Well thought-out ‘pluggable’ electrical installation suits Van der Valk Amsterdam
Amsterdam is facing an enormous shortage of beds. Reason enough for the Van der Valk hotel family to set their sights on our capital. Right beside the A2 motorway at the Amstel interchange, a true landmark was built: a 67-metre-high hotel tower with more than 200 rooms, the necessary wellness facilities and a large number of meeting and conference facilities. Techval Technische Installaties was able to save a considerable amount of time with a well thought-out ‘pluggable’ electrical installation by Isolectra.
A pluggable installation in a hotel environment is uncommon, says Bert Damen of Techval. “However, we try to apply the concept of pluggable electrical installation from basement to roof as much as possible, where it proves its added value of course. Firstly, because the concept virtually eliminates the system being malfunction-prone. Secondly, because of the speed of installation. Working hours come at a high cost nowadays. Anything that can be saved in labour through technical ingenuity and calibrated equipment is a good thing. Isolectra is a permanent partner for us in this, a partner who very consciously gives input to us in the realisation of a well thought-out installation.”
Flexibility
With the exception of the hotel rooms, Hotel Van der Valk in Amsterdam is fully equipped with Wieland pluggable electrical installation solutions. “Especially in the main building, which is the most complex part of the hotel from an installation point of view, the concept of pluggable installation proves its added value”, says Damen. “Here we were able to save many hours of fitting time. By cleverly positioning the sub-distributors, the concept also offers the user the necessary flexibility to, for example, allocate a certain room a different function in the future. Extending the system to turn a warehouse into a meeting room, for example, is a matter of plug-and-play.”
Hotelbox
At hotel room level, a pluggable installation has so far been less suitable. “This has to do with the tunnel formwork methodology used,” says Marcel Backx, Key Account Manager at Isolectra. “All other rooms, on the other hand, are suitable for installation with a pluggable electrical system. Techval has also proven this here in Amsterdam.” In cooperation with Techval, Isolectra is developing solutions to also install hotel rooms more efficiently (i.e.: pluggable). “The hotel box is an example of this. All the intelligence is in this box above the suspended ceiling or behind the partition wall in the corridor. From here, you run the installation to the head of the bed with a connecting cable. A much more efficient and faster way to install, especially since hotel rooms are almost always identical.”
KNX installation
The Eelectron components for the extensive KNX installation in the Van der Valk hotel in Amsterdam also come from Isolectra. “It’s really nice to work with one party for both the pluggable electrical installation and the KNX components”, says Damen. “This opinion is also shared by our own KNX expert, who prefers KNX components from Eelectron to those from other brands. The connection with Isolectra and the Italian Eelectron is so strong that we’ll even fly back and forth to Milan for one day whenever there are potential challenges.”
Van der Valk’s first hotel in Amsterdam on the A2 motorway opened in early 2018 and immediately proved a booming business, according to Damen. And that whets your appetite. “More branches will follow in the coming years and they will undoubtedly be installed with pluggable technology as well”, reveals Damen.