Platform on new construction, renovation, restoration and transformation
In Westerbork, construction is in full swing on the new recreation park Drentse Lagune: 114 detached homes in thirteen variants, from comfort to extra luxurious wellness, overlooking the lake. A facilities building with reception, swimming pool, play area and store will follow later. Furthermore, in the future there will be plenty to do at the park, in addition to the experiences already to be found in the beautiful surrounding nature. Brands Bouw hopes to have completed phases 1 and 2 of the project during the construction period.
Brands Construction works on behalf of Kopare Development and has a contractor's agreement with each buyer. These get four-, six-, eight- or 10-bedroom homes, varying in luxury. For example, some homes get an extra bathroom or a porch with hot tub. All homes will be turnkey and rental-ready, and will feature luxury kitchens and contemporary interiors that reflect the intended quality of the entire project. The owners will not have to do anything more to them themselves.
"This is a concrete shell that is prefabricated. The homes have a hinged roof surrounded by traditional brickwork and wooden cladding," says Richard Menzen, project manager at Brands Bouw. All of the vacation homes are situated around a lake and will have a corresponding natural appearance. Variation is achieved not only through size and architecture, but also through the use of different materials. For example, you will soon see tiled roofs, but also thatched and zinc roofs.
What makes the project extra unique is that all the waterfront homes will have their own little beach. There will also be fishing jetties facing the lake. Vacationers will therefore soon have direct access to the water for canoeing or pedal boating, for example. There will also be shared playground equipment, dune pans and a bird-watching hut.
This location, however, makes construction a bit more difficult for Brands. Because of its location, the homes are not very easy to access, and the ground is wet, Menzen says. "For example, the basements are in groundwater. So these have to be pumped dry. The pace of construction is high; we build three homes per week. This high pace is achieved thanks to prefabricated production."
Right now, Brands Bouw is still in talks with Kopare Development about the amenities building to be there. This beach club will be the beating heart of Drentse Lagune. It must be ready simultaneously with the completion of phase 3, after which Landal GreenParks will take care of the rental of the homes. Menzen feels that cooperation in the construction team is going smoothly. "Everyone has their own schedule and good consultation takes place. We are happy that we can build such a beautiful recreation park. It is the first time that we as Brands Bouw are building in this way. We have done vacation homes before, but not a very serial new park. It's definitely a nice reference project."
Visitors to the Drentse Lagoon will soon be able to enjoy the most delicious heat. Kachelspecialiaalzaak De Smidse will install 73 wood stoves and flue gas ducts. This is commissioned by Kopare Development and Brands Bouw. For Kopare, the company previously also did a project in Schoorl.
"The numbers make the project special. During the construction process, we always install the flue gas duct with fire-resistant paneling on time, so that the planning does not stagnate," says owner Cor van Wieren.
The Drentse Lagoon is still under construction and De Smidse is also still in the middle of the project. Van Wieren: "We are installing the flue gas ducts with fire-resistant paneling during the shell construction, i.e. before the finishing work begins. Soon the first lots will be completed. We will then put the first free-standing, high-efficiency wood-burning stoves there. So far we are enjoying working on this job."
No two Drenthe Lagoon homes are the same, which also means they all need different staircases. Fortunately, De Vries Trappen knows how to handle such custom work. The company handles the production and assembly of the stairs, the finishing of the stairwells and the installation of the banisters.
All stairs are made of beech and finished with whitewash oil. The advantage of this is that the stairs - unlike primer-treated stairs - require less maintenance. To give the buyers of the recreational homes an idea of what their staircase will look like, a demo staircase has been made. This is located in the sales construction site at the beginning of the park, where (potential) buyers can already take a look.
The customer wish is to install the stairs early in the construction process. Together we chose to protect the stairs optimally. Therefore, De Vries Stairs installed protection in the form of hardboard, bubble wrap and plastic. The stairs only need to be unpacked and the residents can enjoy their new stairs.
The construction of the vacation homes at Drentse Lagune is being supported by SteigerVast. This company specializes in scaffolding construction, screening, bridging and roof structures. It is providing the scaffolding work within the project in Westerbork.
Work began at the beginning of summer last year and is still underway. SteigerVast is working on behalf of main contractor Brands Bouw. "We are now about just over halfway through," says Niels Trip, site manager at SteigerVast. "The project is going extremely well so far. The atmosphere on the construction site is very good."
Because the homes are built and delivered one after the other and are located in a wetland area, the planning and logistics on the construction site are the biggest challenge for SteigerVast. Fortunately, communication is good and the parties know how to arrange everything between themselves.
The homes at Drenthe Lagoon will have French doors with French balconies in front of them. These aluminum balcony railings are manufactured and assembled by Peters Metaaltechniek. The portal structures to support the floors were also supplied by Peters.
"The portal frames are assembled by our client Brands Bouw, but we produce the balcony railings ourselves, powder coat them and then install them," explains René Baron of Peters Metaaltechniek. They are assembled in phases, each time a few homes are finished. In total, there are about 200 of them, all made at the factory in Emmen. "They are designed by the architect and we measure everything exactly. The look is always the same, but the dimensions differ. We mount them between the plastic window frames, which already have the threaded bushings in them. That way we can easily attach everything," Baron said. He is very pleased with how the project went. "We often work for Brands Bouw and I know the guys working there well. There is a good contact and it is a nice project for us."
The houses at the Drentse Lagune will all have their own look, thanks in part to the facing bricks, masonry mortar and roof tiles supplied by St1centrum from Meppel. It is the strength of this specialist in the field of facing bricks and roof tiles to deliver those products that perfectly fit the project.
There are 114 homes being built on the waterfront, which ensures that the logistics have to be well taken care of. St1centrum does this together with the foreman and work planner of Brands Bouw. The first facing bricks were delivered in July 2021 and this will continue into 2022, says Peter Everts, owner of St1centrum. "We have run several projects with Brands Bouw and always have a pleasant cooperation among ourselves. Other parties involved, such as manufacturers, transporters and subcontractors, also have their responsibilities in this. At the Drentse Lagune, it's a nice interplay between developer, architect, contractor and us as specialists. The end result will soon be one to be proud of."
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