The EFL  Conference, recently taking place on November 18 and 20 in Amsterdam, was a big succes for all attendees. More than 50 guests from 8 countries attended a 3 day program, packed with workshops, speeches, field visit and the General Assembly.

Four new members and associates have been welcomed, including Housing Association Volkshaard from Gent (Belgium), Parteon from Wormerveer (Netherlands), Tafkaoo Architects from Austria, CBRE from Berlin (Germany) and Bureau 073 from ‘s-Hertogenbosch (Netherlands).

The satisfaction survey, held directly after the conference, showed us that all attendees assessed the Conference as Good or Very Good. Most valued elements included the networking, the field visits hosted by Eigen Haard Amsterdam and the workshops.

New element of this edition of the conference are the registrations by video ! Workshops and Key note speeches have been filmed and are available via the EFL website.

The Key Note speeches, all covering the topic “Innovation” as central theme of this Conference, highlighted the following topics:

Colin Roy (GLH Hotels, UK) made the audience aware about the huge challenges in the hospitality industry as result of the fast growth of ‘booking portals’ like Booking.com or Expedia. Business models had been completely revised with an absolute focus on customer satisfaction and adding value to the business by new services to customers.

 Don Ward (Construction Excellence, UK) focused on the innovation drivers in the construction industry. Main message: create evidence of good quality and deliver. Perform Research, Benchmarking, Demonstration. Create Networks, provide Guidance, Influence and Leadership as main drivers behind innovation.

Carol Hol (Stichting Digital Manufacturing, NL) demonstrated the fast progress in digital design and 3 D printing. The ‘Third Industrial Revolution’.

Lionel Toutain Rousec (Cité Creation, F) , convinced the audience of the power of ‘murals’ on large social estates to enhance self confidence of the residents and the property value. Demonstration of projects in Berlin, Lyon and others cities. Co –creation with the tenants is the key for CSR and neighborhood improvement.

During the General Assembly, the Board thanked Nico Nieman, Treasur of EFL since 2008 and Heinwillem de Boer, representative of the associates of their commitment to EFL. Nico Nieman has recently retired and been followed up by Mieke van den Berg (Eigen Haard).

During the Field Visits, hosted by Eigen Haard, the attendees visited two projects in Amsterdam. The first one to the project ‘Stadstuin Overtoom’ (Amsterdam West) , a demolishing and rebuild project based on the principles of re-use of materials and energy efficiency.  

The second project in the city center district of ‘Czaar Peter buurt’ , was a classic example of renovation small and old apartments into completely renovated apartments, both for social rent and for sale.