The power of in-house expertise

Huge sprinkler system for Booking.com headquarters

When it comes to fire protection in general and sprinkler systems in particular, Twente-based Aqua+ soon comes to mind. The family business is now in its fifth generation. In this way, the Dutch market leader was able to gather a lot of know-how. From 2012, it was also one of the forerunners to integrate the BIM model into its installations. Klimaatservce Holland therefore called on Aqua+ to equip the impressive Booking.com office building in Amsterdam with sprinklers...

Bas-Jan Walhof, director of Aqua+: "We try to keep everything in-house as much as possible. Think of an own prefab department, own machines, own R&D, ... The less you have to count on third parties, the more efficient everything gets to the customer. We believe in that very hard."

One step ahead...

"Moreover, one of our pillars is that we always try to stay one step ahead of the market. So we started early on to integrate the BIM model into our business operations, towards preparation and execution. Incidentally, this is also one of the reasons that Klimaatservice Holland contacted us again for the Booking.com project in Amsterdam. We have carried out several projects together in the past, and not infrequently that was with BIM as a central part of the entire construction team." 

9,000 sprinklers

At 72,500 meters, Booking.com's multifunctional building has become one of the largest inner-city projects in Western Europe. "Aqua+ was commissioned to 3D design, supply and install the sprinkler system," says Walhof. "In total, as many as 9,000 sprinklers were installed, connected to a network of some 30 kilometers of sprinkler pipes. Now that the installation is up and running, it will be tested biweekly through our service and maintenance department."