Robin Christofi
Employee portrait
Robin Christofi
‘I see myself as a bridge builder, both literally and figuratively’
Robin Christofi studied civil engineering and social sciences in the United Kingdom. Now he leads a multicultural team of digital designers at Witteveen+Bos in Belgium. He is enthusiastic about BIM technology not only for its technical advantages, but also because it brings people together.
Different cultures
‘I’ve been working at Witteveen+Bos for nine years now. I grew up in Cyprus with a Cypriot father and a Dutch mother. I studied in the UK, which was a logical choice considering the colonial connection. English is the second language in Cyprus. Later, I lived and worked in both Spain and the UK. I feel most comfortable when I’m surrounded by different cultures. Now I live in Belgium because this is where Europe comes together. That’s certainly true of Brussels, where I first lived, but Antwerp too.’
Eight countries
‘Our team of 3D designers consists of twelve people with eight different nationalities. My colleagues have backgrounds including Cuban, Croatian, Italian, Filipino and Spanish. Multiculturalism is a great strength. In order to work together, you have to put yourself in someone else’s shoes. This increases openness and expands the room for creativity.
As well as being a group leader and designer, I’m a member of the BIM accelerator group. We want to stimulate knowledge and the use of 3D BIM technology at the company so that infrastructure projects – such as tunnel design and construction – are executed faster and better. BIM brings all the project team experts together, gets everybody off their individual islands, and ensures everyone is speaking the same language. That suits me. I see myself as a bridge builder, both literally and figuratively. BIM is a tool for improving collaboration.’
Collective achievement
‘Our design team works on projects of various sizes. From large and complex projects in Belgium – such as the Oosterweel Link, Brussels Airport, the Port of Antwerp, and Groenplaats – to medium-sized projects like the construction of a bicycle tunnel or bridge. Although these latter projects are smaller in scale, they’re just as complex.
A good example is a bicycle tunnel we worked on in Genk which featured a multi-level junction. As designers, we collaborated with many other experts at W+B Belgium. Their specialisations included soil stability, landscape architecture, ecology, and building and road construction. A project like that is a collective achievement. Creating something beautiful together – that’s what I enjoy.’
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