Geplaatst op: 19 April 2023
A new Food Court was recently completed at a high-profile location along the A27 motorway in Nieuwegein. On business park Het Klooster, a gross floor area of 2,300 m2 with 221 parking spaces has been developed on a plot totalling 12,105 m2, at the co-initiative of McDonald’s. Pelecon has been involved in the development of this future-proof project destined for the chains McDonald’s, KFC, Happy Italy and De Beren since 2021 as main structural engineer.
The joint chains have fine sustainability ambitions covering health, food production, waste disposal and minimisation of logistical movements to and from the site. In the design, therefore, the architect has taken into account the use of circular materials, the most energy-efficient lighting and many green elements have been used on the site. There are solar panels on the roof and heat recovery from the kitchens to the lobbies. The building is also completely gas-free, meeting all the requirements a modern building must have in the future.
Our challenge as main structural engineer
The height accent at the front of the building and the 40-metre high tower on McDonald’s was a nice challenge for us as chief structural engineer. This tower has a wooden cladding combined with green planting. Of particular note is the wind load on this tower and its impact on the supporting structure of McDonald’s. The tower has a three-dimensional steel frame against which the wooden cladding is mounted. Our partner Hofman Staalbouw made a clear video about this.
Impression: Dunvast B.V.
Geplaatst op: 17 April 2023
There are many beautiful, original, striking homes and other buildings in Municipality of Amstelveen. But only one is the most beautiful: the Noorddamcentrum in Amstelveen. The building therefore also wins the Amstelveen Architecture Prize; based on a design by Hoogeveen Architecten.
The jury particularly fell for the design method; a choice was made not to demolish the building, which did not make the task easy for Hoogeveen Architecten. They gave the building a new character and maximised usability for the users. And the nice thing is: Pelecon Structural Engineers was involved in this challenging assignment as a structural engineer. So we too are quite a bit proud of winning this award!
Congratulations to Hoogeveen Architecten and, on behalf of our entire team, thank you for the inspiring collaboration!
Geplaatst op: 11 April 2023
Photo: the appearance of wood in general – this is an example
“SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION IS THE FUTURE”; JUST LIKE OUR COLLEAGUES IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY, WE ARE AWARE OF THIS. WE THEREFORE REGULARLY ASK OURSELVES THE QUESTION: HOW CAN WE DESIGN A STRUCTURE SO THAT IT HAS AS LITTLE IMPACT ON THE ENVIRONMENT AS POSSIBLE? ONE OF THE SOLUTIONS IS TO DESIGN A STRUCTURE IN WOOD. INTERESTINGLY, OUR CLIENTS REGULARLY ASK US WHETHER WE CAN ALSO DESIGN AND CALCULATE WOODEN STRUCTURES. THE ANSWER IS CLEAR: YES!
Wood is a good choice as a building and construction material because of its inexhaustible and renewable nature. Especially when the wood used has an FSC or PEFC label; then it is certain that it comes from a sustainably managed forest. In addition, wood weighs relatively little, for example, yet is incredibly strong. With laminated beams, we also make quite large spans. Wood contributes to architectural flexibility and faster execution. However, making a structure out of wood is not easy; it requires specialised knowledge of a structural engineer.
KNOWLEDGE OF WOOD AND ITS PROPERTIES
When designing in timber structures, the specific properties of wood must be taken into account. This means that the frameworks are just slightly smaller than for steel structures. Sometimes even smaller than ideal; the advantages of using wood make up for this. Indeed, one advantage of wood is that it is stored CO2 and it has a favourable weight-to-bearing capacity ratio. Also, a laminated timber construction does not need any more finishing and, contrary to expectations, a timber construction behaves well in case of fire.
Want to know more about timber structures for your own design and what Pelecon can do for you in this regard? Call us and we will make an appointment for a cup of coffee!
Geplaatst op: 11 April 2023
The road from dream to reality passes through challenges, tasks and decisions. It is no different when designing a building. Only when the idea is converted into a concrete plan do feasibility, sustainability and practicability become important factors. The skeleton of the building, the structure, then literally supports the design. This reality makes the expertise of a building structural engineer literally vital.
Pelecon specialises in turning designs into concrete and feasible structures for any building. But where ports and industrial sites converge, we do feel very comfortable. Almost fifty years of experience enabled us to convert an initial design for FLEVOKUST HAVEN for several logistics hotspots into reality as sharply as possible. Whatever that reality looks like, Pelecon watches over the safety of all building users. Carefree!
We work with several partners more often, Jan Snel – Daiwa House being a good example. Since they started a separate business as a unit builder, our cooperation has only intensified. In which their own products and services went through a major improvement. Nowadays, we no longer talk about units, but about modular construction, because modular construction is much more well thought-out and innovative than the units we know from the past. By designing a building in fixed module sizes, offices, flats, or houses can be built through unit construction or element construction. We would be happy to tell you more about it.
From Pelecon, Bastiaan Hoefnagel works a lot together with Jan Snel – Daiwa House. We are happy to ask him about the cooperation. Bastiaan explains that Jan Snel, Daiwa and Medexs are three separate companies under the DaiwaModularHousing Group (DHME), all three working within a specific market. Their products are particularly interesting for small-scale flat construction, offices, operating rooms (Medexs) and serial housing construction. Jan Snel (JS) provides the market with temporary buildings, earthquake-resistant housing in Groningen, temporary classrooms, or migrant centres. DHME focuses more on large-scale projects such as student housing. DHME is also one of the companies chosen by the government to build housing quickly. This was also in the news last month,” Bastiaan said.
A history together
Bastiaan continues: “We have been working together for at least 20 years, with JS/DHME’s various modular construction systems serving the market ever more professionally. Modular construction is a specialisation that has developed further in recent years. Many disciplines come together, with production, (manufacturability), seriality and remountability always being the most important spearheads. We have grown along with JS/DHME to become one of the specialists among modular construction”.
Pelecon’s added value for Jan Snel – DH
Speed of our service and service are very important to JS/DHME. Bastiaan explains that in the design process, JS/DHME has often already made many choices. “Our job is to calculate the building as much as possible within the DHME standard, should it not be constructively possible the impact should be as minimal as possible. Choices and principles made are determined based on previous projects carried out. In which the foundation is almost always the major variable. JS/DHME’s modular building systems have a low deadweight compared to traditional construction. Due to the lightweight structural construction and often non-permanent housing, a foundation on ‘steel’ is often desirable. Foundations can also be installed in some situations in the form of concrete slabs on a sand bed. In this way, the entire building can be removed completely at the end of its use and placed elsewhere. Applying a remountable foundation on ‘steel’ is not possible in all the Netherlands. Therefore, a pile foundation is insurmountable in some cases.”
Pelecon wants to make a difference
“The building systems developed by Jan Snel may or may not have been developed together with our engineering firm. Pelecon’s input always concerns structural safety, but manufacturability and remountability are also a starting point. JS/DHME’s various modular construction systems have advantages and disadvantages, where building designs in modules and remountability are always the main starting points. Currently, an HBO student is working on graduation research on high-rise buildings with JS/DHME’s building systems. DHME’s strength is that they can build modularly, which meets the strictest standards and are always reusable after use. Sustainability at its best!”
The future
Bastiaan is proud that the ambitions of both Pelecon and Jan Snel – Daiwa House are boundless! “New factories have recently been built in Montfoort and Bunnik for which we also provided the structural consultancy. DHME wants to become the largest modular builder in Europe, Pelecon is happy to contribute its stone to this as a structural consultant!”
