Geplaatst op: 12 February 2024
This time it was not a building that needed our attention, but the chimney of UCC Coffee’s production site in Bolsward. Pelecon checked the reinforcement for the 30-meter high chimney with a diameter of 2,500 mm.
UCC Coffee is where the best people in the coffee industry work to develop, produce and deliver great coffee from here. You can understand that our visit last week started with a delicious cup of coffee! Our colleague Eelco Kingma went to Bolsward on behalf of Bos Nieuwerkerk, the supplier of the industrial chimney, to check the reinforcement for the new chimney.
A useful visit, as Eelco checked that the construction execution was in accordance with PELECON’s drawings. Bos Nieuwekerk can now complete the job so that UCC Coffee can safely produce their coffee in the future with peace of mind.
Geplaatst op: 8 February 2024
A classic example of an ambitious hard worker; that is our newest colleague Moutaz Bellah Ajjan. Over nine months ago, he started at our Gouda office in the role of structural modeler. A job that was tailor-made for him after completing his civil engineering studies at the Hogeschool Rotterdam. Together with our structural engineers, Moutaz ensures that drawings, models and calculations for various phases within projects can be delivered at Pelecon.
Moutaz came to the Netherlands in 2015 with a huge ambition to become a successful engineer. In doing so, he says: “falling is a new opportunity to stand up. Every time life frustrated me, I discovered that I had become stronger. I am a highly motivated person with great perseverance, someone with the will to get the best out of myself and succeed at all costs in everything I do.” How wonderful it is that we were able to add such a motivated colleague to our team!
The first period as a ‘Peleconner’
Moutaz explains that he was fully inducted into Pelecon in a short time. “My learning speed was helped by the experienced colleagues. The friendly atmosphere and helpfulness of all colleagues, combined with the informal corporate culture really appeal to me within Pelecon.”
The work of Moutaz
As an entry-level modeller, Moutaz works on all projects; after all, you gain experience by simply doing! Moutaz says he has developed a special interest in modelling distribution centres and steel structures. He also wants to delve more into that and we give him every opportunity to do so. Why Moutaz finds it so inspiring to work for such assignments? “Developing large distribution centres in a model is very challenging. It requires me to maintain an overview, both for myself and for my colleagues and our clients. Although; concrete structures are more complex and challenging, especially when it comes to the reinforcement of the structure (beams, floors, columns).”
Pride
“My pride is project Hall 6 for the Technische Unie in Alphen aan den Rijn. It was my first major project at Pelecon in which I was involved. We had to build a new hall to an existing hall. This project taught me an enormous amount about the entire project process; from A to Z.”
Want to know more about this project? Read the whole article on our news page.
Geplaatst op: 5 February 2024
REMODELLING AN OLD HOME IS A DREAM FOR MANY PEOPLE. BUT EMBRACING THE CHARM AND CHARACTER OF A HOUSE OFTEN BRINGS CONSTRUCTIVE CHALLENGES. GOOD CONSTRUCTION ADVICE IS INDISPENSABLE FOR SUCH A RENOVATION TO GO SMOOTHLY. WE LIKE TO THINK ALONG IN SUCH PROCESSES, WITH SUSTAINABILITY ALWAYS BEING AN IMPORTANT CONSIDERATION. BECAUSE EVEN IF IT SEEMS LIKE WE ONLY LEAVE OUR BED FOR MAJOR CONSTRUCTION ISSUES. THESE SMALL ISSUES ARE JUST AS INSPIRING TO US AS LARGE ISSUES FOR OFFICES AND DISTRIBUTION CENTRES.
Old houses may have hidden defects that come to light during a renovation. We always recommend having a thorough inspection done beforehand to assess the overall condition of the house. All parts of the structure are covered in this process. This includes all load-bearing parts such as the foundation, joists, load-bearing walls, metal structures and wooden caps and are therefore essential for stability. Identifying and addressing problems in these load-bearing parts before conversion and even purchase can prevent later complications.
CONSTRUCTION ADVICE FOR CONVERSION
In addition to checking the current status of the house, construction advice is also advisable for the future status. That is, after the remodelling. If a permit is required for the renovation, a constrtuction calculation should also be legally required. In fact, a construction calculation is a mandatory part of an application for the Environment Act. The construction calculation is used to check whether the house meets the safety requirements. However, many people do not know that in many permit-free cases, you are also obliged to have a structural calculation made. This is the case when you make adjustments to the load-bearing structure, such as removing a load-bearing wall, creating an extension such as a bay window, when making a dormer or roof extension and to calculate how many solar panels your roof can support.
THE INVISIBLE FORCE
Are you about to buy and/or renovate an old residential property? If so, do not hesitate to hire a structural engineer. Pelecon will be happy to help you realise a safe home situation. After all, that is what our work guarantees.
Geplaatst op: 2 February 2024
In Alpen aan de Rijn, Technische Unie, a wholesaler of technical solutions for installation and industry, has driven the first pile for the expansion of their DC. On the same site, additional buildings have been added over the years, but the current expansion is unique because of the 7,700 square meters! A beautiful, sustainable building with the necessary challenges in which we were able to make a big difference with our construction advice.
This manifests itself in fire safety. Because when we started the project there was a preliminary design for fire safety reasons with a hybrid construction consisting of concrete columns and steel roof trusses. After consultation with the architect and contractor, it was decided to make the hall entirely of steel. This was the better solution both in terms of execution and financially and did not compromise fire safety. Because of the first floor at 14.4 meters, Extra Secured Escape routes (EBV) are required, the two present stairwells are therefore completely separate structures with a fire separation of 60 minutes between the stairwell and the hall.
CHALLENGES ARE THERE TO BE MET
The adjacent existing hall 4 also contains an automated system with the server room on the side of the expansion hall 6. The equipment in this room is sensitive to vibration. A vibration prognosis study was conducted for this purpose. In the end, traditional prefabricated piles were chosen, with the first pile being driven on a Saturday. At the time of the piling, the servers were switched off and vibration meters were installed to closely monitor vibrations caused by the piling. In the end, the vibrations were well within acceptable limits and did not cause any obstructions. So that means a safe future for the Technische Unie and the owner of the building; parent company Sonepar Nederland Vastgoed BV.
PREPARED FOR THE FUTURE
In the hall there is a first floor with office spaces at a height of 14.4 meters. Part of the hall will be equipped with an automated storage system with three levels of built-in floors. In the remaining part of the hall, traditional racking will be installed, but expansion of the automated system should also be possible. User-friendly and expandable, but also sustainable. Because the entire roof of the distribution center is suitable for installing PV panels; the steel structure takes into account the extra weight of these panels and required ballast.
AND BY….
So the piling has started, now it’s up to the contractor. We will remain involved until delivery to monitor the construction and act as advisors when questions arise during construction. And that’s the fun part of our job: seeing our drawings become reality.
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.
