Former industrial sites turned into lively neighbourhoods: Ginder Ale
Former industrial sites turned into lively neighbourhoods
For decades already, the Ginder Ale brewery in Merchtem is a real landmark for local residents. Jan De Nul Group gives the brewery with its rich history a new destination. The ground floor will be reserved to commercial units, the upper floors will have a residential purpose with beautiful apartments located around a central courtyard. “We preserved the concrete structure of the existing building”, says Site Manager Jitte Dens. “As such, we literally build on yesterday’s foundations.”
Old foundations
At the start of the earthworks for the new foundation, the JDN team hit on solid old foundations. Should we demolish them or would it be better to adapt them towards a new foundation? “We examined the stability of the foundation below the concrete structure”, explains Jitte. “Our own land surveyors mapped the dimensions of all existing concrete structures. In the end, we decided to revise the support structure and execution details of the design. We adapted the foundation to what was already there. Taking into account the dimensions and levels of the existing concrete framework, we even decided to raise the entire building with a few centimetres.”
The site of the former brewery will, amongst other things, provide space to a large supermarket with parking spaces on top of it. It will also be possible to walk through the entire complex, thus making it an integrated part of Merchtem’s town centre. At the heart of the site, a 400 m² patio will bring the green environment inside. The completion of this project is scheduled for April 2021.
