Naturalis Biodiversity Centre

Collection monitoring (more than 37 million objects)
35 Air-handling units (1 own for the laboratories)
Closed shafts on both sides
Bivalent generation by HCS in combination with district heating
54 Transport pumps
Installation combination with Kuijpers

Details

39.000 m²

Leiden

Electrotechnical, Mechanical

Culture

Nature and technology; an art itself

About the renovation of Nature History Museum Naturalis

Since January 2017, the preparation of the renovation and partial new construction of the nature history museum and research centre Naturalis has started. ULC and Kuijpers have a temporary partnership and take care of the mechanical and electro-technical installations. JP van Eesteren is the architectural contractor during this project. The new design, which is clearly reflecting the function of the building, is realized by Neutelings Riedijk Architects, Aronsohn, Huis & Van Muijen (MEP) and DGMR.

In addition to the usual mechanical and electro-technical installations, an Heat/Cold-storage installation is installed which is bivalent in combination with district heating. A separate control system will be developed for the exhibitions, called BAOPT, which is a sustainable system that provides the possibility to meet varying requirements for air humidity and temperature per exhibition.

What used to serve as a museum, will soon serve as a depot. This creates challenges in the preparations and the logistic process. The existing installations are dismantled, disassembled and subsequently the new installations can be designed for existing and newly built parts of the museum. In principle, this is nothing new when it comes to renovations, but during this project, it must be ensured that the collection of the natural history museum remains intact. In this collection, you will not only find adult meteorites, mammoth bones of more than 10,000 years old, embryos and other skeletons, after the reopening it will also be the home of the skeleton of an adult Tyrannosaurus rex called Trix. Therefore, it is important to work carefully in order to protect the collection against damage and fungi.

The museum was closed for visitors during the renovation. Parts of the collection will be divided over other locations in Leiden during the year and a half, which means that the museum is still operational and will occasionally exchange collections. During the renovation, the collection must therefore not only be kept in good condition by ensuring the perfect climate, the collection must also remain accessible to the employees.

When the museum opens its doors again, a beautiful atrium with a ceiling of about 40 meters high will lead the visitor past the varying exhibitions. This means that the old atrium will change considerably, just like the functions of the rest of the building.

There is currently being worked on the foundation of the ground floor and on prefab constructions for the façade. Approximately 35 people work on the preparation of the installations, which will change into a team of approximately 200 people during the execution to have the (re)construction proceed as quickly as possible. ULC is working with Kuijpers on 3D models in Revit to realize a future view together with other construction partners. Incidentally, you can follow the construction closely via the webcam that Naturalis has enabled. Curious? Click here

Check below video for an interview with the temporary partnership ULC-Kuijpers.