Freezer house Aviko | Steenderen

Until now, potato processing company Aviko in Steenderen has been distributing its ready-to-eat products to "various cold stores across the country. To reduce the number of transport movements, the company has been working for years on a solution, which is now becoming reality: an automated high-rise cold store is being built next to the factory in Steenderen. The Nieuwe Vrieshuis Aviko will soon have eleven floors (without intermediate floors), including 6,600 square meters of cold store and 1,600 square meters of cold store, a 320-square-meter technology room, 420 square meters of offices and 2,000 square meters for shipping.  

"We make the jacket around it," said Bennie List, project manager from VDR Bouwgroep. That jacket is special, because Aviko is going for BREEAM-NL 'Outstanding'. Cor van Dijken, manager of sustainability at VDR: "Aviko's ambition is to build the cold store as sustainably as possible." In the preliminary phase, time was taken to achieve the best engineering, efficient work preparation and safe construction site design. Anyone entering the construction site will notice that specific rules apply here: there are clear parking spaces, a footpath ensures that visitors can follow a safe route despite unmanned vehicles driving around, and waste on the site is carefully separated.

In harmony
Architectural firm Bessels faced the challenge of harmonizing the massive building with its surroundings, said project manager Cordy Volkers. "Partly because of its height and sightlines, we wanted the building to harmonize with the sky. In studies and with similar buildings, we discovered that the sky is often not a bright blue. Generally it is a light gray-white shade," he explains. "Therefore, a plinth was designed in a hem of green with a gray-white topping. Practical and effective." That did present another challenge: "White is the best solution for a cold store. Any color creates stresses in the sandwich panel that can cause gaps. Shape retention is very important. Thanks to silo construction with racking, we can already solve the span of the panels very well. That's why we made this concession anyway."  

The design also anticipated innovations. Marcel Bisseling, commercial director of VDR: "The latest developments have to be in it." The steel construction is closely intertwined with what the automaker demands. "People want compact storage," also understands Jan Steverink of the Storax Group - responsible for the steel construction. "Air in the building is money. The less air you have, the better. Also for the climate, because that air has to be cooled," he explains. By reducing the oxygen in the cold store, less air needs to be cooled and the building becomes more fire-safe.

Another important choice was whether to use cranes or shuttles. Aviko chose shuttles because a crane requires much more load. To get the most out of the steel structure, a different shape was also chosen, with wide instead of narrow yokes. "This creates a more stable foundation," Steverink explains. The anchor boxes get a lot of attention. "They have to be checked carefully, because those points recur throughout the construction process. If someone deviates just slightly from that, problems arise."

General
Beforehand, the construction was carefully thought out. Van Dijken: "The engineering time took longer, but that speeds up the construction process. For BREEAM-NL 'Outstanding,' you actually already do a general on paper. You look at where you buy in, align the processes and everyone knows exactly what needs to be done. The advantage is that we can't deviate either.   

That yields gains in building quality and efficiency." By going for the maximum BREEAM-NL score, you realize a building that is substantially more sustainable than a standard building. Consider a range of design measures and material choices. By means of a blower door test, the gap density is measured and sealed where necessary. The use of waste heat from cooling from the cold store prevents the need for additional energy to heat the offices. The cold store is cooled a few extra degrees at night, allowing the system to be taken out of operation during the day and also avoiding burdening the grid. 

Ecology will be restored around the cold store. That, too, is BREEAM-NL "Outstanding. "By planting greenery and by making the substructure a shade darker, it naturally blends into the background." By the end of this year, construction will be completed and commissioning of the systems will begin. From the middle of 2020, the cold store can be used.