Meet Rolf Smans, who has been working as a design coordinator at Pellikaan for two years now and feels right at home.

Rolf has been working at Pellikaan since 2022. Before that, he already gained the necessary experience. ‘Before this, I worked for two and a half years at Van Wijnen in housing construction. I really enjoyed doing this, but after a number of projects I had seen housing construction and wanted a bit more variety.’

Education

‘At secondary school, I had chosen the subject package Economics and Society, which I completed. However, I didn’t see a future for myself in this, so I changed tack by studying architecture. I did this at Avans University of Applied Sciences in Tilburg.’

Pellikaan

‘In the summer of 2022, I made the decision to quit Van Wijnen because I got a call from Pellikaan. I then went for an interview and it felt right away. Now, two years later, I still enjoy working here.’

But who exactly is Rolf?

Rolf is a hardworking colleague at Pellikaan who enjoys playing football with his friends in his spare time. ‘Every Sunday I can be found on the pitch with my football team. I enjoy doing this on weekends and of course a party is always welcome too!’

Rolf describes himself as cocky and chaotic, but at the same time precise. ‘At Pellikaan, this is sometimes a challenge because I get a lot of freedom in the work I do, which is very nice on the one hand, but on the other hand also requires self-discipline and organisation.’

Job satisfaction

Rolf is a design coordinator and is currently working on our project in Zoetermeer, The Netherlands. ‘I like the fact that at Pellikaan you have influence on the design. This is something I missed in housing construction. There, it occasionally happened that it was too late to solve a design error. At Pellikaan, we are often on the design side, which means you already have influence at that stage or even that this is Pellikaan’s responsibility, depending on the form of contract. This can involve both technical and aesthetic matters.’

Rolf also finds that no day is the same. ‘This is due to the diversity in projects, the variation in responsibilities within these projects and the colourful colleagues. The aforementioned freedom to organise your work in your own way also plays a role in this.’

Because Zoetermeer is not around the corner for Rolf, he stays overnight with colleagues every week. ‘I really enjoy that. You get a different bond with your colleagues and that makes the work even more fun. In addition, at Pellikaan you have the opportunity to get to know your colleagues better through the many outings, get-togethers and overnight stays. That’s different from when you only speak to each other during working hours.’