Sustainable business trips: B‑architecten makes them look easy

Designing is their core task – from door handle to city district – but they also invest in innovative research. They publish and discuss, initiate their own initiatives, and seize opportunities to push the boundaries of their profession.

They are part of the ‘B’ group, together with:

• B-bis: specialists in private projects and interior assignments
• B-city: specialists in urban projects
• B-juxta: specialists in restoration and heritage

Their goal? ‘Improving the architectural landscape’, according to Klaas Adriaensen.

Sustainable architecture and mobility

Klaas: “At B-architecten, we are working towards a sustainable society. That starts with our architecture. Logically, we extend that mentality to the way we travel.”

He explains: “Architects often need to go to projects and appointments. We looked for a general solution to get our people from point A to point B as quickly and sustainably as possible.”

Did planning your business trips always go smoothly?

Klaas: “We used to have a series of paper tickets here, for example for the train. There was also a car that was away whenever someone needed it, along with some bicycles.” Mobility management was an administrative mess.

“Before B-architecten was also present in Brussels and Ghent, everyone came to Antwerp for the right bike keys, car keys, tickets … We then booked these in our Outlook calendars.”

How did you solve the administrative nightmare?

Klaas: “We switched to the Olympus app. That way, our architects can easily move around to their projects all over Belgium.

We no longer have to look for car keys, Cambio cards or train passes. The Olympus app combines all mobility services and replaces our administration.”

How was the transition to the Olympus app?

Klaas: “Very simple. We first let a group of five employees who often had to go out on the job test out the app. They only gave positive feedback.

We quickly decided to roll out the app for the whole group.

By lowering the subscription rate for employees who barely use the app, we keep costs under control.”

How do you experience the use of Olympus Mobility for your business trips?

Klaas: “Wonderful! There are always cars and train tickets available.

It is also much simpler administratively for our architects. They have the Olympus app at hand and can buy their tickets without any problems.”

We talked to architect Stéphanie Collier. She and her colleagues use the Olympus app to travel sustainably to projects.

Even in Stéphanie’s private life, she puts the car aside. She and her family prefer to hop on a bicycle or use public transport.

Her favorite mode of transport? “That’s got to be the train.”

Has the Olympus app changed sustainable mobility for you?

Stephanie: “I keep discovering new mobility services. Because they’re all bundled into one app, I try them out as well.”

She adds: “Because of the Olympus app, I take public transport more often than before.”

Klaas picks up on this and says: “The fewer steps you have to take to book your transport, the more you will make use of different forms of transport.”

He continues: “We are a relatively young team. We do not have the mindset to cross the whole country by car. With the Olympus app, we can still go anywhere without using a car.”

And that is clear in their commuting as well. Klaas states: “At this moment there are hardly any employees who come to work by car.”

What are the plans for the future in terms of mobility?

Klaas: “Let’s keep going down our current path!”

We certainly agree with that. Great work!