MY STORY

Gerrit has a wealth of experience which ranges from affordable homes, luxury residential, religious buildings, hospitality, aged care, health care, and commercial developments.

Gerrit started his professional career in New Zealand after 7 years experience in South Africa. His initial employment was with Sentraal Wes, the largest Cooperation in the Southern hemisphere, where he was responsible for the design and documentation of numerous retail centres, and industrial developments. During his time in South Africa he was leading a team which specialised in the design and construction of projects in remote locations. Some of these particularly challenging projects included a casino and a hotel on an island near Mozambique.

Gerrit was a director of a successful architectural company before joining Babbage Consultants in September 2004 to gain a wider range of NZ experience, including skills in the Alternative Solutions area.

He has a very good relationship with the Territorial Authorities and one of the first who was recognised for the high quality of documentation provided which resulted in being allowed an exemption from pre-lodgement meetings with Auckland City Council.

Regular tasks he performs includes initial site investigation, preliminary TOPO plans, feasibility studies, concept- and detailed design, specifications and building consent documentation. On-site he also performs tasks involving project monitoring, product- and construction verification and acts as a liaison between territorial authorities, contractors and the client.

Most commercial and retail projects and some residential projects would often require an in-depth project analysis, also known as a feasibility study. A feasibility study is not just about numbers but also includes aspects of social, environmental, economic, and sustainability factors.

Gerrit aims to understand the objectives and end goal of each individual client to enable them to make informed decisions which will affect people long after the initial decision-makers are gone.

The information from a feasibility study performed by Gerrit is a very helpful tool to set guidelines for future decision makers which ranges from creating a maintenance schedule, day to day operation and long term vision planning. It is not uncommon for clients to use these studies to create a business plan to help them with further funding and grants.