Years ago we were involved in the construction of the Rabobank building in Nijkerk from the former Pelecon Amersfoort (Reijneveld Engineering). Now this building is being transformed into the town hall of Nijkerk. So we know this building well and that makes the consulting process for the construction easier. For this assignment, Pelecon is working together with LSa (representation of the municipality of Nijkerk) and Van Bokhorst Architects from Nijkerk. A fine team for an inspiring project in which we, as engineers, have our role.
Changes within an existing building are always challenging. That also applies to the building of the municipality of Nijkerk, where in this case the council chamber is an important issue for us. It stands on sloping concrete columns that also guarantee the stability of the council chamber in an inventive way. In addition, the facade is completely covered with glass, so that we literally create a transparent government! The stability of the building must be adapted in such a way that this transparent facade can actually be realized. Therefore, a Senior Structural Engineer and 3D Modeler from Pelecon joined the drawing board for the design. An Advisor to Building Structures helped with the sketches for the columns, literally with a sketch roller and felt-tip pens.
Now that the City Council has agreed to the Final Design, we will quickly move on to producing specification documents and implementation drawings in 2022.