ASSOCIATION ROLE

SBA The Registration body for Dutch architects. SBA also deals with issues relating to architectural education, training and professional development.

BNA An organisation that represents individual architects, retired architects, and architectural students in the Netherlands. The BNA deals with issues such as professional practice guidelines, industry standards, and promotion of architecture from a cultural standpoint.

BNA employs 25 full time staff and is a non-profit subscription funded organisation. Membership of the BNA is voluntary.

BNA International (proposed future body)

BNA is currently looking at establishing an international arm to deal specifically with firms operating outside of the Netherlands. The scope of the organisation has not been fully defined but it is anticipated that it would work with individual firms, and promote the industry as a whole.

Architectural Firms Association

(proposed future body)

The BNA as recognised the conflicting interests of architects and architectural firms, and is in the process of establishing a representative organisation specifically for architectural firms, similar to the architectural employers union in Denmark.

ARCHITECTURAL EXPORTING

Approximately 10 percent of all BNA members are internationally active, with international turnover accounting for 3 percent of the total architectural turnover for the industry. However, the BNA only represents about 65% of the industry and many of the larger exporting firms are not members. As might be expected, the majority of international commissions for BNA firms are in neighbouring Belgium, Germany and Luxembourg. A small number of firms are active further afield in Asia, Australia and North America.

How many firms are currently exporting?

It is not uncommon for Danish firms to compete for jobs in neighbouring Germany, Brussels and Germany. As a result there are a lot of smaller

Dutch firms that compete for jobs in these countries on a one off, ad hoc basis. In terms of firms working further afield, there are a small number of firms who are involved in long term strategic operations outside of this region Germany. These firms are:

Office of Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) Mecanoo

UN Studio MDRDV

Erich Van Egeraat KCAP

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experience & geographical presence?

In terms of age and experience, these firms have a mixed profile, but are all well established and all employ upwards of 50 people. The youngest of these firms, MVRDV was established in 1993 and the oldest, OMA, has been in existence since 1975.

Dutch architectural exporters are active in a wide range of sectors including healthcare, education, cultural & civic buildings, high-rise, residential and commercial. Dutch exporting firms have also had notable success in urban design and master planning projects and have been able to draw on a Dutch history of urban planning and land reclamation to compete for projects in this area.

Similar to Danish Architectural exporters, Dutch firms tend to operate on a high profile, design led strategy. This involves competing for high profile design led projects in a range of sectors, and developing design experience instead of expertise with a particular building typology. In line with such a strategy, firms tend to base themselves in the Netherlands and enter a country on a project only basis, completing much of the design work in the Dutch head office. OMA have developed a slightly longer term approach and have opened permanent offices in Hong Kong and New York. These have since become regional Asian and North American hubs and serve a wider geographical region on both a sales and

3.3 INDUSTRY EXPORT MODEL

INTERNATIONAL BRAND PERCEPTION

In 2009 Dutch Design Fashion Architecture (DDFA) (the body responsible for international promotion of the creative industries) published findings of research it had carried out into client perception of Dutch architects among potential Chinese and Indian clients. They found that in both countries these potential clients saw Dutch architecture as unique, simple, avant-garde and environmental friendly. Respondents who thought of Dutch architecture as unique tended to see its ecological value as a large part of that uniqueness. The study also found that potential clients thought of Dutch architects as being very environmentally aware and that they prioritise green design.

The level of awareness differed between the two regions, with Dutch architects being better known in India then in China. Indian clients had become aware of Dutch architecture through international publications (books & magazines) and by visiting The Netherlands and meeting Dutch people (during a visit, an exhibition or a conference). In China the awareness of the Dutch brand among potential clients was limited, and most were only aware of it through Rem Koolhaas of OMA and his CCTV building in Beijing.

In contrast to Danish and Finnish Firms, Dutch firms tend not to associate themselves with a national identity. Two firms contacted for this research stated specifically that they were international firms and not Dutch firms, and could only contribute on that basis. No firms felt that they benefited from being Dutch, or felt it added to the “product” they were offering clients. One firm in particular felt that in the light of a recent shift in Dutch politics to the

right, away from the traditional liberal ideals, that being Dutch may now have a negative impact when entering international markets.

Furthermore, firms felt that a close association with a national brand was not a sustainable long term strategy as in the design world countries can come in and out of fashion. They felt that offering a product that stood on its own merits and was independent of any national label allowed firms to sidestep any passing trends or negative association with their countries international image. One firm felt that maintaining an independent stance in this way allowed them greater control of their own public image.

Firms did note that one of the positive aspects of being Dutch was that it created as association with Rem Koolhas and OMA. One firm felt that clients who were aware of his work would look at other firms based in Rotterdam and in the Netherlands, and if these firms could offer a similar high end design product that they would stand a better chance of being invited to compete in architectural competitions. In support of this, since the emergence of OMA in the early 1990s, Rotterdam has become a Dutch architectural centre and is currently home to four of the five biggest international Dutch firms, the DDFA, the Architecture Fund and the National Architectural Institute.

INDUSTRY SUPPORT

The architectural industry in the Netherlands receives support from a number of different bodies, as detailed in the following section. Historically, industry level promotion of the architectural sector has not been seen as a priority and has only gained traction in the last two or three years. As such it is maybe too early to gauge the success of the efforts of these organisations. In some cases, international promotion efforts are only in development stage.