Good interplay leads to BENG school building

With a new building, vmbo-school Groene Hart Leerpark in Alphen aan den Rijn is ready for the new school year. A good cooperation between Scope scholengroep and builder De Vries en Verburg has led to a nearly energy-neutral building (BENG).

Text | Tim van Dorsten    Image | De Vries and Verburg

As a client, Scope Scholengroep had included a so-called BENG building in its Schedule of Requirements. Particularly due to the installations used, this requirement was met. "In addition, solar panels on the roof play an important role in making the building almost energy-neutral," explains project manager Kees Verdoorn of De Vries en Verburg. "In terms of construction, we contributed to this by building airtight."

The new school building is built airtight.

After De Vries en Verburg was awarded the contract, construction work began in June 2018. For this, part of the old school building and the gym tower were first demolished to make room for the new building. "Before we started work, we made a plan to ensure the safety of the students while we were working," he indicates. "Since accessibility was limited, this was relatively easy."

Smile

The new building features a precast shell and concrete foundation. In the interior, bamboo provides the main feature. Most mutual coordination between Scope scholengroep and De Vries en Verburg took place on the technical and logistical aspects. "The Groene Hart Leerpark is a vmbo school, where lessons in chemistry, physical education and cooking are taught, among other things. Good coordination was needed to get all the connections in the new building in the right place," Verdoorn says. "This required good teamwork, and that is perhaps what is most special about this project. We provided a smile on our client's face. That is thanks to the entire construction team, with whom we also jointly realized multifunctional building 'De Morgenstond' in The Hague."   

In the interior, bamboo provides the main feature.

Room for 750 students

Last May, De Vries en Verburg took care of the completion of the school building, which, with a floor area of over 9,000 m², can accommodate more than 750 students. The building has three new gymnasiums, theory classrooms, practical classrooms for technology, services and media and a bright and orderly auditorium. There is also space for support services of Scope scholengroep. For De Vries and Verburg, however, the work on the Groene Hart Leefpark is not over yet. "Once the low-rise of the old school building is demolished, we will still take care of the schoolyard. We expect to be finished by the end of October," Verdoorn said. As of the end of August, however, students can already use the new school building.

Project info

Walls that can take a beating

Construction work on the Leerpark in Alphen aan den Rijn was completed just before the summer. Schildersbedrijf K.J. Coenen also made its contribution.

The company, says Karel Coenen, has a long history and thus a lot of experience. It also has knowledge of the latest techniques. "At Leerpark, the walls were fitted with scanning wallpaper. Furthermore, we applied a two-component coating to them, making them 'hufterproof.' So they are walls that can take a beating."

The colors used, he says, were determined by the architect. The painting company did provide additional advice. Work was done according to a schedule set by the contractor. "It was important that the parties did not get in each other's way. Therefore, our foreman had regular consultations about whether everything was still going well. We used a team of 3 to 5 employees, depending on what work needed to be done."

Project info

Texts 21 feet wide on school building

On the front and back of the new school building Groene Hart Leerpark in Alphen aan den Rijn two texts of 1.60 meters high and 21 meters wide show off. "The back side provided a challenge, because of the undulating movement in the building," he says.

The text 'Groene Hart Leerpark' appears in large letters on the front and back of the new vmbo school building in Alphen aan den Rijn. In May, COM Creative took care of placing these words on top of the new building. "In one morning we took care of this," explains technical consultant Peter Majolee. "Most of the time went into the preparations." For example, the company was able to measure the supports for the letters in early March to work this out further on paper. "The back of the building was particularly exciting: instead of a straight construction, that part of the school features an undulating movement." The letters feature internal construction to simplify placement. They are made of recyclable aluminum and feature water-based paint.