large share of global CO2 emissions. If I work forty hours, I want to make a difference in that time. The necessity of sustainable architecture is bringing major changes to the profession. Architects have to redefine their role. In this respect, I see my function as an example, even if in practice every three steps forward are often followed by one back. And what counts as a good step is sometimes only apparent months later.”

The appointment of cepezed’s sustainability coordinator was accompanied by a new consultation structure. Its primary aim is to retain and share the knowledge the firm possesses and gains through new projects. For current issues, cepezed has created working groups that conduct research and share their findings and skills with colleagues. These include topics such as the CO2 performance of buildings (embodied and operational carbon), detailing new materials within the kit of parts or data driven design.

soft skills
Sonja sees her colleagues becoming increasingly enthusiastic. “cepezed is quite a technical firm and sustainability has a strong technical component. This gives us room to excel. Issues such as disassembly or a material passport are embedded in the BIM models we develop in house. This does not mean that we neglect the social side. Speaking with clients and suppliers, motivating the team, insisting, not being discouraged – soft skills are just as important.”

Since Sonja’s appointment, new colleagues are introduced to cepezed’s sustainability approach, which also contributes to this enthusiasm. Alongside several colleagues, she organises the annual Green Week, arranges sustainability focused lunch lectures and compiles cepezed’s Impact Report. Such a report is not yet a legal requirement – cepezed chooses to produce it already, to communicate clearly with partners and clients about sustainability results, to illustrate the firm’s data driven approach and to keep itself on track.

Job: “Colleagues know how to find Sonja, share knowledge, challenge each other and are not afraid to make mistakes. Our ambition is tangible and clients sense this too. One client even gave us a three week time out to calculate even more sustainable alternatives. They were ultimately not selected, but they were seriously examined.”

Sonja: “In another project, the client involved us in the contractor tender. In that design, reuse and biobased materials were central. We contributed to developing a way to make sustainability measurable. It is great to see the design become the benchmark. If the bar is set high during the design phase, it will remain high in execution. Our role as architects now extends further than before.”