Do you have a project that requires creativity and craftsmanship? Jop is ready to work with you. Contact him here.
THE WORLD IS MY PLAYING FIELD. MORE AND MORE CLIENTS FROM ABROAD SEE MY WORK AND WANT A ‘JOP VAN DRIEL STAIRCASE’. THIS IS THE KIND OF CHALLENGE I REALLY LIKE: WORKING WITH LOCAL PROFESSIONALS AND TEMPORARILY RENTING A WORKSPACE IN THE COUNTRY OF THE CLIENT.
DIFFERENT ROLES
Before I start I always look at what is the most practical solution for the project. For instance in Italy at Lake Como where I was building my waterfall staircase, I devised a system to make transportation easier. I made the staircase in the Netherlands and then in two phases I assembled it at Villa Marco, naturally in close consultation with the architect and the contractors.
I play different roles during a project. As the designer of the staircase I am the supervisor when I work with local professionals. I know exactly what I want and what is possible. But at the same time I can be the craftsman who makes the ornaments himself for instance.
THE IBIZA PROJECT
It also happens that somebody just wants to have my advice. There was this villa under construction in Ibiza. The Dutch owners wanted to use my knowledge for a staircase. They actually had a problem with form and function. They wanted to have a staircase that looked good, but was comfortable at the same time. The underlying question was: how do you get the proportions of the steps right? What is the good width and what is the good height? So I flew to Ibiza, I advised them and offered to make two designs.
FROM ADVICE TO A BEAUTIFUL STAIRCASE
They chose one of the designs, but still were not sure if ‘the walk’ of the staircase would be good. They asked me if I could make a demo staircase. Of course that was not a problem. So I stayed for two more weeks and made the entire staircase from MDF. After testing it thoroughly, the client approved the design. Then I flew home to make the staircase in real wood. But before I started I got a phone call: they changed their minds and wanted the staircase to be in concrete. They asked me if I could guide the local carpenters to make the molds for the steps. So I flew to Ibiza again, this time for a month. I helped the men with the concrete molds. The collaboration with them was great. After the molds were done, I stayed in Ibiza for another two months to finish the stairs. So what started as just an advice, ended up in staying more than three months in Ibiza making a beautiful staircase.
Do you want to hire Jop van Driel for advice, a design or to build a whole staircase, anywhere in the world? Just contact him.