Nicolle Flagiello

Nicolle graduated from the University of Amsterdam with a master's degree in economics, organization and management, and European studies. She worked for a few years in the financial services industry before coming on board as office manager at Paul de Ruiter Architects. At the time, the practice consisted of just five people.

“Since we were such a small team, I did pretty much everything there was to do besides design: from PR and submitting tender documents to administration, which back then wasn’t especially complicated.”

A lot has changed since then. The team now consists of more than 25 people, and technology is playing an increasingly important role.

“Whereas before you could safely treat the different functions as separate disciplines, now you must deal with them as overlapping and interrelated processes. You couldn’t function otherwise.”

Nicolle ensures the smooth running of the office in every respect; that means not only making sure the virtual systems run as they should, but also keeping the office free of unnecessary distractions and concerns so that everyone can focus on their work.

“I love my role, as I do the atmosphere here. Paul’s enthusiasm is contagious, and you feel that in the office every day and see it reflected in our designs.”