The Collection Center Netherlands (CC NL) in Amersfoort houses the collections of four national institutions: the Rijksmuseum, the Dutch Open Air Museum, Palace Het Loo and the National Cultural Heritage Agency. The sustainable, energy-efficient depot is unique in the world and will be the place to store, conserve, research, exchange knowledge and loan Dutch masterpieces. Bruynzeel Storage Systems provided the storage systems.

Challenges abound in the design of the Collection Center Netherlands, says project manager Twan Janssen of Bruynzeel. He is proud that the project was completed so quickly and well. Janssen: “Each phase in this major project had its own challenges. A European tender had been issued, which included many more aspects than usual. In fact, these were two separate tenders, because a separate tender had been issued for the six rooms with mesh frame racking on the fourth floor. We had to do a lot in a short time to be able to make a good quotation.

Once we received the assignment, the details came in. We have drawn up a detailed plan for each room, in which we worked closely with the people of the CC NL. The cooperation was excellent throughout the entire process.

With a project like this it is also important to have a good look at the situation on site and not just rely on the drawings. You always have to deal with unexpected deviations and adjustments for which you have to find a solution on the spot. For example, for the rails in the floors for the mobile racks, we have come up with new solutions together with the flooring company. Although we used a lot of standard materials, the assignment as a whole was really custom work.”

 
In barely ten months, the Bruynzeel assembly teams installed 24,250 square meters of mesh frame racking, 8,650 square meters of Longspan  shelving, 2,400 square meters of cantilever racks, 18,060 square meters of Sysco racks, 960 square meters of mobile bases, 1,287 carpet racks, 3,655 drawers, 117 panel racks and 191 wardrobes in cabinets.

The numbers are cut out in a metal plate that Wim Hoeben, location manager at CCNL, received from Bruynzeel after completion of the project and that now is on his desk. Like a trophy awarded after an impressive sports performance. “What Bruynzeel has achieved here in such a short time is also a major achievement,” says the location manager.

Janssen: “A complicating factor was that around the time we started the installation, corona outbreak came. This demanded a lot from our assembly teams, who of course had to be able to work safely. It is all the better that, thanks to the cooperation with CC NL and other parties and the efforts of our own people, we managed to do it so well within ten months. ”