Last week, preparations for construction of the new research building of the Free University in Amsterdam (VU) took off! The new building will be realized along the dynamic Zuidas, across the street from the VU main building.
vibration-free building
A special feature of the new construction is that it will largely be without any vibrations, while the nearby environment generates a lot of vibrations: the immediate surroundings include both tram and train routes as well as Amsterdam’s busy southern ring road, which will also undergo construction work the coming years.
For a vibration-free setup of sophisticated measuring equipment such as the electron microscopes in the laser lab, a variety of measures have been taken. One of these is the diaphragm wall, a thick concrete underground wall which will be realized with a length of 150 meters and a depth of up to 25 meters below Normal Amsterdam Gauge.
Last March, the building consortium of TBI companies J.P. van Eesteren and Croonwolter&dros signed the building contract. The photo above shows one of the reinforcement cages that are processed in the concrete wall.
first diaphragm wall research building vu amsterdam
