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Large-scale renovation headquarters Philips The Netherlands
The Dutch city of Eindhoven and Philips are inextricably linked. The electronics manufacturer’s buildings dominate the city’s architecture in many places. Holland’s fifth city didn’t acquire the proud nickname of ‘Lighttown’ by accident – it refers to the light bulbs which made Philips great. One of the most striking buildings in the city is the thirteen-storeyed building VB. At the moment, the Philips Nederland home base is renovated thoroughly. Search Engineering and Consultancy is involved in this large-scale project as a project manager of asbestos decontamination and renovation. On behalf of Philips Environmental Services (PES), Frits Melgert is responsible for the renovation’s environmental aspects.
Frits Melgert is every inch a Philips man. Almost forty years ago he started his career as a chemist at the division which marketed colour televisions. At the end of the eighties, after completing a postgraduate training in Antwerpen, Belgium, the words ‘Safety & environment’ were added to his business card. A few years ago, he took charge of the integration of these two social themes within Philips Environmental Services. On the basis of this responsibility, he is Search’s point of consultation for the decontamination and renovation of the building VB on Eindhoven’s Boschdijk. He starts by elucidating the unique character of the building VB: “It’s one of the first buildings in our country of which the façade is hung from a steel construction. I don’t think there are ten comparable buildings in the Netherlands. It wasn’t hard to decide whether to demolish or to renovate the building. The building absolutely had to be saved for Eindhoven. The fact of the matter is, that it’s part of the city’s and Philips’ cultural heritage.”
A few years ago, Philips made plans to redevelop a number of industrial buildings in Eindhoven. A new destination was being considered for building VB too. Search Engineering and Consultancy was commissioned to carry out an asbestos inventory at the site. Frits Melgert says: “It is known that asbestos was used in buildings dating from this time. The investigation results did not present an alarming picture. There was no immediate danger to the health of the building’s users and visitors. There was no need of destructive investigations. But we did agree with Search that they would keep the inventory report up-to-date by monitoring the building annually. So the asbestos removal could be postponed in a responsible way until the renovation began. Because we adhere to a policy of open communication, Search informed representatives of the building’s users about the investigation results. In other projects we had already experienced that, as an independent party, they could keep the communication ‘factual’ and take away anxiety.”
The building’s renovation officially started in August 2003. In advance of this, inspectors from Search Engineering and Consultancy took a very close look at the building. Apart from a risk inventory, this stage included a destructive investigation of all evacuated departments. The results of these investigations enabled contractors to draw up a cost estimate as well as possible. Frits Melgert continues: “The inspectors exactly mapped the way the asbestos removal should be conducted. This strategic approach was a very detailed description of the work to be done. Even guidelines for building asbestos containment barriers and scaffolding have been put down on paper.”
Apart from the asbestos inventory, Search Engineering and Consultancy also provided advice with respect to the tender procedure. Furthermore, an on-site project manager keeps an eye on things. He doesn’t just monitor the day-to-day planning, but he also is the contractor’s point of consultation. He will, for instance, check if the precision demolishing and asbestos removal proceed in compliance with the existing statutory requirements. Frits Melgert: “The renovation takes quite some doing. The entire building has been stripped. Which means that all elements without constructive functions have been removed. When this precision demolishing was over and done with, all that was left was a concrete skeleton.”
Five months after the project started, the renovation of building VB is proceeding according to plan. Quite a feat, in view of the extra work which came up during the project. Frits Melgert: “When the bridge connecting the main building and VB-west was detached, asbestos parts were revealed. A fake ceiling and a double bottom were to blame. Nobody could have taken these asbestos applications into consideration beforehand. An important task in identifying and judging the extra work in the connecting bridge was reserved for Search’s inspectors. The were able to intervene directly and adequately, and within a few hours they could estimate the scale and identify the points deserving particular interest. This proved to be very important, because the contractor must be able to rely on their findings for his work and prices. Frits Melgert is enthusiastic about the smooth interaction between Philips, Search and the contractors: “If a project is delayed and the consultant and contractors do not think along in a solution-oriented way, progress will halt. Now we even were slightly ahead of the scheme. We have already started redecorating the completed storeys.”
