Green oasis at XL Businesspark Twente

In the past decade, logistics real estate in the Netherlands expanded by as much as 10 million m2. Although functional, the "withering" of our landscape is an eyesore to many. With the new construction of distribution center Ara in Almelo, developer STELLAR DEVELOPMENT CV, architect Heembouw Architects, contractor Heembouw and strategic partner Pelecon Structural Engineers show that things can be done differently. Thanks to an ecological nature screen of almost 1 km long and 15 m high, the DC will get a beautiful ecological bow and it will promote biodiversity in the area.

Nature, architecture, technology and functionality. These are the pillars of DC Ara Almelo, to which Pelecon Structural Engineers makes an important contribution. The structural engineering consultancy was already involved by Heembouw in the VO phase, to help think about the construction of the DC and nature screen. "Here we worked from coarse to fine," says Mack Stolwijk, construction consultant at Pelecon. "The distribution center is made up of four units and built largely to Heembouw's standards. The biggest exception is the low roof above the mezzanine, which was dropped on my advice. Instead, the high roof was extended to the front facade, saving two facade-to-roof transitions." 

Most special, however, is the ecological nature screen, which is projected partly against the building, partly freestanding and partly above the dock positions. "At the base of the nature screen is an impressive steel frame, which in the coming months and years will be overgrown by a wide variety of plants," Stolwijk says. "Together with the architect, we made the initial design sketches for this and kept refining them, keeping in mind aesthetics, stability and feasibility."

Architect Diederik de Jonge designed a diagonal interplay of lines in the natural screen, he says. "Implementation-wise, however, this was quite difficult. That's why we came up with an alternative solution, with vertical base portals against which a diagonal interplay of lines made of steel frame is applied. Between these are steel nets, between which the vegetation can later climb up in a targeted manner. Together with the landscape consultant and B-smart foundation, the foundation of the nature screen has been optimized in such a way that all the plants can root and grow properly."