Steel frame concept lets Middelburg district office 'breathe'

The new district office in Middelburg is not to be missed. It is a bold and all-sided building with a golden edge. Literally. Also for LeeFrame Products, by the way, because it is the first project ever in which the versatile steel frame concept has been applied as a visible work. The gold-colored LeeFrame profiles in combination with the perforated facade parts let the building breathe. 

The new district office forms the home base for the basic team of the Walcheren Police and for various parts of the District Criminal Investigation Department and the Zeeland - West Brabant Regional Criminal Investigation Department. It is a striking building for good reason, not least because of its special color scheme. According to the architect, that golden hue relates to the Zeeland landscape and refers to the color of the sand and fields. The LeeFrame profiles are also coated in that same color. "Normally our profiles fall away behind a facade finish, but in this project they remain in sight," says Tim van der Lee, director of LeeFrame Products.

Dust-free tables

LeeFrame profiles were applied at the level of the parking garage and the technical area on the roof. "Our profiles form a stable frame against which perforated cladding is attached. It allows the space behind to ventilate." A major advantage of LeeFrame Products' lightweight steel frame concept is its extreme dimensional stability, durable nature and fast assembly time. "Moreover, we are able to produce the profiles in long lengths, so that facade builders can clad very large elements or multiple floors in one go," Tim adds. "The latter came in handy on this project, although we did have a challenge with the powder coater. There was no powder coating line to be found that could treat the complete facade elements in one go. We therefore sent individual profiles to the powder coater on special trestles and then very carefully assembled them into frames on dust-free tables in our hall afterwards."

Beautiful and cuddly

The steel frame profiles are fully custom produced by LeeFrame and come standard with a zinc-magnesium (Magnelis) preservation. "So for the district office, another 2-layer Seaside powder coating was applied on top of that. The screws were also powder coated in the same color. The result is really stunning," says Tim, who is visibly impressed himself. "The look is so beautiful, so cuddly. All the sharp edges are gone. This project once again shows the versatile nature of our lightweight steel frame concept." In total, LeeFrame Products constructed more than 1,000 m¹ of LeeFrame profiles in 60 x 1.5 mm dimensions. "The technical room contains 200 m1 of LeeFrame profiles in the 60 x 1.5 mm size, and another 1,500 m1 in the 100 x 1.5 mm size. All powder coated and all equally beautiful."