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News·January 28, 2025

Bas Heessels joins the Management team!

 

We are excited to announce that as of January 2025, Bas has joined the management team of OKRA as an associate.  He has been an essential part of OKRA since 2013, and his dedication, passion, and expertise have truly shaped our success. As he embarks on this exciting new chapter, we couldn’t be more excited to see him continue to grow, lead, and inspire! We asked him some questions about his journey here and his future ahead.

 

What impact do you aim to make at OKRA as an associate?

“As an associate, I want to build on OKRA’s strength in creating spaces that bring people together. It’s about creating an environment where everyone feels encouraged and valued because that energy reflects in the spaces we design. What makes OKRA truly special is the positivity and support within the team — you can always find a smile here — and I want to ensure that spirit continues to thrive as we take on new challenges.”

 
 

What would you like to achieve with your work?

“I believe that people can thrive in a pleasant environment, which is why we’re dedicated to creating better spaces for a better world. It’s interesting how in today’s society media is focused more on the individual, the algorithms show things people want to see, and public space is the only actual physical place where all types of people still meet. It is the place where people come together, and we can create interesting environments to initiate that better”.

 

Creator of meaningful places

Which projects make you proud and why?

Park Oosterspoorbaan, my very first project as a project leader at OKRA, and we see a lot of enthusiasm towards it since then. It was truly created with the inhabitants, so it touches the core of my values and passions.

While working on European Medicines Agency project, we were under an incredibly tight schedule, but through close cooperation with engineers, architects, and the client we successfully moved from the design phase to the final execution in just two years—which is crazy fast! The execution looks amazing, and it is inspiring we achieved it in a short time span.

Over the years the complexity of the projects I am working on has increased. Now I am involved in an interesting large project at Brussels Airport, together with the architects and engineers. Hopefully, we can share more about that project soon!”

Discover projects Bas worked on