Comeniuslaan 4 and 6, Nijmegen: Pluggable electrical lighting for largest digital test site
Tekst: Lieke van zuilenkom I Beeld: CroonWolter&Dros
Thanks to the thorough renovation and refurbishment of the buildings on Comeniuslaan 4 and 6, Radboud University Nijmegen will soon have the largest digital test site of all Dutch universities. Between August and November 2020, phase 1 was realised at high speed, during which the interior of the building at Comeniuslaan 6 was sustainably demolished, remodelled and equipped with new technical systems. Work on Comeniuslaan 4 (phase 2) started last February and will be completed by the end of June. Croonwolter&dros is responsible for the construction of the electrical systems. From the lighting installation, sub-splitter boxes and workstation power supplies to the fire-alarm and evacuation systems, data systems, fibre-optic infrastructure and basis for the audiovisual systems. The TBI company selected Wieland’s pluggable technology for straightforward connection of the lighting.
Since Isolectra introduced the Wieland GST18® system in the Netherlands, pluggable electrical installation has taken off. This is logical, as a pluggable electrical installation saves time and (failure) costs while increasing the flexibility of installation. Isolectra and Croonwolter&dros have proven this in various projects. “Croonwolter&dros is one of the largest electrical contracters in the country, and we are the market leader in pluggable electrical installation. In recent years, we have increasingly grown closer”, says Marcel Backx, Key Account Manager at Isolectra. “Together, we have already completed many noteworthy projects in non-residential construction, infrastructure and healthcare. We are currently working together on projects such as the District Court building in Den Bosch, VUmc in Amsterdam, Black Box in Groningen, Rijnstate Hospital in Arnhem, Centre Court in The Hague and the Comenius buildings in Nijmegen.”
Limited heights
Digital exams are conducted daily in the Comenius buildings, which cover an area of 6,054 sqm. A total of 923 workstations will be created on top of a computer floor. In the buildings, Soluflex cable floor systems of only 37 mm in height were chosen. “Normally, we weld the electrical cables into a junction box under
the floor, but in this project there was no room to do that”, says Richard Schreur, Project Leader at Croonwolter&dros. “That’s why we looked for a pluggable solution for the power supply to all computers, which we found at one of our preferred suppliers. Isolectra has super-flat Wieland splitter blocks with an excellent price-quality ratio, that we can use to easily and quickly connect to all workstations.”
Sorted by system and floor
All lighting is also designed to be pluggable. Via wholesaler Technische Unie, Isolectra supplied a large number of Wieland coupling cables, connecting cables, splitters and distributors for the lighting installation, as well as the sensors for the toilet groups. “During the first phase, the products were delivered from stock in the well-known green wholesale bins”, says Schreur. “A great solution, but not always logistically efficient. This is why, in the second phase, we opted for the use of special roll containers in which all pluggable electrical products are delivered, sorted by system and by floor. This shortens lead times even further and reduces failure costs, while guaranteeing high quality.
Read more about the project Lighting for Radboud University Nijmegen here.