Demolish with feeling

On the Koestraat in Zwolle, a number of monumental buildings have been transformed into a luxury residential care home for seniors: Residence Coestraete. As a regular client of main contractor Salverda, Kwakkel BV carefully stripped the premises and prepared them for reconstruction. The specialist in renovation demolition work was able to put its wide range of services to optimum use here, and even went a step further.

"Salverda approaches us on an ongoing basis for ongoing projects or new challenges," begins Gerard Koobs, manager of Kwakkel BV. "With Koestraat, we have been involved from the preliminary stages, not least because of the complexity and scope of the work. These were originally medieval town halls that were subjected to a thorough metamorphosis. Virtually all of our disciplines were therefore involved here, which required extreme care given the monumental character of the buildings and the limited space."

Safe demolition

Because of the limited space and the fact that traffic on Koestraat was not to be hindered by the work, Kwakkel BV, at Salverda's request, helped set up the construction site at the rear. "That is not usually part of our duties, but we also 'just pick it up'. After all, it was necessary to create a safe and easily accessible work area for all parties involved," Koobs acknowledges. "So we delivered retaining walls, created an embankment and constructed a debris path. Then we were able to get on with our core business: demolition, asbestos remediation and later all kinds of drilling and sawing work for the purpose of the penetrations for the installer." What was also special was that a building was demolished "in between. "That part was in such a state that it did not fit into the new situation structurally," Koobs knows. "Together with Salverda and other parties involved, we settled the necessary challenges to demolish the building in a (constructively) responsible manner. And we have succeeded quite well, we may now conclude. The building was very carefully demolished and rebuilt by the contractor.
rebuilt."

"Given the nature and diversity of the work, the project was right up our alley," Koobs reflects. "We are used to going the extra mile and looking for the best solution together. Partly due to clever coordination on the front end and Salverda's confidence, we paved the way for the successful reconstruction into Residence Coestraete. As a service organization, with an enthusiastic club of over 70 employees outside, we focus primarily on supporting construction and installation engineering."