* Location:Rotterdam;Eemhaven;Werkhaven
* Client:Dikema & Chabot's Handels Mij. n.v.
* project architect:[De Koning]]
* brief description:Design of sheds and service buildings for Dikema & Chabot in Rotterdam, iron and steel storage company (1956-1960). Many sketch designs made before deciding on the final form of the shed. These variations have to do with alternative solutions for the construction, dimensions, phasing, span, logistics, traffic flows, etc.
First sketch: the short side of the shed is adjacent to the outer quay; in front of it, a concrete scaffolding has been built in the water for the "braking system. At the back, a shipping street runs through the warehouse with unloading and loading ramps on both sides. De Koning came up with various proposals: 1. he extended the shed to the landside and replaced the shipping lane with a railroad line, 2. he extended the shed to the waterside and narrowed the outer quay, eliminating the rail for the brakes and replacing it with a concrete quay, 3. the column layout was changed and the railroad line was placed more inward. A variant is also drawn with fuse roofs instead of steel truss roofs.
In the final design, the shed is reduced in size, the outer quay is enlarged again, and the railroad runs along the back of the building as well as through the building.
The sheds have masonry walls with a glass strip of Normij' windows of wire glass in steel rod divisions at the top edge. They are built with a steel structure, consisting of steel trusses topped with gently sloping gabled roofs of bimbo concrete cassette slabs. The trusses span 20.60 meters and rest on a steel truss beam on steel columns. A glass triangular skylight runs the length of the halls, under which a path is paved at ground level. The rest of the floor is paved and used for iron and steel storage.
In the end, the complex was not executed in all the same halls. The first four follow the model described above; the remaining four are different. The complex was implemented in several phases. First, the design involved only halls A and B; C through F were drawn, but as a later phase. Hall B was therefore provided with a temporary law facade, consisting of a demountable steel stiffening structure with tarpaulin stretched over it. The planned extensions also took place within a short time.
The outer quay is lined with stelcon plates. At the rear of the shed, rails for a train run along and through the building. Separate from the sheds, in separate building volumes are housed office, service building and staff building.
The service building consists of two parts; a rectangular building volume with bicycle storage in the basement, on the first floor the laundry and changing rooms, and on the second floor a canteen. Next to this is an oblong building volume, composed of one layer for the technical service, warehouse, carpenter, etc. This building is also being constructed in phases, so in the first phase it is still separate from the canteen etc. The square office is located at the entrance to the site, also contains the porter's lodge and is composed of a single storey, partly with a basement.