CASE: Press-welded MESH™ gratings for Waterplein Revaleiland Amsterdam

The Waterplein Revaleiland Amsterdam project was constructed by the contractor Knipscheer Infrastructuur BV, a medium-sized construction company specialising in infrastructure (roads, bridges etc.). With about 120 employees, Knipscheer carries out civil engineering work in the Netherlands.

The criteria

As the contractor, Knipscheer’s role was to construct a new and modern square for use by the general public at Waterplein Revaleiland. The project to build a pier presented challenges because the design criteria specified a wooden pier to match the existing environment. High safety standards and a modern design were the ultimate criteria for constructing the pier. Knipscheer chose PcP as a partner to supply the gratings for creating the wooden pier, with wood planks being installed into the gratings to create a perfectly straight line the full breadth of the structure. In such cases, steel beams are often used as a substrate for wooden planks, but this requires large quantities of steel and results in higher costs, and therefore mesh gratings were chosen for this project.

The solution

To create the new public square at Amsterdam Waterplein Revaleiland comprising one large wooden pier, Knipscheer chose PcP to supply 1,400 square metres of press-welded gratings. The mesh gratings are placed upside down on a concrete surface to ensure the wooden planks are stable.

Each press-welded grating is tailormade to meet the specific dimensions, with a mesh size of 111 x 99/60 x 3 mm. Customised mesh sizes can only be made with a press-welded grating, and therefore this option was optimal for this particular project. The gratings were placed upside down on the concrete. Knipscheer then laid 28 mm thick hardwood planks into the gratings. The challenge here was to draw and produce mesh sizes in one line, so the wooden planks in each grating could meet the visual design criteria of appearing to be continuous wooden planks extending the full width of the pier.

The collaboration

The collaboration with the contractor Knipscheer commenced in 2018. PcP worked close with the contractor throughout the entire project to meet the design and technical criteria of both Knipscheer and the client. Drawings and samples were supplied by PcP, Approved by the contractor’s customer.