'We help VvEs make their building facades sustainable efficiently and reliably'

Robertson Gevel Techniek Nederland B.V. (RGT) focuses on tackling, preserving and maintaining buildings in both the private sector and non-residential construction. "Since our founding in 1961, we have completed more than 8,600 projects, commissioned by contractors, clients and owners' associations," says director Anco van Egmond. "Preservation of real estate is an important fact where an integral approach leads to a beautiful end result."

VvEs in particular face major challenges when it comes to property maintenance and sustainability, Van Egmond knows. "Research by the central government shows that approximately half (!) of VvEs have insufficient financial resources to carry out thorough maintenance. Many apartment buildings suffer from serious overdue maintenance with which we, in cooperation with our partner companies, are keen to combat."

In addition to a lack of financial resources, VvEs often have limited knowledge when it comes to the maintenance and preservation of their property: what subsidies are possible? And what monthly costs for residents are realistic? What is the best way to spend this money? "To support VvEs in this, we have put our heads together with a number of partners. Together we are happy to provide financing, sustainability and major maintenance of the entire building facade, including facade systems, window frames, facades and roofs. This relieves VvEs from A to Z."

Feasible and realistic plan

"Within the partnership, we also provide the financial preliminary work for the VvEs," Van Egmond said. "Based on the current financial situation and the monthly expenses of residents, we identify subsidy opportunities. We then jointly translate this into a feasible and realistic renovation and preservation plan that matches the wishes and financial possibilities of the VvE. What work is needed on the facade? And what additional work is desirable and feasible? What does this mean for the monthly costs of residents? All this will be translated into an artist's impression and Plan of Action, which will be presented to the CoE and all residents, marking the first step toward implementation."

A good example of this total service extension is the renovation of an apartment building in Haarlem, which was facing major problems related to the masonry facades. "Investigations revealed, among other things, that the wall anchors were inadequate and partially rotted through, and that the exterior facade showed cracks," Van Egmond explains. "To prevent the façade from coming loose and because replacement of the façade (cost estimate: 1.2 million euros) was not financially feasible, we and our team came up with an alternative solution. This involved installing a new shell around the building and securing it in a smart, thoughtful way. All work could be carried out for less than half of the original estimate, even including elevator renovation."

Integral approach

Regardless of whether owner-operators want to reduce energy losses, improve their building envelope or require major maintenance: in renovation projects, an integrated approach is extremely important. "To make this possible, knowledge of facade materials, window frames, facades and roofs is indispensable," Van Egmond emphasizes. "Robertson and its partners can provide this excellently. We work together with XS-4D, which maps the buildings through 3D scans. This gives us an exact and reliable picture of the current situation and dimensions, which incidentally always deviate from the drawings. With an accuracy of up to about 3 mm, we can map everything, even to unprecedented heights. Using 3D Revit, we can also create an artist's impression from these scans, making the step from old to new very realistic. Also to gain insight into the condition of the building, this is a powerful and effective solution (MJOP)."

Premium facade materials

In its projects, Robertson works exclusively with first-class materials from reliable suppliers, such as aluminum window frames and facades from Aluprof and facade systems from Primoclad Europe. "Combined with nearly 60 years of knowledge and experience in the industry, with us, clients and HOAs are assured of a high-quality and durable delivery result."