Office building becomes apartment complex. Sanitary installation for 397 homes

Many area developments are taking place in Amsterdam-Zuidoost where office buildings are being converted into housing. On the corner of Bijlmerplein and Flierbosdreef, for example, 397 apartments are coming up in a former office. The building has an area of 16,500 m2 and will have two new floors on top. On the first floor will be central and commercial spaces.

Sanitary installer Hoogendoorn from Woerden is providing the plumbing and waste water drains, drinking water and rainwater installation and fire extinguishing facilities. Michel van der Lingen, project leader at Hoogendoorn: "It is the transformation of a large building with 397 one- and two-room apartments. These will all have their own kitchen and bathroom with sink, toilet and shower. Regarding the new roof, we will take care of the drainage of rainwater through a full-fill system. In two stairwells there will be a dry riser with a connection for the fire department on each floor. Our client is construction company Plegt-Vos, which approached us in a construction team. In the preliminary phase we had the opportunity to help think about the design and the basic principles. We were able to create the technical design ourselves as a result."

From office to home

At Hoogendoorn they are used to large projects. For example, the company took care of the complete sanitary installations for ASML, Nieuw Hoog Catharijne, Westfield Mall of the Netherlands and various hotels and hospitals. Residential construction in this format, however, is newer for the company, says Van der Lingen. "Nowadays, more and more office buildings are being transformed into housing, so Hoogendoorn is also developing strongly in this field." 

Design 

"Even before the execution phase, our BIM model was ready. This not only allows the execution to work more efficiently, but also results in fewer adjustments and fewer clashes," says BIM modeler Davy van Huizen. Engineer Henk-Jan Rijneveld complements him: "Also interesting in this transformation: the water supply system was calculated in accordance with the most modern calculation technique. This technique is based more on the user, in this case young people. Young people have different habits and tap patterns than, for example, the elderly and families. The system in this building has been calculated accordingly."

Many prefabricated

Planning presents a reasonable challenge. It involves many homes that must be realized within a relatively short time frame. Van der Lingen: "Because everything had already been worked out in BIM, we were able to realize the main sections even before completion. This saved us an awful lot of time in the completion phase. Some 80% was also prefabricated. This also with a view to saving time."

In this project, the construction parties are also consciously working to reduce waste streams. For example, at Hoogendoorn everything, both pipes and sanitary appliances, is delivered per room and as much as possible packaging-free on carts. This significantly reduces waste on the construction site. 

This is the first time Hoogendoorn has worked together with Plegt-Vos, and it works out fine. According to Van der Lingen, the construction company especially wants to do everything together. "There are few problems, but if there are, we try to solve them together. The schedule was not imposed on us, we made it together. That ensures that the project goes well and, above all, is fun."