New Porsche Center first fully 3D drawn

Construction company Aan de Stegge Twello will deliver the shell one of these days after which the finishers will take care of the building in the coming months. "Just after the construction period, the first sports cars should be in the building," says Marcel Groothuis of Aan de Stegge Twello.

"Despite the fact that we are not big fans of tenders, we wanted to compete for the contract for this project," Groothuis says. "Because we have a lot of confidence in SOM=, the construction managers. In the process, we were asked to help think about possible alternatives and savings in the design, and we always find that interesting." To add, laughing, "And of course the Porsche brand stands for something. We wanted to attach our name to that, and I think that applies to more parties collaborating on this building. There are many Porsche enthusiasts among the builders."

Birnieweg 9-11

Client for the new building of one of the eight official Porsche dealers in the Netherlands is director of Porsche Centrum Twente, Michel Arfman. The design and elaboration of the building plan came about in cooperation with VBJ architects, Dijkoraad Raad Raadgevend Ingenieursbureau and SOM= as construction manager. The new accommodation - at a prime location along the A1 motorway in Deventer - is twice the size of the current building in Enter in terms of surface area. The new commercial building covers 2,382 m2 of showroom, 2,683 m2 of workshop and 364 m2 of office. On the second floor will be space for a large Porsche Approved Occasions inventory. There will also be several charging stations for the growing number of electrically powered Porsches. The new building on Birnieweg in Deventer consists of two parts that are connected, one with number 9 and the other with number 11, for Porsche of course a legendary number combination.

3D building plan

After obtaining the assignment, Aan de Stegge Twello began by putting the building plan in full 3D. "So that we could walk through the model with the client wearing VR glasses," Groothuis says. "That still led to a number of changes, for example in the area of the foundation. That was quite a bit of trial and error, but it worked and ensures that these kinds of changes are spotted and resolved before construction and not during construction. As a result, we are now right on schedule. The great thing about this assignment is that what started as a tender has resulted in a real construction team where you use each other's knowledge and expertise."

For example, Aan de Stegge Twello managed to convince the client to choose another supplier for the curved cassette façade on the entrance side. And although Aan de Stegge Twello will deliver the shell one of these days, the construction company will leave the construction huts on site for the finishers and installers who will further furnish the building in the coming weeks.

Huge attention value

A special feature of the building, according to Groothuis, is the facade. "The color scheme, both the steel structure inside and the facade outside, was prescribed by Porsche. In consultation with the architect, we deviated slightly in terms of design. This manifests itself at the corner of the facade, above the entrance. There the facade is slightly deformed, which, together with a striping of LED lighting, provides enormous attention value. This is the new house style of Porsche in Germany, but such a facade has not been built in the Netherlands before. What is special is that we first made 1-to-1 mockups for this design."   

Building the highest quality was the starting point. Aan de Stegge Twello realized this by first drawing everything in 3D. "Also the installations and piping. That is our standard working method nowadays. Not for nothing do we employ 17 3D modelers. It takes the same effort and ensures significantly fewer errors on the construction site," Groothuis states. "Building in this way becomes assembly and less solving."

Aan de Stegge Twello strives for high customer satisfaction, where a 7 is already not enough, according to Groothuis. "That doesn't stop at 'we have a good feeling together and we start'. No, the beginning has to be good, the execution top-notch and the aftercare too. It doesn't stop until there are no more completion points."  

Primal Dutch adhesive keeps tiles in place

Tile specialist Imarco is providing the tile floors in the new Porsche Centrum Twente and asked manufacturer of finishing materials Coba to supply the adhesive. In addition to supplying it, Coba advises on its processing and provides on-site monitoring. "It is not a very exciting project for us," says Reinier Spaan of Coba. "It is special, though, because Porsche is of course an appealing name to work for."

Coba, with its own factory in Ede, recommended that the substantial tiles laid in the showroom be bonded on both sides with a flexible cementitious powder adhesive with high tensile and flexural strength . "We visit the work regularly and guide the tile setters in their work," Spaan says. "We give a ten-year warranty on the floor, and we can only do that if we are sure that the work is done as we recommend. And that goes extremely well. We have been working with Imarco for a long time and together we have already completed many beautiful projects: store floors, showrooms, but also the previously completed Porsche Centrum Heteren." 

For a showroom like the one in Deventer, the tiles - especially in the substantial size used here - must be of high quality. This includes a highly certified quality adhesive, Spaan said. "The tiles have to be sufficiently hard and sturdy and so does the adhesive. Our adhesives are tested and certified so that they meet the highest standards for a reason." 

Coba, the finishing brand of (precast) concrete manufacturer Bruil, is an archetypal Dutch company. Spaan: "We make all our adhesives ourselves in the factory in Ede. Nice that we can therefore use our products on such leading projects." 

'Early and intensive collaboration make a building better'

Main structural engineer of the new Porsche Centrum Twente was Snetselaar Constructieve Ingenieurs from Ede. Project manager Johan Exalto praises the cooperation with the architect and the 3D design. "If you sell Porsches, you are allowed to make high demands," he said.

"The voids, round shapes and free-ranging nature of the building are all things that make the construction of this building quite challenging," says Exalto. "That is why it is so important that we were involved at an early stage by VBJ architects, with whom, by the way, we work regularly and constructively. We are in tune with each other."

