Stylish addition to residential offerings

The former office of Middin in Rijswijk (ZH) is being transformed into residential building The Beatrix. It will house 188 rental apartments for young professionals with floor areas ranging from 50 to 80 square meters. According to the design of architectural firm Van Wilsum van Loon, the appearance of the building will be substantially overhauled and an additional storey will be added. "You won't recognize the old building anymore," says project developer Frank Verkerk of tB Verkerk Projects.

The office building in the heart of Rijswijk has been almost completely gutted for the transformation, which began with demolition from the inside. The horizontal natural stone bands of the 1970s building will remain largely visible, although they will no longer extend across the full width of the building. The residential building will have two entrances, both on the quiet J.C. Van Markenlaan and on Beatrixlaan, a main axis in Rijswijk. Above the entrances will be a slightly recessed glass facade, visually splitting the building in two.

Optopping

"The demolition of the interior was quite involved, in part because of the necessary asbestos removal," says Verkerk. "Additional measures were also taken to structurally reinforce the building. This was necessary because recesses had to be made in the stability cores, down pipes were installed and the building was topped with maisonettes equipped with a roof terrace. A steel structure was constructed for the additional residential floor. And you always encounter more than you initially expect. A transformation requires
occasional patience."

Dimension operations

Internal demolition began in early 2023; transformation was well underway by the end of 2023. Since that period, builders have been working on works related to the external facade. They started with the demolition of the canopy and entrance on J.C. van Markenlaan. Aluminum window frames were installed between the stone bands, as well as new balconies on steel portals supported by tethers. "Because we are not only the developer but also the builder of this project, we were able to apply the right size interventions in every area," Verkerk said.

Headwall scaffolding

Most of the aforementioned work on the exterior facade will take place in 2024; the project should be completed by December of this year. Two 35-meter-high end façade scaffolds will be used to construct the façade. In the start-up, preparation of the construction site to install lifting scaffolds at the longitudinal facades also took place. In this way, preparatory work could take place for the assembly of the new window frames and the balconies to be installed. At the end of the process, on the Beatrix Avenue side, the old entrance will be removed and replaced.

Entrance area

The Beatrix is located opposite the De Bogaard shopping center. The main entrance of the residential building will be on the J.C. van Markenlaan. The building plinth will have higher ceilings; the entrance area will be equipped with facilities for the target group, such as workstations and a pantry. "In order to minimize the inconvenience to local residents, we are keeping J.C. van Markenlaan free of heavy transport as much as possible." When everything is finished, Rijswijk will have a beautiful new residential building with the adjacent office transformation The Minister. "The two are certainly not inferior to each other," concludes Verkerk.