Summary 22012 81summaryThemeCultural concreteA strikingly large amount has been built forthe cultural sector over the last few years.This seems to be inconsistent with the costcutting that the sector is currently beingfaced with. It is, however, the result of a waveof investments initiated years ago. A numberof cultural projects will be highlighted in thisissue of Cement.Culture as a basic need (pp. 4 - 7)The cultural sector is presently under a greatdeal of pressure. The government has madedrastic cuts in the culture budget andcultural institutions are struggling.Nevertheless a large amount of cultural realestate has recently been renovated or isabout to be handed over. This is certainly thecase for Amsterdam City Council, whichwants to continue to project the city as acultural centre. Cement asked CarolienGehrles, lead councillor for Art and Culture,about the importance of culture to societyand the role played by the buildingsconcerned.Rijksmuseum makeover (pp. 8 - 14)The New Rijksmuseum is not yet ready to beopened for the public, but its definitive formhas already begun to take shape. After thislarge-scale renovation, the Rijksmuseum willonce again comply with the requirements formodern museums. The design developed byarchitects Cruz y Ortiz introduced a numberof serious structural challenges, for examplethe complex replacement of the Passage'sbasement construction.The Stedelijk at the top again (pp. 16 - 21)The Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam hasbeen drastically refurbished and alsoextended. This should enable the museumonce again to have a place among theleading international art institutions in, forexample, Paris, London and New York. Twounderground storeys have been extendedand the large new construction of thesuperstructure is particularly striking.Optimal musical experience (pp. 22 - 28)The new temple to pop ? the Ziggo Domenext to the Amsterdam ArenA ? is a singlepurpose design, multi-use indoor arena. Thismeans that the music and events venue canbe used for a range of purposes, yet thedesign is completely geared to optimalacoustics, comfort and enjoyment. The ZiggoDome has a capacity of over 15,000 people.From mid-2012 music fans will have a newMecca when the biggest auditorium in theNetherlands is completed.Cultural focus (pp. 30 - 35)In December 2008 BAM Utiliteitsbouw wonthe design and build order for De NieuweKolk in Assen. The complex was completedin February 2012, over three years later. Thisis a very good result because the generalspecifications were by no meansstraightforward: two theatre auditoriums,five cinema screens, a library, cateringestablishments, offices, 65 flats, a two-levelunderground car park and many otheramenities besides. This makes De NieuweKolk a cultural focus.Columns as tree trunks (pp. 36 - 39)The Drents Museum in Assen has undergonea drastic metamorphosis. A new exhibitionwing and a new entrance have extended themuseum. The specially designed columns inthe central entrance hall are particularlystriking. They were made using divisible andreusable polyester column formwork.Clever jewel for the city (pp. 40 - 47)Enschede is a real city of music. Its livelycultural heart is the National Music quarter,which has a variety of venues for theatre andmusic, rehearsal rooms, music teachingfacilities, dance schools and many courses.The new Music Cluster is an essentialelement of this district. The pop auditoriumsin this multifunctional building are a`box in abox'.Floriade's figurehead (pp. 48 - 51)The sixth Floriade will be held in Venlo fromApril to October 2012. The figurehead of thisworld horticultural exhibition is the nearly70-metre-high Innovatoren. This ultra-modern entrance building towers above theNorth Limburg landscape and is clearlyvisible from the north, south, east or westfrom the A73 or A67 motorways. AfterFloriade the building will become part ofVenlo GreenPark.Outside the themeDecorative concrete as a backdrop (pp. 60 - 63)The art collector Artur Walther lives in NewYork, but he has had his private museumbuilt in Burlafingen, a village near Neu-Ulmin Germany. Originally concrete was onlygoing to be used as a structural material.However, during the building work thisprivate photograph and film devotee foundthe structural concrete so attractive that heleft it in full view in the interior of the centralgallery of The Walther Collection (White Box).Parametric models (pp. 64 - 69)Parametric modelling is still at a very earlystage in the construction industry. However,more and more possibilities are emergingthanks to database-related design. A realjump in efficiency can be achieved by usingthe properties of precast concrete asparameters. A new type of precast concretebeam was completely parametricallymodelled using this technique.Cycle bridge over the Delta works (pp. 70 - 73)The BAM-HSM construction consortium hasbuilt a new cycling link between Spijkenisseand the A15 motorway for the Province ofSouth Holland - the Hartel cycle bridge. Thisnew cycle bridge spans the Hartel canal andthe adjacent feeder canal. This new bridge isbeing built in the narrow corridor betweenthe existing Hartel road bridge and theHartel flood barrier, which is part of the Deltaworks. The strict regulations that apply toprojects in the vicinity of the Delta worksmade the construction of this cycle bridge acomplex matter.XF4 composition requirement not satisfactory(pp. 74 - 80)Ice skating enthusiasts had plenty ofopportunities to do their thing during thelast three winters. Motorists, on the otherhand, often had to crawl and slide their wayalong, while train passengers had a dailylottery ? is there a train or not? Concrete, thematerial with ideal strength and durability,also suffered from the wintry weather.Fortunately, among other things there isenvironmental class XF4, with which con-crete should be protected against the effectsof winter. But is the XF4 compositionrequirement given in NEN 8005 satisfactoryin practice? If you would like a whole article fromCement translated, why not let usarrange it for you? 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