Platform on new construction, renovation, restoration and transformation
In Deventer, Nijhuis Bouw is building De Kop Handelskade, an ensemble of three buildings with living, working and catering facilities. The location is right next to the railroad and on a busy city road. This makes the execution primarily a logistical task. With prefabricated concrete, a tight schedule and appropriate traffic management, the construction team keeps a grip on the work.
The Kop Handelskade consists of three buildings with different functions. Building De Linie has nine floors and houses 76 social rental apartments for Rentree and 88 student studios for DUWO. De Frontier is a sixteen-story residential tower with 43 owner-occupied apartments, while Het Blok contains approximately 2,700 square meters of office space and over 300 square meters of cafés and restaurants.
The location is in the downtown area, right by the train station, railroad tracks and the Leeuwenbrug. According to Jan Hasselerharm, project manager of execution at Nijhuis Bouw, the limited space is especially decisive for the approach. “We are building on the railroad in Deventer, with a very limited construction site. Especially the logistics is
a focus.”
To make enough room for supply and removal, the bike path and sidewalk along the Handelskade were temporarily moved across the road. “We have placed that space within the construction site for supply and removal,” he said. Trucks enter the site through one entrance, park between the buildings and leave the site through another gate. A porter guides the traffic and ensures that the trucks can safely re-enter the Handelskade. “And with results: you can also see now that it is working well,” he says.”
Two execution teams work on site, each responsible for its own part of the project. Both teams largely use the same subcontractors. In this way, the number of people on the construction site remains limited and the work fits together better. Nijhuis Bouw also chose a similar construction system for both parts of the project, with mainly prefabricated walls and floors. “This allows us to get airborne a lot faster.”
The Frontier reaches about fifty meters in height. For Nijhuis Bouw, this was a special task. “We haven't been building up to fifty meters very often. That was a nice challenge for us.” For the tower, the construction company maintained a fixed cycle of 2.5 weeks per floor. “We met that schedule down to the week. That does indicate that the intensive preparation was successful. That does make you happy.” Early call-off from suppliers and tight logistics allowed the pace to be maintained.
The elaboration was done in close cooperation with architectural firm De Zwarte Hond. The plan was worked out in 3D right up to the implementation design. “We found a good harmony in that. We worked out many details together.” The architect's confidence was evident when he allowed Nijhuis Bouw to choose from two facing bricks. “The architect had selected two bricks and asked us which one we preferred. Ultimately, of course, we look at workability and dimensional stability, but it also largely determines the appearance. That's kind of special.”
