Steel structure provides additional stability. From department store to design hotel.

In the heart of Rotterdam, main contractor BOBgroep is building a design hotel for hotel chain Motel One. The existing building - completed in 1954 as department store Galeries Modernes - will be transformed into a hotel with 180 rooms and a sky lounge overlooking the city centre.

The hotel will be located in one of the oldest streets in the centre of Rotterdam, at Hoogstraat 177-179. For the transformation, most of the building was gutted, says Maikel Ouwerkerk, director of BOBgroep. "The top floor was a roof structure. That was removed and on it came two new, full floors and a new roof structure with restaurant and terrace. From the shell, we could start building again. First of all, we brought in a large steel structure to ensure the stability of the building. The new building floors were also constructed in steel." 

There are two retail spaces on the ground floor, which have now been completed. Beneath the building is a basement that is rented out to a gym. Around 60 people are currently working daily on the hotel. The facades have now been completed and the hotel is expected to be in use from October.    

Noise standards

The project presented some considerable challenges. Ouwerkerk: "The building was too light to put a heavy structure on it, so we started working with steel. There are also high noise standards for impact sound. Therefore, all rooms had to be acoustically separated from each other. In the detailed implementation, this is quite a tricky job. Impact sound enters through floors, walls and facades, so we had to interrupt all of them. The inside of the hotel, for instance, is fitted with metal stud walls on acoustic rules and has floating screeds. The facades are mostly aluminium and these too are acoustically interrupted in the room partition, both horizontally and vertically. All installations are also interrupted acoustically, including by hanging them on acoustic rails. We have a consultant who calculates all that for us. Of course, it is important that this is implemented carefully. We therefore do a lot of checks."

Reusing an existing building is sustainable in itself. In addition, the materials used are largely recyclable. Part of the facades consists of natural stone slabs mounted on an aluminium suspension construction.

BOBgroep has extensive experience in hotel construction. For example, the company previously built the Promenade hotel, Mövenpick and Hotel Des Indes in The Hague, seven easyHotels and the expansion of the Marriott hotel in Hoofddorp.

Despite all the problems caused by corona and material scarcity, the project is progressing well. "That is quite an achievement, as there is scarcity of everything," says Ouwerkerk. "Fortunately, we anticipated this in time and committed important parts very early."

Improvising

Remodelling an existing building remains improvisational, Ouwerkerk knows. "We are used to that. You always come across a problem for which you have to come up with a quick solution. In this project, for instance, some concrete structures turned out not to be in their original state. They had been poured on and were not entirely up to current requirements and wishes. We therefore had to demolish and replace some parts, but in other places we were able to reinforce them from the steel structure."

For this project, the main contractor worked in a construction team with key partners such as installer and façade suppliers. "We involved them at an early stage, which also ensured commitment from them. After all, they also reserve time, materials and people. Rotterdam is a pleasant city to work in. People think in solutions, not in problems, and people are always willing to cooperate."