Simple building construction, complex facade detailing

The concept of Plus Ultra is characterized by high efficiency and, above all, simple and demountable building construction. This also applies to the new multi-tenant building on the Medical Business Park Amsterdam right next to the AMC. The facade, on the other hand, is anything but simple. De Groot & Visser was responsible for the complex facade detailing, which includes a combination of fire-resistant aluminum element facades with PV fins on the outside that also form a passive sunshade and are optimized for each facade orientation.

Plus Ultra Amsterdam was commissioned by Kadans Science Partner and designed by cepezed and comprises both laboratories and office space especially for high-tech companies and ditto institutions in medical care. De Groot & Visser is familiar with both the concept and the client. "We have made several similar buildings in the past, where we acted as construction team partner for the facade," says director Anita de Groot. "Kadans has a clear vision when it comes to airtightness, about the divisibility of the building and compartmentalization, but also in terms of sustainability and circularity." 

Fire resistance

Commissioned by Wijnen Bouwgroep, De Groot & Visser provided the prestigious building with 1,128 m2 of curtain walls and 3,062 m2 of element facades. "The aluminum curtain walls are on the ground and second floors and are from Hueck (Trigon 60), while the entire high-rise building is constructed of aluminum element facades, also from system house Hueck," explains Anita. "One of the challenges here was to solve the fire resistance in the element facades. So alternating layers of element facades around the building were fireproofed. You don't see that on the outside, of course, because we solved that ín the element at our workshop." Although the fire-resistant element is a standard tested system from Hueck, it did require the necessary extra handling in De Groot & Visser's workshop. "It is more labor intensive than the production/assembly of a non-fire-resistant element," Anita now knows from experience. "Also, air sealing is always important for this type of building, but that is relatively easy to achieve with an element façade."   

PV fins 

All element facades were transported to the construction site prefabricated and prepared for the assembly of the PV fin structures. "To this end, we added additional reinforcements to the elements. The fins were then hung on the element facade in the shape of a triangle. That too was quite a challenge, especially to get the elements nicely aligned. It also required the necessary coordination with the installer and the supplier of the panels, Saint-Gobain Solutions, to get the whole thing working." The PV panels were mounted on the fins afterwards at the construction site, according to Anita, to minimize the chance of breakage. And they succeeded. The more than 1,000 m2 of panels account for a total output of about 194,256 Wp. The fins not only act as energy generators, but also serve as passive shading, with the fins optimized for each facade orientation. In this way, the transparent facade sections could be made floor-to-ceiling, which is good for daylighting and views. This has a positive effect on the experience and health of the users.

Breeam Outstanding

The many efforts of De Groot & Visser and many other VMRG partners have helped create an extremely sustainable and circular building that has been awarded Breeam Outstanding certification. "Kadans is really catching on with its sustainable building concepts that are relatively simple in the base consisting of a steel structure, hollow-core slabs and a facade around it," says Anita. "You can see that again in Plus Ultra Amsterdam. It is a building methodology that is very effective and circular, and with unprecedented flexibility toward the future. The floor plan is freely divisible. All parts can also be dismantled or upgraded very easily. And that includes the element and curtain walls." Plus Ultra Amsterdam will be completed in September 2023. Meanwhile, De Groot & Visser is already working on the next Plus Ultra concept in Utrecht. To be continued!  

Construction Info

Plus Ultra, Amsterdam

Client:

Kadans Science Partner

Architect: 

cepezed B.V.

Contractor: 

Wijnen Construction Group

Façade builder:

De Groot & Visser 

System provider: 

Hueck

SUPPLIER PV PANELS:
Saint-Gobain Solutions 

Glass supplier: 

Scheuten

Other suppliers: 

Comhan, FAAC, Zetsupport, Weerter Panel Industry