Installation technology at the service of the process

The main building installations at The Beatrix are provided by Haaglanden Duurzaam, a young company with an innovative approach to total installation. "From sewerage to the completion of the E-installations, we are involved in engineering and assembly," says director Johan de Jong. "This makes the preliminary process longer, logistically efficient and integrally built, based on optimal choices."

The Beatrix is an office transformation and therefore has a larger engineering task than new construction of apartments - a specialty of Haaglanden Duurzaam. "This project with various engineering issues is a great step for us," says De Jong. Haaglanden Duurzaam's vision has a large prefab component, but also involvement in construction aspects. "That is necessary: in the shell, a huge number of recesses were realized for the installation technology, which again had to be secured constructively." In terms of content choices, the former office building also has its challenges. "The roof area is too small for solar panels and had to be used for the air handling system anyway, so that required custom engineering."

Comfort and efficiency

For a residential building for starters, the installation technology of The Beatrix can be called high-quality, with an all-electric energy supply based on heat pumps, underfloor heating and cooling and CO2-controlled ventilation. De Jong: "The comfort for the residents is therefore very high, with many individual controls, but the investments pay for themselves. This building incorporates various efficient gadgets, such as rainwater drainage based on vacuum technology, fully prefabricated down pipes and centrally controlled air treatment. With the underfloor heating, a system has been used that minimizes space loss and requires only one group per dwelling for the entire system." Customization is also used in the supply logistics. For example, the E-installation is not pluggable, but traditional.

E, W and S 

That has to do with construction flows, De Jong said. "We finish one floor a week, and the parts are stored on the floors. Much of the sanitairaf construction is also prefabricated, and the bathrooms are equipped with lighting controls. It's a "combination of" optimal choices. And all with minimal packaging material, in cooperation with the wholesaler." It helps, of course, that the general contractor has the practical attitude of a developing builder. "We have only been around for four years, the integral vision of total installation has now proven itself. With all-electric buildings, the differences between E and W are disappearing more and more; we notice that the S-component is also increasingly requested by clients, and we can include the sewerage work."