Mária van Oirschot-Rákóczi

Can you introduce yourself?

“My name is Mária van Oirschot-Rákóczi. As you’ll notice, my surname is both Dutch and Hungarian. I was born in Hungary, where I graduated as an architect, but I have been living in the Netherlands for four years now, as I am married to a Dutchman.”

“In Hungary, architects are involved in both architecture and engineering. Here in Netherlands, these disciplines are somewhat more separated. So when I came here, I had to decide whether I should focus on architecture or on construction. Since I have always attached great value to the knowledge of building processes, I chose the latter.”

How and why did you end up working at Bulsink?

“After working at a construction firm for two and a half years, I needed to look for new challenges. When I arrived at Bulsink for my first interview and saw the building, I immediately thought: this looks great! Whatever it is they do here, this is where I want to work.”

“During an orientation day, I got to know the work and the colleagues a little better, and discovered that the organisation really suited me. Previously, I had worked on large projects that lasted months or even years. At Bulsink, projects progress much faster and are more versatile.”

What can you tell us about your work as a BIM Team Leader and BIM Modeller?

“At the moment our team consists of eight people; four permanent employees, an apprentice and three part-time colleagues. Each of them have their own strengths. One has a great deal of architectural knowledge, the other knows everything about Revit, a programme that we use. As a team leader it is important that you know who is good at what. I also try to inspire and help colleagues. Finding solutions together.”

“Collaboration is important at Bulsink. We also work closely with other departments; we constantly stay in touch with the rest of the company and with our customers, because we are involved in projects at an early stage to help our colleagues and customers figure out how we can build things better and smarter.”

“We prepare zoning plans, calculation drawings, technical drawings. We model almost everything in 3D with Virtual Reality and, since recently, with Augmented Reality as well. That is great fun, for our customers too. Some customers have never seen it before, so you can imagine their surprise. These new techniques are not only fun, though; they also ensure fewer errors and more speed at the construction site.”

FOR ULTRA-FAST CONSTRUCTION, YOU NEED ULTRA-GOOD PREPARATION.

The Bulsink organisation uses B.U.I.L.D. as its core values: Brand-conscious, Ultra-fast, Inspiring, Leading and Determined. Can you pick one or two of these core values and explain what they mean to you?

“They are all very important to our entire organisation, but if I could pick one for our department, it would be ultra-fast. Because, for ultra-fast construction, you need ultra-good preparation and that’s where we come in.”

“If you invest more time in the preparation of a project and think carefully about all the details, everything will go much faster in its execution. With a new customer, for example, we first make 3D models of all kinds of elements such as walls, floors, finishings, lighting fixtures, furniture, et cetera. That takes a lot of time and effort for the first store. But once you have all those elements, you can use them repeatedly. This means you can build each subsequent store much faster.”

“For me personally, though, I would say inspiration. Not taking turns to do your own work, but going through the entire process together. When you work with inspiring and enthusiastic colleagues and customers, you get enthusiastic and inspired yourself.”