“If I don’t know what lies ahead, I must know who is standing beside me!”
The restoration of Utrecht’s historic wharf area came to a standstill under standard project management. Distrust, stagnation, and a risk-averse approach made collaboration impossible. A new team opted for a radical reversal: embracing uncertainty. “Every five meters you encounter centuries-old surprises —you simply can’t predict everything.”
With this message “we don’t know everything,” a new way of working emerged, built on openness, trust, and shared ownership. The idea of collaboration based on core values became the guiding principle.
During start-up sessions, these core values were defined, signed by everyone involved, and even featured on the first page of every contract. In this way, uncertainty became manageable and a new sense of stability arose amid uncertainty. The result: a completed project, fewer rules, more enjoyment, generosity toward one another, and working together to do what is best for everyone. In summer 2025, the Utrecht Core Values Project was scaled up from a ‘pilot’ to a ‘major contract’ with a duration of nine years.
In October 2025, the research collaboration Wharf Area Utrecht as a Workplace of Hope was formally signed by Utrecht councilor Rachel Streefland; Erwin Horsten (Director of Concreet Projectmanagement); Karst-Jan Beens (Director of Beens Group); Arjan van Rijn (Project Director, Wharf Area Renovation Program); Twan Kleeven (program lead for collaboration, City Deal Timeless Canals); and Jan Jorrit Hasselaar (Research Lead, Hope-driven Transition to a Future-Proof Living Environment).
* Quote by Twan Kleeven
