Old and new come together at The Star

ALUMINUM FACADE PANELS FOR RADIANT WHOLE
Former office building De Ster has been transformed into an apartment complex, preserving the existing facade as much as possible. Yet it looks like new, thanks in part to the efforts of Aldowa.

Aldowa engineers, manufactures and assembles metal and composite cladding. It also did this at De Ster. There the choice was made for stitched aluminum panels. These can shift in relation to each other, so no large seams arise. This created a cohesive whole with a modern look. "For the elevation, we installed panels to maintain the same look as the existing facade. Around the new glass facades, we covered the wood frame with panels," says project engineer Rick van Horssen.

Flexible

With new construction, you know in advance exactly what to expect. Moreover, everything can be custom produced. With renovations, the building can deviate from the available construction drawings, leaving you with surprises. Van Horssen: "By using clever detailing, we could easily absorb deviations in size. We were able to make everything as needed, staying as close as possible to the architect's design." New orders came in as the project progressed. This meant fast switching for Aldowa employees. Because production was in-house, everything could be delivered quickly.

Solutions

The fact that the company itself is also in Rotterdam was a big plus. The employees could quickly come on site to see what needed to be done. That is more convenient than remote consultation. Van Horssen: "This made the cooperation with the contractor even more pleasant. We actively contributed solutions, because we like to think about the design. Our work really becomes fun when it becomes complex."

Versatile aluminum

Aldowa showed here that aluminum is extremely suitable for renovation projects. You can make a lot out of it, especially if you also design and produce it yourself. The aluminum elements smoothly merge the old and new building parts. "Aluminum makes renovations possible in a beautiful way. We are very happy with how it turned out. The building has blossomed," Van Horssen said.