Facilities @ Management

3.11 Integration of Business and User-Centered Corporate Real Estate and Facilities Management

Theo van der Voordt

Personal Involvement in FM

A red thread in my academic carrier of over 40 years is the development and sharing of knowledge about the experience and use of the built environment, including offices, health care facilities, childcare facilities, learning environments, housing, and public spaces. The latter is currently part of urban FM. My main drive to do this for such a long time is the willingness to contribute to an environment that enables people to conduct their activities in a satisfactory, comfortable, efficient, and effective way, and that fits with the preferences, needs, and values of organizations, customers, end users, and society as a whole. In other words: to contribute to user-centered and value-based briefing, design, management, evaluation, and further improvement of buildings, facilities, and services.

I started my carrier as an engineer. However, during my study in civil engineering I noticed that I am less interested in concrete, steel and building technology, and more in what drives human beings. I became more aware of this in my first job as a construction engineer. After thorough consideration I left my job and applied for a job as a research assistant at the Centre for Architectural Research at the Delft University of Technology. This small group included sociologists, psychologists, an expert in acoustics, an economist, and an urban planner. ...