Everyone happy
‘Work that feels like a hobby’ is how Hans van Ginkel describes the construction company he has been running with his brother Bertus for 22 years now.
“Ever since I was young I have been working in construction, it allows me to express my creativity,” says Hans van Ginkel of HaBé Bouwen in Stijl. After obtaining his contractor’s papers, he and his brother Bertus chose self-employment. The construction company now operates in an area between, say, Arnhem and Amsterdam, with a team of more than 20 professionals. Specialization: luxury homes.
“My drive is to make people happy,” Hans van Ginkel says in the presentation room of HaBé Bouwen in Stijl on Krommeweg 1, between Lunteren and Ederveen. The starting point for doing business, remarkably, is whether client and builder fit together. “The construction time of a luxury home is like a year, and if you don’t feel each other out then, it doesn’t work. This also applies to the architect. We like to work in a construction team with the client and architect. It is important that they are on the same page. This is the only way to ensure that everyone is happy at the end of the process.”
The bar is high
This (call it social) angle works. Over the past decades, HaBé has built a wonderful portfolio together. Those who browse through it really see all architectural styles: from 1930s to cubist, from farmhouse to rural and thatched. The latter, thatching, by the way, is in the DNA of the family; father Van Ginkel had a thatcher business and two brothers are still active in this craft. Zooming in on photos of completed homes, one immediately notices the detailed and high-quality finishes. “Together with our team, we have the passion to create something beautiful and set the bar high in doing so.”
Strict construction direction
For many clients, HaBé truly builds the home of a lifetime. Because a construction process is not an everyday occurrence for the average customer, builders take them by the hand and organize the process in detail. Hans van Ginkel: “That means regular construction meetings, with the client, architect and subcontractors present. Within a day, the construction report is provided to all parties involved and they know what tasks are expected of them, which works super well.”
‘Working visit’
In the past corona year 2020, Hans van Ginkel has seen a reassessment of the concept of home. Also for himself and his family, this is the central place in life. “Your home should feel like a nice coat, the place where you really come home. That has less to do with luxury and more to do with a sense of calm and warmth.” Appreciation for one’s own home and hearth also increased after a “working visit” to Zambia. “Together with one of my sons, with a team from the Habitat Foundation, I built several cottages measuring eight by three meters. In such a cottage, they can easily live with ten people.”
This article previously appeared in the Maaike Woonmagazine, read the entire magazine here
See here the projects of HaBé Bouwen In Stijl
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