A Philips career
Frits Melgert is every inch a Philips man. Almost forty years ago he started his career as a chemist at the division which marketed colour televisions. At the end of the eighties, after completing a postgraduate training in Antwerpen, Belgium, the words ‘Safety & environment’ were added to his business card. A few years ago, he took charge of the integration of these two social themes within Philips Environmental Services. On the basis of this responsibility, he is Search’s point of consultation for the decontamination and renovation of the building VB on Eindhoven’s Boschdijk. He starts by elucidating the unique character of the building VB: “It’s one of the first buildings in our country of which the façade is hung from a steel construction. I don’t think there are ten comparable buildings in the Netherlands. It wasn’t hard to decide whether to demolish or to renovate the building. The building absolutely had to be saved for Eindhoven. The fact of the matter is, that it’s part of the city’s and Philips’ cultural heritage.”
Asbestos inventory
A few years ago, Philips made plans to redevelop a number of industrial buildings in Eindhoven. A new destination was being considered for building VB too. Search Engineering and Consultancy was commissioned to carry out an asbestos inventory at the site. Frits Melgert says: “It is known that asbestos was used in buildings dating from this time. The investigation results did not present an alarming picture. There was no immediate danger to the health of the building’s users and visitors. There was no need of destructive investigations. But we did agree with Search that they would keep the inventory report up-to-date by monitoring the building annually. So the asbestos removal could be postponed in a responsible way until the renovation began. Because we adhere to a policy of open communication, Search informed representatives of the building’s users about the investigation results. In other projects we had already experienced that, as an independent party, they could keep the communication ‘factual’ and take away anxiety.”
Detailed strategic planning
The building’s renovation officially started in August 2003. In advance of this, inspectors from Search Engineering and Consultancy took a very close look at the building. Apart from a risk inventory, this stage included a destructive investigation of all evacuated departments. The results of these investigations enabled contractors to draw up a cost estimate as well as possible. Frits Melgert continues: “The inspectors exactly mapped the way the asbestos removal should be conducted. This strategic approach was a very detailed description of the work to be done. Even guidelines for building asbestos containment barriers and scaffolding have been put down on paper.”
Precision demolishing
Apart from the asbestos inventory, Search Engineering and Consultancy also provided advice with respect to the tender procedure. Furthermore, an on-site project manager keeps an eye on things. He doesn’t just monitor the day-to-day planning, but he also is the contractor’s point of consultation. He will, for instance, check if the precision demolishing and asbestos removal proceed in compliance with the existing statutory requirements. Frits Melgert: “The renovation takes quite some doing. The entire building has been stripped. Which means that all elements without constructive functions have been removed. When this precision demolishing was over and done with, all that was left was a concrete skeleton.”
Interaction
Five months after the project started, the renovation of building VB is proceeding according to plan. Quite a feat, in view of the extra work which came up during the project. Frits Melgert: “When the bridge connecting the main building and VB-west was detached, asbestos parts were revealed. A fake ceiling and a double bottom were to blame. Nobody could have taken these asbestos applications into consideration beforehand. An important task in identifying and judging the extra work in the connecting bridge was reserved for Search’s inspectors. The were able to intervene directly and adequately, and within a few hours they could estimate the scale and identify the points deserving particular interest. This proved to be very important, because the contractor must be able to rely on their findings for his work and prices. Frits Melgert is enthusiastic about the smooth interaction between Philips, Search and the contractors: “If a project is delayed and the consultant and contractors do not think along in a solution-oriented way, progress will halt. Now we even were slightly ahead of the scheme. We have already started redecorating the completed storeys.”
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