Façade of natural wood composite figures in woody surroundings

Vijverhof is a large-scale transformation and new construction project in a wooded area between the municipality of Nijmegen and Berg en Dal. New apartments are being realized in the main building and the former bungalows have been given way for new housing. The facade of the 'new' apartment complex is finished with LJ Solutions' Neolife natural wood composite, this time in a very special application, matching the woody surroundings.

"At some point we were approached by GarantieGevels and VM Geveltechniek to investigate the possibilities of Neolife, for application to the facades of the main building," begins Roel Tromp of LJ Solutions. "From LJ Solutions, in projects like this, we like to think along from design to installation and provide a practical elaboration and technical description. We like to make time for this, so that a fantastic end result is guaranteed for years to come. So that was also the case at Vijverhof, because they had come up with a different application for our facade product."

Newly developed bracket

"The idea was to mount our Neolife wood composite Space panels in a non-standard way to achieve even more depth effect," explains Tromp. "In particular, GarantieGevels, a wholesaler of sustainable and environmentally friendly wood cladding and supplier of Neolife, worked hard to develop that concept with us. And that led to the development of a new bracket, different from the standard Neolife bracket, which was specifically designed for this application. Aesthetically even more attractive and technically just as good. Together with installation partner VM Geveltechniek, part of main contractor KlokGroep, we fine-tuned the bracket on site. The new concept was then presented to Neolife in France, because they ultimately have to provide the guarantee on the facade. But that turned out to be just a formality; the bracket was approved without any modifications."

Some 2,000 square meters of Neolife have now been processed on the facade. "The end result speaks to everyone's imagination. Partly because of the chosen color scheme of the facade, the building blends beautifully into the wooded surroundings," Tromp believes. "And the residents will enjoy this natural wood composite for years to come. It is maintenance-free, enormously durable and has the appearance of real wood."