Ruben Vrijhoef (1972) has been Professor of Building Future Cities since 2012. The mission of this Research group is to give impetus to innovation and greater sustainability in urban construction – particularly in the areas of circular construction, collaboration within the chain, lean construction, sustainable building logistics, participatory urban redevelopment and data-driven urban development and construction.
Ruben earned a degree in Civil Engineering in 1998 from Delft University of Technology, and went on to obtain a PhD in 2011 for his research into chain integration in the construction sector. Before this, he worked at HBG (BAM) and TNO as an R&D specialist. He also works as a researcher and lecturer at Delft University of Technology’s Management in the Built Environment department.
In addition, he is active as an entrepreneur and consultant in the construction sector. His clients include local authorities, commissioning clients and market parties involved in new-build projects, renovation and maintenance. He also gives lectures for on-the-job programmes like the Ketenacademie and the master classes organised by Jong Bouwend Nederland. Vrijhoef is a board member of the foundation Lean Construction Netwerk Netherlands.
Fields of expertise
- Construction process innovations
- Collaboration in the chain
- Construction logistics and lean management
Publications
- Distribution of Power and Value Crucial for a Successful Circular Economy Transition
- Identifying the merits of bottom-up urban development theory-based evaluation using a value map model
- Assessing the multi-layered value of urban development policy The case of developing a ‘creative’ and ‘circular’ district in the city of Utrecht