New Bridge control center for better flow

With the new 24-hour Bridge control center in Heerhugowaard, the Province of Noord-Holland wants to improve traffic flow on the waterways. At the place where the Support Center for Road Maintenance was located, there is now the Brugbediencentrale that serves more than 40 bridges and locks remotely. The outdated support center has been completely renewed for this.

The design of the sustainable energy-neutral building is based on the concept of circular construction: the unbundling of support, installations, peeling and finishing and the use of renewable and reusable raw materials. With a high GPR score of more than 9 points, the plant is one of the most sustainable buildings in the Province.

The plant is made up of two volumes. The plinth houses the workshop, the washing and changing rooms, the canteen and the garage. The façade is made of wood and robust prefabricated concrete that is provided with a print of tire tracks. The workplaces for the bridge operators and the road inspectors are in the raised and projecting volume. The façade is provided with a shiny, perforated metal skin that depicts the ripple of the water. The incident daylight plays an important role in the interior in which the use of natural materials predominates.

In the sheds, the wooden trusses play a prominent role in architecture. Together with the concrete feet, they determine the image.

The steel construction is fully demountable and secured with bolt connections. The channel plates are placed on the steel structure and can also be fully dismantled. For horizontal stability, channel plates are used without a pressure layer. The disk effect was realized with steel braces in the floor.

The roof construction is fixed with steel braces and steel roof plates. The vertical stability is achieved through wind connections. A raised computer floor has been used for the power station, so no wet finish is required. The entire construction has been dismantled.

Not only the exterior, with the striking façade cladding / sun blinds, is delightful, but the interior design by Gertrud Topper of Finishing Dutch Design from Alkmaar is very beautiful. Construction company Nobel from Bodegraven was responsible for the total execution of the construction.