The Hague
Comfortable living next to Dutch train station without noise disturbance
To stop the growing housing shortage among students and starters on the housing market in The Hague, two residential towers have been built to accommodate more than six hundred students. The Waldorf towers will rise in the autumn of 2013 next to The Hague Holland Spoor. 749 Merford grids will provide the students with natural ventilation (fresh air) and must prevent them from experiencing noise disturbance from all train movements around the railway station where these residences are located immediately next to.
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Architectenbureau K2 -
Residential buildings
Space for students and starters
The Hague College has promised to significantly expand the housing capacity for students in the coming years. The residential towers in the station area are part of this plan and a big step in the right direction. Tower 1 has 270 independent rooms. Tower 2 consists of 332 rooms, with blocks of four rooms sharing the kitchen and sanitary facilities. In the future, these blocks may be converted into owner-occupied apartments.
Barcode grids
Both towers, each seventy metres high, were designed by Architectenbureau-K2 with a characteristic 'barcode façade'. The ventilation grids are an important part of this. They provide the residents with sufficient natural ventilation. To prevent noise disturbance in the apartments, the designer and client chose Merford noise insulating ventilation grids AKR type 300, 749 in total. The grid is fully coated to prevent corrosion due to the maritime climate and provides a noise reduction Rw of 18 dB. The facade builder Kolf & Molijn was able to easily integrate the grids into their facade elements. An independent testing agency has confirmed the effectiveness of the gratings.
