LVNL | Amsterdam

'The net stocking': eye-catching, high-tech and futuristic

Air Traffic Control the Netherlands (LVNL) will occupy a new building at Schiphol East in September 2019. However, the new building, "Polaris," is located on the other side of the public road. A striking bridge, with a high-tech, futuristic look, connects the buildings. 

The architectural design of the bridge was futuristic. The bridge is made up of a steel structure with rolled tubes and diagonal tubes, which together form an elliptical tunnel. For this reason, the bridge was soon called "the net stocking" in the corridors. The different profiles give the design a special appearance and collectively form the supporting structure. The net stocking is clad with sandwich and glass panels. For the tender of the bridge, Bouwcombinatie Sprangers-Kuijpers and Octatube tendered together. Because of the best overall approach, they won this too.

Image: Koolen Photography

Engineering
Octatube made the bridge design suitable for execution. It took on the engineering and worked out the design in detail. "On the one hand, the details had to be makeable," says Bart van Velzen, project manager at Octatube. "On the other hand, we wanted to stay as close as possible to the architect's design." Octatube optimized the dimensions and thicknesses of the structure to maintain the aesthetic value. And with success. Even with a length of 52 m and a free span of 35 m, the profile dimensions remained limited. 

Image: Koolen Photography

Night transports
"In terms of engineering, we are familiar with complex projects," Van Velzen continued. "But it was also a big challenge logistically. How did we get the bridge to the construction site with minimal inconvenience to road traffic? To do this, we had the bridge prefabricated to the max and transported to the construction site overnight in two parts - against the direction of traffic. Once the parts were here alongside the road, they were put together and fitted with a sandwich skin and glass panels. Using two cranes - this did require the road to be blocked off - the bridge was finally lifted into place in one day. Needless to say, this spectacle attracted many visitors."  

The bridge was transported in two parts and assembled in its entirety.

Special construction process
For Octatube, the work is done. And also on the construction site, work is moving towards completion. Van Velzen: "On the inside, the floor is being poured now. To make the bridge attractive, several accommodation areas will be decorated here, including a coffee corner. In September 2019, LVNL will have a beautiful access bridge to its new training building."