Dry construction accelerates the transformation in The Hague

Office Building Becomes Residential Building

On Laan van Nieuw Oost-Indië in The Hague, De Vries en Verburg is transforming a vacant office building into more than 200 residential units. Stam Montagebouw is installing all the drywall and ceilings. It’s a major project, involving weekly deliveries and a dedicated on-site coordinator.

The former office building from the 1970s, designed by Kraaijvanger, is being replaced by 205 apartments and 16 townhouses. Stam Montagebouw typically handles many renovation projects, but this time it was asked by general contractor De Vries en Verburg to take on this transformation project. Work planner Paul van der Voort: ’We’re handling all the walls and ceilings here. That’s quite a large-scale project.“

In-house project manager as the central figure

To ensure the work runs smoothly, Stam Montagebouw assigned its own coordinator to the construction site. He doesn’t participate in the construction work himself, but coordinates everything for the 25 to 30 technicians who work there every day. Van der Voort: “He takes care of everything: transportation, scheduling, and coordination. He also works closely with De Vries and Verburg, even on tasks that aren’t part of our scope of work.  He also serves as the eyes and ears of our construction partners on the job site.” This approach is paying off. Collaboration with other parties on the job—from installers to tilers—is going smoothly. “There’s always good communication. There’s a positive work atmosphere.”

Expansion Joints as a Technical Challenge

A new section has been added to the front of the building. This presents a specific technical challenge. Van der Voort: “We have to install expansion joints everywhere, because the new section behaves differently than the existing building.” This technical complexity requires close supervision. That’s why Stam Montagebouw conducts regular quality inspections during construction, together with a technical specialist from gypsum manufacturer Gyproc, to ensure the quality of the walls and ceilings. “We inspect our own work because we want to deliver high-quality results. We do that together.” And all this while the pressure is high: the schedule is tight, and every week, trailers are driving back and forth with materials. Van der Voort: “It has to be completed in a relatively short time. That requires a lot of hard work, but that’s what we’re good at.”