On the 7th of September, the Dutch magazine Roofs awarded the ‘Roof of the year Award 2019’ to our project Het Platform in Utrecht. According to the jury, Het Platform was the most complete project and therefore the rightful winner. VenhoevenCS together with ZND Dakbedekkingen, green specialist BTL and Zoontjens received the award.
Het Platform is a mixed-use building. Instead of 200 small private outdoor spaces for each apartment, a few very large ones have been created on different rooftop levels. Here, people can meet each other: the residents share beautiful rooftop terraces and gardens which invites them to go outside more often.
The jury, consisting of Ton Berlee (Comfortdak), Otto Kettlitz (Nieman-Kettlitz), Marco de Kok (Low and Bonar), and Paul van Roosmalen (Municipality of Rotterdam), found the project special because it consists of several roofs, interconnected by stairs and footbridges. “The roof offers a beautiful view from all sides and the building itself is actually a roof: it is realized on the roof of the Uithoflijn station, directly adjacent to Utrecht Central Station. The roof provides space for almost all functions: recreation, stimulating biodiversity, water buffering, and improving the air quality. The vegetation of the roof gardens was inspired by the different landscapes in the province of Utrecht”.
The roof construction was a collaboration of three companies. As main roof contractor, ZND Roofing was responsible for the construction of the roofing, including the complete roof covering. An extensive job, of around 4,700 square meters. ZND Roofing contacted BTL and Zoontjens as partners for the roof covering. BTL was responsible for the construction of all green spaces on the roofs. Zoontjens installed the roof paving on different levels. According to the architect’s wishes, the terraces were installed with ceramic slabs in a 90 × 45 format with a staggered pattern. Good coordination of the activities and installation plans made it pleasant for all parties to work together.
The jury had nothing but praise for this performance. “The fact that a crane from an adjacent project was used during the installation is a perfect example of cooperation. Due to the busy location, safe vertical transport was an extra point of attention and Safety is regulated in a certain way it was a job very well done. ”
A total of 19 projects had a chance to win the award. The final shortlist consisted of Amsterdome in Amsterdam, Bisonspoor Business Centre in Maarssen, and Het Platform in Utrecht. The presentation of the prize for Roof of the Year was initially supposed to have taken place last March 20 during the annual party of the roofing industry, but due to the corona crisis, this was canceled. The winners have been called together by Roofs on September 7th for an informal, but a festive ceremony.
From left to the right: Gaston van der Heijden (Zoontjens), Simon Bos (BTL), Pierre Brands (ZND), Albert Jan Kerssen (BTL), Bram Breedveld (Studio Landlab), Arjen Zaal (VenhoevenCS architecture+urbanism) and Casper Hubers (BTL).
Het Platform
Utrecht
