European Patent Office realized with BIM

Near the Hague, the new office for the largest international institution in the Netherlands, is under construction: the European Patent Office (EPO). The intention of the architect is that the glass building, at 80,000 m2 GFA, will seem to blend in with its surroundings. It is a prestigious project with a strong focus on sustainability.

The client for the EPO New Main project is the TBI building consortium. The commissioning of this construction project is scheduled for 2019. When it comes to BIM, sanitary installation company Hoogendoorn is certainly not inferior to major players in the market. The family business provides consulting, design and installation of water supply systems, drainage technology, fire safety, legionella prevention and sanitary items.

Responsible from A to Z

René Kamer, Head of Implementation at Hoogendoorn, explains what makes this project so special: "Because of the design & build principle, we as a contractor are responsible from design phase to implementation, allowing us to demonstrate our knowledge and expertise freely.” “This project fits perfectly within the vision of Hoogendoorn, to be a proactive and cooperative sparring partner for clients by focusing on innovation.

The EPO New Main project is also challenging due to its size. The length of the office building is 150 meters and the width is only 12.6 meters at the office floors. In order to house the 1,750 employees, the building has to rise high; 105 meters in total for 26 floors. René explains that the height puts special demands on the installations:

"We have divided the water installation into three zones, meaning three pressure boosting installations for drinking water. In addition, rainwater is collected and used for the toilets, for which also three pump installations are required. We also need to place a fire pump installation to supply the dry fire line in the building."

Read more about this impressive BIM project and prefab in our Scratch magazine.