Sanitary techniques with an eye for assembly speed and durability 

De Kraan Installatietechniek is a specialized installation company for plumbing, mechanical ventilation and heating in (serial) new construction, renovation and transformation projects. The company values long-term relationships, of which the relationship with Nederlandse Bouw Unie (NBU) is a fine example. Following in the footsteps of, for example, Sculptura in Breda, Van Bergenpark in Etten-Leur and Bernini Prinsenland in Rotterdam, De Kraan Installatietechniek is involved in the new construction of project Blossem in Breda.

Controlled stormwater management

De Kraan Installatietechniek is responsible for working out and implementing the sanitary installations at Blossem. "We are already involved in the preparatory phase, in order to come up with a technically feasible and practicable plan for the installation techniques together with our construction partners," says director Rob Snoek of De Kraan Installatietechniek. "We provide both the sewer technology, water supply technology, sanitary facilities and rainwater drains for various building blocks, including the connection of our sewer system to the site sewer." Several roof gardens store rainwater in the plants and substrate and allow it to return to the atmosphere through evaporation, he says. "The clean rainwater that remains is collected in wadis in the neighborhood park using the site sewer system. This relieves the municipal sewer system and prevents flooding of the roof gardens."

Design and coordination in BIM

Currently, De Kraan Installatietechniek has the Redwood (3.2) and Sierra (3.3) building blocks simultaneously under construction. Blocks 3.4 and 3.5 are in the work preparation stage and block 3.6 is also under development, says project manager Pieter Janssen. "To keep the construction pace high, all sanitary installations are prefabricated in our own workshop in Etten-Leur. This means that our entire company is involved in development, production and assembly." One challenge in particular concerns the Redwood and Sierra buildings, he says. "This is because in the ceilings above the basements, a multitude of installations have to be fitted in. This requires good coordination with all stakeholders. By working out all installations in advance and coordinating them in 3D/BIM, errors and delays during execution are avoided."

Resident wishes

The contract for De Kraan Installatietechniek includes both rental and owner-occupied apartments. "The residents of the owner-occupied apartments have the opportunity to select the plumbing of their dreams in our partner's showroom," said Snoek. "We then ensure that these plumbing fixtures arrive on site at the right time and are fully assembled to their specifications."