10 years of the Havenhuis: a pioneering project that Bureau Bouwtechniek helped to shape

15.10.2026

In September 2016, the New Havenhuis in Antwerp opened its doors. The design by Zaha Hadid Architects has already become an international architectural icon. For Bureau Bouwtechniek, the project also marked an important milestone: it served as the starting point for the expansion of our BIM team and gave a significant boost to our expertise in façade engineering.

Team Havenhuis

From Team Architecture (public sector Flanders) (2)

ir. arch. Gert Biebauw

Director
Head of Finance
Project architect

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ir. arch. Gert Biebauw

Director
Head of Finance
Project architect

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Gert became a civil engineer-architect at KULeuven in 2000. In 2005, he became BB'er where he has been financial director since 2018. Besides being a project architect, Gert is also part of Team Lowie.

Gert somewhat likes to play to his BB capabilities in the collaborations he enters into with design teams. Besides loads or technical knowledge and organisational acumen, he also deploys his bone-in-the-concrete wit to strengthen teams. He wears that same down-to-earth hat when leading BB through financially healthy waters. If this allows him to free up euror space for innovation or initiatives with added social value, it awakens a campfire pure bard in him.

arch. Ilse Deckmyn

Project architect

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arch. Ilse Deckmyn

Project architect

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llse became an architect at St-Lucas Brussels in 2003. She has been a BB'er since 2006. She is part of Team Architecture (French-speaking).

Contributing to a sustainable future that is also socially inclusive is what motivates Ilse to get to work every day. She lights up when she can realise her dream in collaboration with passionate architects who are equally ambitious in this area. She becomes truly enthusiastic when quality, precision and the synergy between architecture and construction technology come together perfectly.

From Team Knowledge Innovation & Technology (2)

prof. arch. Jan Moens

General Director
Managing Director

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prof. arch. Jan Moens

General Director
Managing Director

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Jan became an architect at the Higher Architecture Institute St.-Lucas in Ghent, is an architect expert (building pathology) and flat roof specialist. He founded Bureau Bouwtechniek in 1995.

Jan sits on various committees, working groups, professional networks and professional groups relevant to the future of building.

Since 2003, Jan Moens has been a professor at Ghent University, Department of Architecture and Urban Planning.

Jan gets excited by projects with a complex challenge. The scale is not necessarily relevant. As long as the building-technical challenge is big enough, he enjoys working on it. Whoever can surprise Jan has shot the main bird. Bearing in mind his own motto 'we travel on me to learn', he enjoys new ideas and fresh angles. If his expertise has a positive impact on a problematic situation, that makes him particularly happy. It will be even better if it soon turns out that he has moved a stone in the way people think about building.

ir. arch. Nadja Van Houten

Director
Head of Innovation and Research
Expert circular building

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ir. arch. Nadja Van Houten

Director
Head of Innovation and Research
Expert circular building

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Nadja became a civil engineer-architect at UGent in 1997. She is also certified in Fire Safety Engineering and a member of Buildwise's Fire Safety Technical Committee. Nadja became a BB'er in 1998. She is a member of Team Knowledge, Innovation & Technology.

Nadja enjoys being at the forefront of change. Especially if they lead to new opportunities for BB in general or growth opportunities for colleagues in particular. Her door is always open for challenging projects and difficult questions. She keeps her finger on the pulse of innovation, both in terms of the transition to a better built environment and innovations in our working methods and internal processes. Nadja gets really happy when she is surrounded by colleagues who enthusiastically rave about the boundaries they have set for themselves. That's fine with apéro.

From Team Computer Aided Design & BIM (1)

prof. ir. arch. Paulus Present

Expert BIM & digital innovation

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prof. ir. arch. Paulus Present

Expert BIM & digital innovation

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Paulus became an ir. arch. at Ghent University in 2008, option Architectural Design and Construction Engineering. In 2008 he became a BB'er, until 2023 he was one of the inspirational forces behind Team Computer Aided Design & BIM. At the end of 2023, he made the switch to Team Knowledge, Innovation & Technology.

Since 2016 Paulus has been part of Buildwise's Digital Construction Technical Committee and since the end of 2019 he has been a professor at UGent in the field of BIM and digital design techniques.

Paul loves solutions. And even more of looking for them. Like looking for new ways to optimise and streamline projects and processes. He is happy when he can make a colleague see the wood for the trees again. Reducing chaos in any area and getting things clear and sharp gives him satisfaction.

From Team Safety (1)

arch. Barbara Arts

Project architect
Safety coordinator

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arch. Barbara Arts

Project architect
Safety coordinator

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Barbara became an architect at the Henry Vande Velde Institute in Antwerp in 2002, safety coordinator Niv B in 2003) and safety coordinator Niv A in 2010. She has been a BB'er since 2002 where she is part of Team Architecture (public sector Flanders).

From Team Renovation, Restoration & Maintenance (1)

ir. arch. Arno Van Hulle

Project architect
Maintenance consultant

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ir. arch. Arno Van Hulle

Project architect
Maintenance consultant

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Arno became an ir. arch. at Ghent University in 2009. For three years he was there as scientific collaborator for the TETRA project Building with glass and adhesives. Since 2014, Arno has been a BB'er and is part of Team Renovation, Restoration & Maintenance.

For Arno, the meaning in his job is in what he calls detective work: (under)investigating the cause of defects in a building, discovering what makes a building special and finding a possible improvement to it, energetically or technically. Once the investigation is over, he makes it a point of honor to subtly but firmly convince the client to implement the technical solution we came up with. How he does that is our best kept secret.

10 years of the Havenhuis: a pioneering project that Bureau Bouwtechniek helped to shape

BIM: a leap into the unknown

Façade engineering: making complex geometry feasible

From pioneering work to structural expertise

Structural engineering expertise meets architectural ambition

Ten years after its completion, the Havenhuis remains more than just a remarkable showcase project. It reminds us how the courage to challenge existing ways of working can lay the foundations for new knowledge, new collaborations and further growth.

Team Havenhuis

ir. arch. Gert Biebauw

arch. Ilse Deckmyn

prof. arch. Jan Moens

ir. arch. Nadja Van Houten

prof. ir. arch. Paulus Present

arch. Barbara Arts

ir. arch. Arno Van Hulle

New Port House Antwerp

In de press

Gert Biebauw speaking in Plan Magazine

Nieuw Havenhuis in de pers