The Wijnhavenkwartier, which was designed by the Geurst & Schulze architecture firm and stands at a height of 50 metres, makes a visual statement in The Hague. Completed in 2016, the complex also provides the city with infrastructural advantages. 170 apartments, penthouses, catering outlets, businesses, offices and a Leiden University facility are housed on a usable floor space of 15,000 m² in total. The low-rise building and the lowest level of the multi-storey building are used for commercial purposes. 

A load-bearing concrete construction of a former high-rise is all that remains of the former office complex of two ministries from the seventies which has been integrated into the new Wijnhavenkwartier. The rear-ventilated 12,500 m² facade is a true showstopper and was clad in individually pigmented and dyed Royal Mosa ceramic tiles which were custom made and produced for this project. The custom designed and unique ceramic cladding is one of Mosa’s unique selling points in the market. The building’s shell is an optical reference to the sand substrate on which the Wijnhavenkwartier is situated in addition to the nearby beach and The Hague, which is known as “the City behind the dunes”. 

The FZP II-T D40 PA undercut anchors with large washers were specially developed by fischer for ceramic tiles and panels and were used to securely attach the 13-mm cladding material made by the tile manufacturer Mosa in concrete together with a substructure manufactured by Lomax Systems BV. An 11 x 8 M6 variant was chosen for this purpose, while the thread length was adapted to 12 mm. A joint European Technical Assessment was granted for the combination of the Mosa ceramic tiles and fischer undercut anchors (ETA 11/0465 (Mosa Royal Ceramic)). 

“Our undercut anchors convinced the client because they combine a secure hold with the facade’s distinguished look,” reports Detlef Postler, Technical Project Support for the SystemTec subsidiary of the fischer Group of Companies, who jointly oversaw the project. “Using undercut anchors for the installation provides a harmonious look to the facade’s exterior by concealing the anchors – a clear advantage compared to the bracket solutions conventionally used for ceramic tiles”. This aesthetic benefit combined with the durability and sustainability of the low-maintenance ceramic tiles puts Mosa at a clear advantage compared to other suppliers. “The form-fit and expansion-free installation in the conical undercut drill hole achieves lower panel bending moments in comparison to alternative solutions available on the market”, Postler adds. “The anchor can be positioned in the 1/5 point on the reverse side of the tile, providing the fixing with structural optimisation”. This allows facades to be planned and implemented in a more flexible manner while taking full advantage of the technical characteristics of the cladding material. 

The fischer Zykon panel anchors combine technical advantages such as a high retention force and optimum long-term behaviour with high-quality design thanks to their rear-mounted installation. Due to a lack of warehouse space, the ease of installing the products made by the construction company Heijmans also proved to be important during the Wijnhavenkwartier project. Facade elements were preassembled by WVH Gevelprojecten before being clad with the tiles. The light weight of the Mosa tiles proved to be a major advantage during this process, which also enabled neat corner solutions and the reutilisation of leftover parts. 

fischer also supported the client with a wide range of services throughout all construction phases, from planning and on-site implementation to the project’s successful completion. Structural analyses, installation drawings, on-time deliveries and on-site assembly instructions demonstrate that technical support contributes to the timely completion of custom constructions.