Willigens' biggest frustration? “Just when a project seems to be going ahead and everyone thinks, ‘Now it's finally going to happen,’ there are always parties who try to see if they can get something more out of it.”
According to him, this applies to parties from both the private and public sectors. 'It's not necessarily always about money, but also about square meters, compensation, more parking spaces, more green space, to name a few examples. Everyone starts negotiating again. And that's frustrating. Those egos really need to be put aside. It's very difficult to continuously distinguish between what is law, regulation, and wishful thinking in that chain. How can we organize all the requirements and preconditions and create a hierarchy? I think you can do that by appointing city architects or supervisors. A director without interests, who is in a position to bring order to all the wishes and rules. Someone who addresses the parties when necessary. That way, you can accelerate housing construction.
Industrialization and digitization in construction are necessary for accelerating and making housing affordable. How does De Willigen see the role of the architect? 'Architects are actually the most digitized group in the entire construction industry. I've been doing this work since the mid-1990s: I've never picked up a pen, I do everything digitally. I think processes can be faster and better, precisely because of industrialization and digitization.'
