6 minute read
The underwater world of the Oosterdok
from ODE Magazine 4 ENG
by bpd-nl
A façade that reflects water, sky and clouds may sound fabulous, but it’s a technical nightmare, say Joost Schins and Hans Jansen from Scheldebouw, the façade builders for the City Campus on Oosterdokseiland.
Façades on the City Campus will feature the image of a ripple in the water, representing a reflection of the water in the Oosterdok. It’s a great architectural idea, but how do you put it into practice? Creating a geometric replica of this image was quite a challenge, explains Hans Jansen, lead concept designer at Scheldebouw, the company responsible for the conceptual design of the façade elements. “The architect decided on what are known as ‘donkey’s ears’, triangular panels, each at different angles. They give the impression of shards of glass reflecting the ripples of the water in the façade.”
You can see how the ripple effect is going to work. The façade elements were mounted onto the steel and concrete structure of the City Campus in next to no time. “These elements cover around two-thirds of the total surface area of the façades, some 10,000 m2,” explains Joost Schins, project manager at Scheldebouw. “These are prefabricated elements that are stored in the Scheldebouw warehouse in Middelburg. We built the façade elements there under optimum conditions. Yes, it went well. We were able to assemble them at full speed, thanks to the way the architect, the building contractor and the structural engineer were able to work together.”
The visual mock-up, or the testing of a full-scale test rig in the Scheldebouw design lab, was a tense moment in the development of the façade elements, Jansen remembers. “We were able to test a full-scale model of our design: the choice of glass, the coating, the detail on the profiles. We all held our breath: would it create the impression that we’d imagined? Largely speaking, it did. After the test, we tweaked some of the details, but it basically gave us the starting signal: this is it, this is our façade.”
Fits like a glove
The façade, the coating on the plinth and the glass roof construction on the two atria; this is all Scheldebouw’s work. It was a fabulous job, but the architect really tested us to the limits, laughs Schins.
“The glass shell has to fit like a glove. Try doing that, with such a complex steel and concrete structure that’s still moving and has a huge overhang.”
It certainly wasn’t straightforward, adds Jansen. “The building itself is a structural challenge. It’s not a square box, and it has huge eaves. What’s more, the façade only has a maximum deviance tolerance of two millimetres. The margin was negligible.”
But we managed, says Schins. “We even had a smooth transition from design to implementation, which is always a tense aspect of our work as façade builders. We’re designers, and then at some point, we have to transform into a production company. And we do all of this to tight deadlines. This area of tension is palpable in every building project, but even more so with the City Campus.” Yes, they’re proud to have played a part in building the City Campus. Jansen: “This is an absolute gem of a modern façade. I’m already looking forward the 2025 James Bond film, when Bond is seen speeding through the Amsterdam canals. This building will definitely feature in the shot.”
Tailor-made guidance, whereby the buyer’s wishes are paramount. This best describes the role of Aalberts Bouw in the entire process from the purchase to the fitting out of 41 luxury apartments built by ODE Apartments, explains Elroy Schallenberg, project leader at Aalberts.
According to Elroy Schallenberg, it’s the job of the buyers’ support team at Aalberts to guide buyers carefully through the entire process, from the purchase to the fitting out of 41 luxury properties built by Ode Apartments. It is up to them to transform all the buyers’ wishes into the ultimate living environment. The fitting out phase of these apartments, with living space varying from 66 m2 tot 302 m2, started in early 2022.
According to the timeline, the properties will be delivered from late 2022 onwards. “The apartments were delivered by the construction team working under Züblin in shell form. We’re responsible for fitting them out so that that they will be the classiest apartments in the whole of Amsterdam, with a panoramic view of the historic city centre.”
Everything revolves around the wishes of the buyers. “Our guidance is tailormade. If buyers want to organise things for themselves, we play a different role than when someone says: I’m retired, this is where I’m going to live, I want to go through the process step by step, but I need some support.
The first thing to find out is: which layout do you want, where do you want to sleep, where will the living room be? Once these questions have been answered, we can start thinking about the sanitary facilities, the type of doors and door handles, and the lighting plan. We continue to guide our buyers until they are given handed the keys.”
“Our purchase support team works in a showroom in Amsterdam, where they help buyers to make all the decisions regarding lay-out, sanitary facilities, tiles and kitchens. We want people to have that wow feeling, the idea that they are buying something very special. If we can do this, we’ve done well. After that, we pass the buyers onto our showroom advisors to make the remaining agreements.”
Moving train
“This project is a challenge because we’re jumping onto a moving train with parties who’ve already been working on the building site for some time,” Schallenberg continues. “It’s important that we can slot in with the ideas that have already been put forward by the architect and the BPD sales team. We also work closely with ICO, who take care of the technical installations for the domotics, the smart technology that’s going into all 41 apartments. We must make sure that the processes are properly aligned, so that the buyers get the full benefit of the expertise at ICO. We can only do this if we work together. Without collaboration, we could never give buyers the guidance and support they deserve to create their ideal home.”
Sneak preview
Colophon Editorial: BPD | Bouwfonds Property Development Final editing: Marlous Mok Design: Scrambled Ads Photography: Wietse Visser, bymip, Michel van Dijk, Martha Schoemaker & Mhamed Aroug Artist impressions: UNStudio & Theo van Leur Text: Michel van Dijk, Ilja Kraaier, UNStudio, Jeroen Galle & Marlous Mok English translation: Loft 238 Tekst & Media
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