Pelecon created the structural design for Hunkemöller’s recently completed new distribution center at the Stichtsekant business park in Almere. The Dutch lingerie chain with considerable growth ambitions needed space! Architect DENC Netherlands is responsible for the creative design of the DC and involved Pelecon in this project. Where our strength lay in designing as economically as possible which resulted in a slender, yet robust steel construction. For this assignment, the valuable collaboration between architect and structural engineer resulted in a beautiful end result; a modern warehouse with office which is a real addition between the sometimes ‘boring’ distribution centers.
The new DC for Hunkemöller consists of two separate warehouses with a total of 44 docks at the front and a mezzanine floor of 12 meters deep. Phase 1 of the warehouses has been taken into use by Hunkemöller itself, with two mezzanine floors in the warehouse and an automated miniload system. The new DC also includes a multi-level office consisting of a loose construction with three floors, each floor equipped with a canopy that is also walkable in some positions.
CONSTRUCTIVELY QUITE A CHALLENGE
As few columns as possible were used under the mezzanine floor in the warehouses, so large floor-bearing trusses had to be used with a free span of 22.8 meters. The office is a real eye-catcher with very slender canopies and columns and a facade with full glass all around. This needed our explicit attention to detailing. The stability of the office is regulated in the core of the building around the elevator and stairwell, due to the use of curtain walls all around.
NO SHORTAGE OF SUSTAINABILITY
The DC will receive BREEAM certification (sustainability), targeting Excellent certification (BRL 2020). The focus is on making the building as sustainable as possible with low energy consumption and low maintenance. The entire roof of the warehouse is suitable for the installation of PV panels; the steel structure takes into account the extra weight of these panels and the ballast required.