In the process, both VBJ and Snetselaar work in 3D, with each other's models being loaded back and forth. "If you then see bottlenecks, either architectural or structural, you can discuss them with each other at an early stage," Exalto said. "That makes a building much better. 3D really has a future, although it is important that the whole chain takes ownership of it."

"The beauty of this collaboration is that a lot has already been tackled in the preliminary stage," Exalto continues. "That allows us to limit ourselves to guidance in the execution." For Snetselaar, the Porsche Centrum Twente was not the first car showroom with workshop and parking spaces for which it designed the structure, but it was a special one. "In terms of difficulty, it was an average building," says Exalto. "A workshop is constructively something different from a showroom. The latter requires more attention to the facade detailing, the entrance with lots of glass and the stability provisions. What is and is not allowed in sight and how? That requires specific attention, for example connection plates that may be seen. In this respect, Porsche is rightly a demanding client. Not surprising, considering the product they sell and the high demands they place on quality and design. You have to see that reflected in the building. I am proud that we were able to contribute to that."

Infrastructure works complete new construction project

Before the foundation work and structural work for a new construction project can begin, the site must be prepared for construction. And infrastructure work in many cases precedes the final delivery. For these tasks, specialized firms are called in. Construction manager SOM contacted Sallandse Wegenbouw to prepare a quotation for the infrastructure works at the new Porsche Center in Deventer. 

"As specialists in road construction, environment & consultancy and the construction of sports facilities, this project is right up our alley. Commissioned by Nyveld Vastgoed, we prepared the vacant terrain for construction at the end of last year. We installed the sewage system on the site and advised the client to build a WADI, which allows rainwater from roofs and streets to be collected for reuse. Since no other contractors were working on the site at the time, these works went quite smoothly and the elements were given sufficient time to bond well in the ground," explains project manager Gerard Tijdhof. "For contractor Aan de Stegge, between February and April 2021, among other things, we excavated the construction pit for the new building and provided it with sewage. Until the construction holiday, we are still busy with the construction of the parking lots and asphalting work on site. Immediately after the vacations, fine tuning will follow and the final details will be finished in consultation with the client."

Folding doors as a closing feature

"Literally and figuratively the closing item," Bert Tiemessen of Rolflex calls the Compact commercial doors that Rolflex supplies for Porsche Centrum Twente. But that is definitely not doing justice to the specialist in an extremely clever and patented folding door concept. The company from Ulft supplies Compact doors all over the world. Porsche is by no means the only customer.

Rolflex had long been assembling various types of garage doors, roller doors, sliding doors and overhead doors. Until the early 1990s, a highly sophisticated new concept was conceived: the Rolflex Compact folding door. It works like this: many traditional commercial doors are overhead doors, with the door panels running on a track along the ceiling. This means that the ceiling behind the door cannot be used for anything else, such as a lifting system, crane track, storey floors or lighting. With Rolflex's Compact folding door, the door panels fold up above the doorway, saving space. The concept caught on so well, that today Rolflex supplies customized commercial doors worldwide through an extensive dealer network. "And because VBJ architects, among others, are enamored with Rolflex doors, Compact doors will also be installed in the delivery rooms of the new Porsche Centrum Twente," Tiemessen explains. "We are able to conceal the panels very nicely in a cove in the ceiling. You don't see any rails or other interfering parts. A very chic solution. Especially because we can make them in a luxury version. Powder-coated in all colors, with real glass or double-insulated Plexiglas, as insulated sandwich panels or with a walk-through door. In Deventer we installed the full vision transparent door, which we supply to more automotive companies."

Despite pride in a prestige project like the Porsche Center, Rolflex supplies just as well to a small entrepreneur on the corner. "But the Compact doors are also very suitable for temporary housing or for a tent. We have also supplied them for events in Ahoy or the RAI, for example. And they are very easy to dismantle and use in a new building, so extremely circular as well." 

'Don't blindly execute what the specifications dictate'

TGO Technical Installation is responsible for both the E- and W-installations in the brand new building of Porsche Centrum Twente in Deventer, which will open its doors on September 11 (911, for those who understand). Erik Engbers, project manager at TGO, explains the importance of a good relationship between the various construction parties. "The construction period is quite on the short side. And so every blow has to be a hit in order to meet the deadline. So that also requires a good construction team."

Although for TGO every project is special, the new Porsche Centrum Twente building is just a little bit more special. "Because there are not that many of them in the Netherlands," says Engbers. "So some prestige does provide an assignment like this." But there is also some technical honor for TGO. "The content of the installations for (floor) heating throughout the building, cooling, heat pumps, PV panels, you name it. And all the lighting is DALI-controlled. So all aspects of installation technology are actually covered. And it is a beautiful building that has to meet very specific requirements of Porsche. That makes it a special job."

Engbers also mentions the hefty DSE chargers that will be located outside the building that will soon be used to charge the electric Porsches. "That's a charging station with battery buffer and quite a bit of power, which means you can fully charge a car within 20 minutes."

TGO, which rarely does standard installation jobs, continually thought along the way about the best solutions. "That's what makes the work interesting. Not just doing what the specifications prescribe, but thinking with the client and fellow builders about the best solution. On every job you come across things that aren't right, don't fit or could be done better, even here. And then it's nice to be taken seriously and listened to. We really are making this building together."