Façade of Lange Voorhout 8 renovated
The tiles on the façade of the Court of Audit´s offices are shining again. After thorough renovation, the building, designed by architect Aldo van Eyck and first taken into service in 1997, can again be admired in its full glory. It will be open to the public on National Heritage Day, Saturday 13 September. Building supervisor Gerrit van Voorthuizen was put in charge of the renovation by the Government Buildings Agency, the owner of the building.
Anyone who regularly walks along Lange Voorhout in The Hague will have seen the fences and building huts in front of the Pageshuis and wondered what was happening behind them. The answer is: nothing! The space on Lange Voorhout was needed to store building materials. The work itself was being carried out on the new offices of the Court of Audit behind the entrance of Lange Voorhout 8 and on Kazernestraat.
The Court of Audit’s offices consist of an old building on Lange Voorhout and the new offices behind them dating from 1997. The latter had to be renovated because the tiles on the façade had slowly worked loose as a result of the construction method. The tiles had been bonded directly to concrete blocks. The concrete blocks had been warped by the sun and the adhesive was getting harder. As a result, some of the tiles had worked loose. Not only did the façade have to be retiled, the concrete blocks had to be replaced.
As Van Voorthuizen explains, it was a very demanding project: ‘Even the colour of the new tiles had to be approved by Van Eyck and the Netherlands’ Chief Government Architect. The original tiles had been specially made in Germany. The original colours could not be restored because the dyestuffs used to make them are banned today. Another dye therefore had to be prepared to approximate the original colour as closely as possible’. The tiles were replaced in exactly the same position as on the original building.
The Government Buildings Agency signed a Design, Build and Operate (DBO) contract with the contractor that carried out the work. This form of contract is relatively new to the government. Under it, the contractor not only carried out the renovation but will also be responsible for maintaining the façade for the next 20 years. Van Voorthuizen is confident that the tiles won’t come loose again: ‘The work is excellent.’
The Court of Audit audited DBFMO contracts in 2013. To admire the façade simply go through the gate on Lange Voorhout to reach the entrance of the Court of Audit. The Court of Audit will be open on National Heritage Day (13 September 2014) so that the public can also see the interior of the building.
Gerrit van Voorthuizen (born in Haarlem on 31 March 1951) is an architect. He has carried out countless projects on exceptional buildings during his career, including the Toneelschuur theatre in Haarlem, the head office of the PTT in Groningen and, with the current Chief Government Architect, Frits van Dongen, the town hall in Enschede. He draws his inspiration chiefly from cooperation in the industry: with architects, the builders on the scaffolding and clients. Van Voorthuizen: ‘You have to work together on such a big project. And that´s why it´s so rewarding!´