Published in: Wall Covering Construction, Issue 4 (2022)
Written by: Roel van Gils
Comhan Holland has invested heavily in a sustainable expansion of the company with a new and energy-efficient high-rise warehouse. The aluminium wholesaler has also built a modern and sustainable head office that radiates aluminium. The sustainable extension boasts a special façade covering design, which, fittingly, is made from the company's own aluminium profiles.
With a bulging warehouse and a lack of office space, Comhan Holland had reached its limits. "We had outgrown our premises and in order to continue to grow, an extension was necessary," says Comhan's Robert de Haan. "We also had the ambition to build a large robotic warehouse. With the acquisition of a plot of land at the back of our existing office/warehouse, this ambition became a reality. Here we built a completely new high-bay warehouse, 16 metres high and with a capacity of 3,000 tonnes of aluminium profiles."
Horizontal and vertical shading profiles
Om het gerobotiseerde hoogbouwmagazijn, in de basis een enorme 'blokkendoos' van sandwichpanelen, wat meer cachet te geven, zijn er verticale aluminium lamellen tussen de gevelelementen geplaatst. "Het zijn zwart geanodiseerde aluminium hoeklijnen van telkens 2 meter lang die in een specifiek patroon achter de sandwichpanelen verborgen zijn verankerd", legt De Haan uit.
To give the robotic high-rise, which is essentially a giant 'block box' of sandwich panels, some cachet, vertical aluminium shading profiles have been inserted between the wall covering. "These are black anodised aluminium corner lines, each 2 metres long, which are anchored in a specific pattern hidden behind the sandwich panels," explains De Haan.
"The vertical shading profiles create a shadow effect on the wall covering, bringing it to life and making the warehouse look less massive in its surroundings. We installed them ourselves in collaboration with the contractor. The new head office covering also features aluminium slats, but in a horizontal arrangement.
The vertical slats create a shadow effect on the wall covering, making the warehouse appear less massive in its surroundings.
The new high-bay warehouse has a capacity of 3,000 tonnes of aluminium profiles.
Aluminium square tubes
The design of the new wall covering for Comhan's head office was inspired by a building in Austria. "The Austrian architect designed the covering for our office in Uithoorn," says De Haan. "It consists of square tubes, which are 'randomly' applied as horizontal lamellas in three different face widths (100, 200 and 300 mm). The pattern was explained to us by the architect, and we designed the shading profiles to be relatively easy to install on the steel trusses. Of course, we did the assembly ourselves. Each tube is attached to three outriggers with a fixed point in the middle and 'flexible' lugs at the ends to allow the aluminium to shrink and expand. These are serious lengths indeed, with examples reaching up to 7 metres. The facade covering also creates a walkway around the building for the window washers, with the slats acting as fall protection".
Comhan's expansion came as no surprise. "We now have a much wider and deeper stock and can better serve our customers in wall covering construction and beyond from A to Z: support in profile design, stocking, processing and just-in-time delivery. It is a solid concept that is in great demand and will play an important role in achieving our growth targets for the coming years," concludes De Haan.
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