Curriculum Vitae of ir. M.W.M. Smits

 

Personal Details

 

Name:                                    Michiel Smits (Michaël Willem Maria)

Address:                                 Herculesstraat 44

Place:                                     Breda

Phone:                                   +31 6 10810674 (+31 76 5222915)

E-mail:                                    [email protected]

Date of birth:                           22-10-1983

Place of birth:                         Breda

Marital status:                         Unmarried

Personal registration num.:    139768336

Bank account num.:                8110868

Driver’s license type:              B            

 

 

Education

 

02/2009 - 07/2011:                 Master Architecture, Technical University, Delft link

                                               Degree attained

 

09/2006 - 02/2009:                 Bachelor Architecture, Avans College, Tilburg link

                                               Degree attained

 

09/2004 -09/2006:                  Bachelor Interior Design, AKV St.Joost, Breda link

After following extra courses at both the Academy of Architecture & Urbanity and the Tilburg Architecture BSc,I decided to change course and pursue a degree at the latter institute.

 

09/2000 - 09/2004:                 Technical school for Building Engineering, Baronie College, Breda link

Realized my first development project in Kenya as a graduation internship. Concerned the construction of a dam and water well, in cooperation with the local population.

 

09/1996 - 09/2000:                 Secondary education, Nassau Scholengemeenschap, Breda link

                                              

 

Professional Experience

 

10/2011 – Current                  Owner and Architect MWM Architecture (Breda) link

Architecture specialises not only in designing and visualising projects, but also in supervised projects abroad. We provide the blueprints, planning, calculations and we act (if requested) as project coordinator on site

 

10/2011 – Current                  Professor Architecture AVANS University of Applied Science (Tilburg, Den Bosch)

Professor of Architecture and also in the preliminary stages of the PhD route. This route will mainly concentrate around a research into the importance of self-designed living-environments.

 

08/2011 – 10/2011                 Junior Designer architectural firm Baudoin van Alphen (Breda) link

My duties consisted mainly of creating drawings.  I was responsible for the technical side of the designing process (surveying, detailing, etc.).

 

02/2010 – 07/2010                 Professor Architecture and Urban Design Msc 1-2, Technical University of Krakow, Poland link

For a period of 5 months, I worked as a teacher at the Technical University in Krakow. During that time, I gave lectures, tutored students, evaluated projects and organized events and presentations.

I worked together with different professors and teachers to learn how to prepare lessons and how to work with institutional frameworks and demands.

 

09/2008 - 12/2008:                 Intern architectural draughtsman/visualizer at architectural firm van den Heuvel (Breda) link

For 6 months, I worked as an employee at architectural firm van den Heuvel. My tasks covered all aspects of the building process. This includes deliberation with the client, setting up the first sketches and everything in between, up to completion.

I was responsible for both technical aspects (surveying, detailing, etc.) as well as the creative, communicative side of the design process (3d models, visualizations, movie creation, etc.)


08/2008 - 12/2008:                 Architectural draughtsman at architectural firm van den Heuvel, 16 hours/week (reference) link

                                               Ibid.                                       

                              

05/2003 – 7/2003:                  Architectural draughtsman at architectural firm Baudoin van Alphen (reference) link

For 2 months, I worked as an employee at architectural firm Baudoin van Alphen.

My tasks mainly consisted of drafting. I was the responsible party for the technical side. (surveying, detailing, etc.)

 

03/2003 – 5/2003:                  Intern architectural draughtsman at architectural firm Baudoin van Alphen (reference)  link

Ibid.

 

Additional activities

 

Workshops, Events and Publications

 

04/2011                                  Blog and articles students & teachers Avans College, Tilburg website link

04/2011                                  Publication project Oswiecim (Design project MSc1 TU Delft)

03/2011                                  Lecture at Avans College, Tilburg website link

03/2011                                  Article teachers and students to Kenya website link

12/2010                                  Article BN de Stem (on my graduation project and activities in Kenya) website link

07/2010                                  Exposition and lecture Art Boom Festival Krakow

06/2010                                  Publication article: “Responsibility and public space”. website link

10/2009                                  Group leader International workshop Oswiecim (two weeks fulltime).

07/2009                                  Group leader Design studio on the International Workshop Architecture, Barcelona

(two weeks fulltime).

12/2008                                  Project presentation for Peter Hollands and executive board (Avans)

08/2006                                  Winning submission Flying ambition competition (St.Joost)

08/2008                                  Organization overview exposition on Peter Eisenman (Avans)

12/2005                                  Winning submission reception desk international design week Breda (St.Joost)

12/2004                                  Winning submission product design (St.Joost)

-/2004                                     Media Kenya website link

 

 

Africa

 

04/2011                                  Host teachers and students Avans College (1 week) website link

Tasks: Organizing and hosting the location visit of a group of students and their teachers during one week. The location for their graduation project is the same site where I have been designing projects since 2008. As such, I have also been involved as a specialist in their graduation track.

 

03/2009 - current:                  Chairman Back2Africa Foundation (8 hours per month)

Tasks: The foundation has committed itself to assist other Dutch aid foundations who wish to develop locally. We form a think tank of various disciplines, who take up projects personally within the foundation. As chairman, I am responsible for guiding the (future) course of the foundation. That includes involving new partner organizations and collaborators.

 

05/2004 - current:                  Architect Back2Africa Foundation (6 hours per week)

Tasks: Designing building projects and advising various parties/stakeholders in sustainable development. This involves coming to an agreement with the funding partner in Holland on the commitments of our foundation in a specific project. Subsequently, I develop a strategy and design brief with the local partner, and deliver the pre-design and definitive design products.

 

 

Additional jobs

 

Note: I choose this selection of additional jobs to demonstrate how I once started as a dishwasher and ended up to become a sous-chef. I believe that my persistence and passion will get me very far, which is also evident in my educational history and the development work I do in Africa.

 

11/2007 - 09/2008:                 Sous-chef restaurant “Hook aan de haven”

 

11/2007 - 09/2008:                 Sous-chef  restaurant “Havana” 

 

01/2006 - 05/2007:                 Independent cook restaurant “Het Kabinet” 

 

01/2004 -04/ 2005:                 Team leader cleaning firm “Klien”

 

Miscellaneous skills

 

Languages:                            Dutch (native)

English (fluent)

German (adequate)

Computer skills:                      Autocad (good)

Vectorworks (adequate)

Sketch-up (good)

Photoshop (good)

Indesign (good)

Illustrator (good)

Premiere (good)

Microsoft Office Programs (good)

 

Additional skills

 

Due to years of working in rural areas and communicating with local tribes, which is often almost impossible, and directing project on top level, also training locals for different parts of the development process, from masonries to staff personal. I am very adaptable to all different parties within an organization

 

In my point of view, these are skills which are essential to making a project successful.