Unique exterior shell for new apartments in The Hague

At SVL Masonry Works, the third generation of Leenman is already at work. Anne Leenman has led the company for 17 years based on his expertise as a bricklayer. Main contractor Van Wijnen was happy to use that expertise on the Erasmusveld new construction project in The Hague. What was involved in that project?

"We specialize in medium-sized construction projects, think 20 to 150 homes per build," explains Leenman. "In addition, we've been working with Van Wijnen for quite some time, so it's a familiar and trusted partnership. We like to think along in the run-up to a project: from routing to supply on the construction site."

The homes prepared by SVL Metselwerken will be located in the district Proeftuin Erasmusveld. A unique new neighborhood in The Hague where living is combined with allotments and sports fields, close to the ecological zone. Attention was also paid to nature during construction: sustainable and reused materials were used.

Loose outer shell

There was a very clear challenge within this project, according to Leenman. "The entire outer shell of the complex is self-supporting. I've been working in masonry for 25 years, but this is the first time I've seen this. Normally the outer shell is attached to the inner shell. They are always coupled together. That coupling is not there in this project, so the outer wall had to be able to support itself." That required extra preparation. "How do you tackle such a self-supporting outer shell in terms of support during work? And when the outer shell is finished, how do you finish it? And can the support simply be removed once everything is finished? Surely those are important questions that you need to know the answers to before you can start."

Nice challenge

It ended up being masonry without anchors and lintels. "Normally there are anchors in the inner wall, which continue to the outer wall. In this case, those anchors stop at the insulation in the wall. It was a nice challenge, but it worked! A good example of an architect who wanted to try something beautiful with a loose exterior wall. And I must say, it looks nice too, now that it's finished. Technically it was challenging, but it was worth it!"