{"id":2184,"date":"2025-10-02T16:49:48","date_gmt":"2025-10-02T14:49:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/werkplaatsvanhoop.nl\/academie\/wervengebied-utrecht-als-werkplaats-van-hoop\/"},"modified":"2026-01-22T17:50:59","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T16:50:59","slug":"start-of-research-collaboration-in-utrecht","status":"publish","type":"academie","link":"https:\/\/werkplaatsvanhoop.nl\/en\/academie\/start-of-research-collaboration-in-utrecht\/","title":{"rendered":"Utrecht&#8217;s wharf renovation program"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-vertical is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-fe9cc265 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">&#8220;If I don\u2019t know what lies ahead, I must know who is standing beside me!&#8221;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The restoration of Utrecht\u2019s 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. \u201cEvery five meters you encounter centuries-old surprises \u2014you simply can\u2019t predict everything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With this message <em>\u201cwe don\u2019t know everything,\u201d<\/em> 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>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 \u2018pilot\u2019 to a \u2018major contract\u2019 with a duration of nine years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In October 2025, the research collaboration <em>Wharf Area Utrecht as a Workplace of Hope<\/em> 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).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>* Quote by Twan Kleeven<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"751\" src=\"https:\/\/werkplaatsvanhoop.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sven-de-koe-ywjVAAg7F64-unsplash-1024x751.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1507\" srcset=\"https:\/\/werkplaatsvanhoop.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sven-de-koe-ywjVAAg7F64-unsplash-1024x751.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/werkplaatsvanhoop.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sven-de-koe-ywjVAAg7F64-unsplash-300x220.jpg 300w, https:\/\/werkplaatsvanhoop.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sven-de-koe-ywjVAAg7F64-unsplash-768x564.jpg 768w, https:\/\/werkplaatsvanhoop.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sven-de-koe-ywjVAAg7F64-unsplash-1536x1127.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/werkplaatsvanhoop.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sven-de-koe-ywjVAAg7F64-unsplash-2048x1503.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Collaboration based on core values<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":2186,"parent":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"academie-type":[],"class_list":["post-2184","academie","type-academie","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/werkplaatsvanhoop.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/academie\/2184","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/werkplaatsvanhoop.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/academie"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/werkplaatsvanhoop.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/academie"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/werkplaatsvanhoop.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/werkplaatsvanhoop.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2186"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/werkplaatsvanhoop.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2184"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"academie-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/werkplaatsvanhoop.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/academie-type?post=2184"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}