Biosintrum, Oosterwolde | 'Conscious building with wood fits perfectly into biobased philosophy'

Commissioned by Natuurlijk Bouwen B.V., De Groot Vroomshoop engineered, produced and assembled the laminated timber structure, CLT floor plates, HSB interior walls and wooden roofs for the Biosintrum in Oosterwolde. 

"A job tailor-made for us," says account manager René Jansen of De Groot Vroomshoop. "The Biosintrum had to consist of more than eighty percent biobased materials. We have been consciously building with wood for more than ninety years, which, as a renewable product, fits perfectly into the biobased philosophy. In addition, a BREEAM Outstanding certification had to be achieved. We have a lot of knowledge and experience in BREEAM and made it available on this project."

Center ring
De Groot Vroomshoop was involved in the realization of the Biosintrum at an early stage. "The main design was fixed and we helped think about how to fill it in as nicely as possible," Jansen said. "The most exciting part was the middle ring, which shapes the central atrium and contains the air dome. The detailing, but also the dimensions listened very closely. Everything had to fit together perfectly. We worked out the entire structure in 3D and exchanged it with the architect, structural engineer and contractor. That worked well."

De Groot Vroomshoop engineered, manufactured and assembled the CLT floor plates and HSB interior walls, among other things.

Biobased materials
"Another challenge involved finding the right biobased materials," Jansen continued. "We didn't do that alone, by the way. With the entire team, we arrived at some beautiful, circular products. For the HSB exterior walls, for example, we used an Agepan wood fiber panel and Gutex boards. And so the laminated wood construction was treated with a bio-based paint. And what's also nice: the laminated trusses are made from responsibly harvested larch wood from our own Dutch forests."

Wood is the future
With completion behind him, Jansen looks back on a beautiful and special project. "Our men really delivered craftsmanship. And they showed the unprecedented possibilities of prefabricated construction with wood. We have been thinking in prefab for years and as far as we are concerned that is the future. Whether you look at it from a quality point of view, from efficiency or from the use of personnel. Moreover, as a circular material, wood is so much more future-proof than concrete or steel. It's time the Netherlands started to realize that."