Pluggable flat cable system powers student housing development

Published on 29 June 2026Time to read: 4 minutes

stekerbare-vlakkabels-voorzien-in-stroombehoefte-van-studenten-1776756305.jpg Tekst Lieke Bousema | Beeld Isolectra, VORM

Construction is progressing rapidly on High Five, a new student housing complex on Cambridgelaan in Utrecht. The name High Five reflects both the building's design and its purpose: High refers to the two 21-storey residential towers connected by a central commercial building, while Five marks the fifth student housing project developed by the SSH (Foundation for Student Housing) at the Utrecht Science Park.

The development will provide accommodation for 921 students, including 721 self-contained studios and 200 student rooms. The ground floor will also feature a range of shared facilities, including a laundrette, study areas, sports facilities, and hospitality venues.

A key project objective is to build 20% more cost-effectively and 50% faster. To achieve this, as many building components as possible are prefabricated, from the structural frame and façades to interior walls, floors, and technical installations, including Isolectra's Wieland podis^® pluggable flat cable system.

An innovative application
The Wieland podis^® flat cable system is most commonly used for the efficient connection of EV charging stations in parking garages. At High Five, however, the system has been applied in an entirely different way: supplying power to all electrical distribution boards throughout the building.

"This is a unique application, made possible through early collaboration and close project coordination between Van den Pol Elektrotechniek and Isolectra," says Bran Jalink, Manager Technology, Product & Market Solutions at Isolectra. "At the same time, it's a very logical choice because of the flat cable system's excellent waterproof properties, flexibility, robustness, and safety. Since the system was originally developed for outdoor applications, installation of the electrical infrastructure could already begin during the structural construction phase."

From left to right: Bran Jalink (Isolectra), Harm Winter (Van den Pol Elektrotechniek), and John Gielen (Van den Pol Elektrotechniek).

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Building 20% cheaper and 50% faster
Commissioned by VORM, Van den Pol Elektrotechniek is responsible for all electrical installations within the student apartments and communal areas of High Five. Their scope also includes the complete data network, fire detection system, cabling for the CCTV installation, the intercom system, and preparations for the future access control system.

"To support the VORM2050 ambition of building 20% more cost-effectively and 50% faster, we maximised prefabrication," explains John Gielen, Project Manager at Van den Pol Elektrotechniek. "Electrical conduits were pre-installed in the precast concrete floors, and together with the mechanical contractor we also prefabricated all service risers. Every six metres, a fully assembled riser module was lifted into place, complete with our pre-mounted cable ladders."

Significant savings in installation time
The service risers also house the electrical distribution boards, including the Wieland RST^® power supply for all apartments.

"Instead of running a separate power cable to every individual distribution board, we used Isolectra's Wieland podis^® pluggable flat cable system," says Gielen. "This saved several weeks of both planning and installation time. Rather than installing individual cables across two 21-storey towers and the five-storey central building, we simply lowered one flat cable from the top floor and created tap-off connections to each distribution board along the way."
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Reliable power distribution for every apartment
Van den Pol Elektrotechniek normally works with busbar systems, Gielen explains. "These systems use rigid components that have to be assembled on site and are generally intended for higher power capacities."

"For this project, those higher capacities were not required," adds Jalink. "Our 5 × 25 mm² flat cables, rated up to 3 × 100 A, provided the ideal solution."

Each service riser is supplied by two flat cables. Isolectra delivered the cable assemblies cut to the required lengths, pre-stripped, sealed, and fitted with connection boxes.

"On site, we simply connected our supply cables to these connection boxes using a plug-and-play connection," Gielen explains. "These supply cables link the service risers to the main distribution board. In addition, a compact tap-off box is installed on every floor to supply power to the student apartments."

Clear coding simplifies installation
The Wieland podis^® flat cable systems were delivered in phased shipments, matching each tower and construction phase.

Gielen particularly highlights the clear identification system used throughout the project.

"The flat cable is a three-phase system, while every apartment is equipped with a single-phase distribution board. Therefore, we adopted a repeating phase allocation, with each apartment connected to the next phase of the flat cable. Isolectra clearly pre-labelled all connection leads for L1, L2 or L3, so our installers didn't have to think about phase allocation on site. Combined with all the other advantages, this is definitely a power distribution solution we'll be using more often in future projects."

Interested in learning more?
Would you like to know more about this project or explore the possibilities of pluggable flat cable systems for your own project? Feel free to contact the Isolectra team, we'll be happy to help.

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