Fast, safe and flexible – these are the characteristics of tunnel casting construction. And with a specialist such as Hendriks, this construction method is even profitable for projects starting at 10 homes. But its real strength lies in large projects where the efficiency benefits can be fully exploited. One such project is the Amstel Tower, a 100-metre-high residential tower with 192 city apartments, 186 hotel rooms and parking for 171 cars.
Big challenge
The design of the residential tower right next to Amstel Station is remarkable. The tall, slender windows emphasise its lofty character. This is playfully interrupted by the protruding floors with their round, organic shapes. As you would expect in a metropolis like Amsterdam, the space available for the Amstel Tower is modest. This meant that a lot of puzzling over every square metre was required during construction.
Hendriks was approached by contractor J.P. van Eesteren for the structural work on the residential tower. The limited space presented the company with a major challenge. Precise preparation, strict execution and optimal control of logistics were therefore absolutely essential. To this end, Hendriks' work preparation team drew up detailed 3D plans of all tunnels and scaffolding in advance. This ensured that all bottlenecks and potential problems were identified in advance. It also meant that safety could be guaranteed under all circumstances.
Notable challenges included the segmented circular floor combined with prefabricated balconies, which required provisions to be made during the casting process. The prefabricated balconies are suspended with tension cables and cast in place afterwards. This was a challenging task, but one in which the Hendriks engineers were able to put their knowledge and skills to good use.
5-day cycle
Three tunnel formworks were used during construction. This enabled a cycle of five days per floor: four days for pouring and one day for transport. Custom-made scaffolding was supplied to ensure that the cycles ran smoothly across all 32 floors. This meant that work could be carried out safely under all conditions, despite the special shape of the building.
Thanks in part to the excellent preparations and the efficiency and flexibility of the tunnel formwork process, the structural work went very smoothly. The tunnel casting was completed last week. Work will now start on the finishing touches, with the Amstel Tower expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2018.
This project was realised in collaboration with J.P. van Eesteren and Red Betonbouw.
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