Beautiful facades and technology! But what about its maintenance?

Raymond Keijzer, Manager Safety Support at Eurosafe

Which Dutch city has the most beautiful skyline? I won't answer that question here, but I can greatly enjoy the beautiful structures and technological marvels you sometimes see. How do they come up with it. But ... there is also a downside to that extraordinary architecture and technology. Because those beautiful facades and high technology make safe and efficient maintenance increasingly complex.

In addition to the facades themselves with their unusual structures and vertical gardens, innovative new systems also create maintenance challenges. Consider cooling systems that use frozen condensation. These are huge cabinets placed inside the building. But how do you maintain those? And what about the Earth, Wind & Fire concept? This natural air conditioning system works with three shafts that clean, heat and exhaust air. This type of system also requires a specific and unique form of maintenance.

The maintenance of such complex systems and facades therefore requires increasingly specialized knowledge and skills. Especially in a very tight labor market, this is a challenge. You have to have a risk-
inventory but you just need qualified employees in the end. Because new bottlenecks and risks arise in those particular workplaces. 

So we need to be vigilant about that. Of course, we all want sustainable (AND impressive) skylines to enjoy. And, we want a nice indoor climate. But do we all think enough about the maintenance of all those systems, facades and structures? Because no matter how you look at it, sooner or later everything needs maintenance. Maintenance that you must be able to carry out safely and efficiently. 

A good example of this is the multifunctional Wonderwoods in Utrecht. There you see a beautiful vertical forest, in the middle of the city, built up against the facade. A forest to create a healthier living environment and improve biodiversity. With a large basin in the basement for the irrigation system that waters all that greenery on the facade. And of course, what is beautiful must stay beautiful. Careful maintenance is therefore a must to maintain the aesthetic value of the building. This was well thought out in the design phase. For example, smart safety features were integrated into the design. And well-trained specialists are used for the maintenance of the greenery and installations.  

Therefore, here is a call to all building owners and employers in the Netherlands: make sure you think about safe and easy maintenance already in the design phase. Where workers have the right competencies. Train them! After all, it cannot be that we create unsafe situations because we have built facades and buildings that cannot be maintained. To govern is to look ahead and prevention is better than cure: safety - also for maintenance workers - comes first.