History

The early years

Jan Pieters starts to learn his craft at Belle Ingenieursbureau in Haarlem in the early 1970s. His employer collaborates closely with Architectenbureau Brakel & Buma, an influential firm of architects that played a decisive role in post-war architecture in the Netherlands for many decades.  As an ambitious and self-taught professional with a clear vision of his own, Pieters decides to start his own consultancy business, “J.M Pieters B.V.”, in 1974.

In 1979, Hein Brakel graduates from Delft University of Technology and, thanks to Jan Pieters who knows his father H.W. Brakel (Architectenbureau Brakel & Buma) well, he makes the acquaintance of ir. T. Tukker in Amsterdam, where he starts his career as a structural engineer. He soon becomes involved in several special projects abroad and regularly works together with Jan Pieters. On 1 January 1983, he accepts a position as partner at J.M. Pieters B.V., which is now expanding rapidly.

Sustained growth in the 80s and 90s

An ever fuller order book leads to a second office in Utrecht in 1988. The name changes to Pieters Bouwtechniek and the familiar block logo makes its first appearance. New offices are opened in Delft (1993) and Amsterdam (1997) as the company continues to grow. In the same period, Melchert Leguijt, a dedicated professional, succeeds Jan Pieters as co-director of the company. The central role played by Pieters Bouwtechniek in the extensive new Stadshart Almere development leads to the establishment of a project office that becomes a fully-fledged new branch office in 1998.

Prestigious projects & special architecture

In the 1990s, the number of projects involving unusual architecture also increases sharply. Collaborations with architectenbureau MVRDV for Villa VPRO in Hilversum (winner of the Concrete Award 1997) and the WoZoCo apartments in Amsterdam considerably strengthen Pieters' feeling and affinity for special architecture. The integration of structural engineering design and architecture becomes increasingly important: the WoZoCo apartments and Villa VPRO incorporate feats of structural engineering such as lengthy cantilevers, pre-stressed beams that stop just in front of columns and curved floors that are still much admired today. Many trendsetting projects follow, such as the Passenger Terminal (2000), the Combined heat and power station Utrecht (2005), Heimolen crematorium (2008), the Volkshotel (2014) and the Timmerhuis (2015). 

Cutting-edge designs & innovative techniques

In the period up to 2010, innovation starts to play an increasingly important role. In cooperation with Danish company Hi-Con, Pieters develops the ultra-slim USHC balconies (winner of the Concrete Award 2013 for Huizen het Oosten) for the Dutch market, one of the first projects brought to completion by the Innovation department, which had been set up in 2008. The extremely slender and flowing Catharinabrug is another progressive project that uses UHSC. These pioneering projects illustrate Pieters’ ability to seamlessly combine architectural elegance with state-of-the-art technology.