The Gardens of Morgenstond, The Hague | New construction approach affects construction process

The new construction of De Tuinen van Morgenstond on the Coevordenstraat in The Hague is special in part because of the new UAV-GC approach. This places many more responsibilities and liabilities on the builder than in a traditional working method. This obviously affects the construction process.

"A pósitive influence," says Roy Huis in 't Veld, realization/environmental manager at Ufkes Apeldoorn, with satisfaction. "UAV-GC stands for Uniform Administrative Values and Integrated Contracts, and is fairly new within the housing construction sector. With such an approach, design liability and responsibility lie more with the contractor, who chooses an architect for this purpose. In this case, the building consortium consisting of VolkerWessels subsidiaries Ufkes, IBB Kondor and Loostad Vastgoedontwikkeling chose De Zwarte Hond." With that comes expertise from different corners. For example, Loostad is concerned with process management and the other two parties with execution, with BIM coordination taking place from Ufkes. Huis in 't Veld: "Client Staedion only formulated in advance the frameworks and requirements that the construction had to meet. We as builders must interpret these and ensure that the requirements are realized within the agreed price. That way the client knows exactly where it stands."

Demonstrating performance
Huis in 't Veld: "From sketch design to execution design, the building consortium must constantly demonstrate to Staedion that the requirements have actually been met." And it appears to be working well; both parties are very satisfied. "After all, we all have the same interest. Because we are also going to do the maintenance for twenty years, we have to think about everything well in advance and keep a constant eye on the total costs. This means thinking about building systems, materialization, and so on. Maintenance costs money, which is why maintenance-friendly materials such as plastic window frames, kick plates and protective corners for the storerooms were chosen here to prevent damage." The fact that everything was worked out in advance in BIM suits this approach perfectly. In it, you quickly encounter any "hick-ups. This proactive approach appeals to the realization manager. "It is a professional way of working with a lot of room for your own input and creativity."

Festive completion of Block A Gardens of Morgenstond (Image: Frank van der Burg).

Speed
The pace of construction is fast. Every three to four weeks a complete block of about fifty apartments is completed. To meet the schedule, two apartments are completed per day. This is possible because four of the five blocks are identical; only Block A is slightly different from the rest with somewhat smaller homes. Thanks to this repetition, tunneling proved profitable. The tunneling system in combination with wood-frame facades, including frames, allows for a smooth construction process. The partition walls and floors consist of cast-in-place concrete, while the timber-frame facades are combined with masonry. Huis in 't Veld: "The fact that we first virtually engineered everything and only then started building saves a lot of time. It's all cogs working together. If there are problems that delay the process, it can cost a lot of money. So you have to be on top of it. Timing and planning are extremely important." 

Proud
The construction manager thinks it is a beautiful project that uses relatively simple materials. Thereby the masonry in combination with concrete gives a nice look. Huis in 't Veld is therefore proud, "that I can supervise this project. And proud of the entire team, because without them none of this would have been possible."