Special office building for insurance company

Construction company De Geus Bouw is building a new office building in Oudkarspel for insurance company Nh1816 Insurances. A special project with several challenges. "It is a unique design with unique use of materials."

Both companies are from the municipality of Dijk en Waard and have a long-standing relationship, says Brenden Scheltema, business manager of De Geus Bouw. "The new building of Nh1816 Insurances will be a stone's throw away from the old building on the Dorpsstraat in Oudkarspel. We stepped in when the final design by Studio Piet Boon was ready. The building has an unusual design, which has a Mediterranean look, partly due to the large overhangs. It is well thought out."

Concrete frame with oak rafters

To fit the project well into its surroundings, low-rise was chosen. One part is first floor only and one part will have a floor. The total floor area is about 7,000 m2 and there is room for about four hundred employees. The building will be on a site with a wide view of the polder and the adjacent canal. Construction began in the spring of 2022. Constructively, the new office building consists of a concrete skeleton with oak roof trusses. "In several places precast concrete was used in the shell and for some structural walls. In addition, the shell consists of masonry of Danish stones and stucco."

For De Geus Bouw, this is no ordinary project. There are a few peculiarities about it. "Twenty-five years ago we also built for Nh1816 Insurances. In addition, it is a unique design with unique use of materials. The oak wood used comes from the same forest as the oak used for the restoration of Notre Dame in Paris. Moreover, the construction is the largest oak structural work in the Netherlands," Scheltema lists. The construction team collaboration is very pleasant. "The construction team is put together by the client, with the installers, among others, acting as side contractors. The parties in the construction team are almost all from this region. We know each other we have enjoyed working together before."

Power supply

Although construction is proceeding smoothly and the completion date will be met early next year, that does not mean there were no challenges in the construction process. Scheltema: "Because of the amount of oak used, we had to study this material carefully. After all, wood can shrink or warp, and you can't treat it against that. So we had to make sure it didn't get wet during the time the structure was in the open air. In addition, we made several provisions creating space to accommodate movement." 

Another challenge proved to be the construction of the power connection. Due to problems in the power market and restrictions on power deliveries, the final power connection will not be installed until years after completion. As a solution to this, a well has now been struck and the building runs on a heat pump. The roof has indented solar panels integrated into the ceramic slate tiles. "It was also a particularly large job for the slate supplier: the roof covers some 6,000 m2. Given the roof's gentle slope, you want it to be 100% waterproof. Otherwise, the tiles will saturate and there is a risk of frost damage. With these tiles, that's not a problem. In addition, the entire E and W installation of the building lies in the installation basement. This was still a puzzle from a construction-technical point of view: how do you install it when there is no building yet? In the end it worked out."