Children's safety first on the APK Construct site
Like many schools, community school 't Wilgennest in Landegem experienced a lack of space to welcome all new pupils. That is why they made plans to extend the school building with a new building. In addition, the layout of the existing building was creatively adapted to create extra classrooms. It is a large project with many facets. Everything is carried out from A to Z by a punishing team of APK Construct carried out with the exception of the electricity and plumbing.
Dirk Minne, master craftsman at the shipyard, explains: "The team consists of three men from APK Construct and four subcontractors. The project started in July last year. After the demolition work, the APK Construct team really started building in October 2021. By 1 September next school year, the pupils of the primary school will be welcomed under a new covered entrance on the playground and in a new or renovated school building.
A challenge for our Construct team is thee combination between the new building and the conversions in the old building. There are also new passageways between the two parts of the school created. "In addition there are many different materials and techniques used: Masonry walls, framed construction, wooden structures… Finally, there are also many hexagonal classrooms in the design. Hhe is not simplee outputingbut that, of course, makes the challenge greater," vertelt Gino De MEtch, customer manager at APK Construct.
We met the Construct men on a busy day. The pupils were having a sports day, which meant they could work extra hard on the renovations in the current school building. That is also the biggest challenge of this project. The team cannot just work whenever they want. The planning is coordinated almost weekly with the school board, with a higher intensity on Wednesday afternoons, weekends and school holidays.
At the construction site, they receive regular checks and several extra measures are taken to minimise the risks of construction for the school. Among other things, when children arrive at school in the morning and leave school in the evening, no work is allowed. The tower crane is also shut down when there are many students present in the school. It is clear that for everyone working on this project, the safety of the school-going children is always the priority.
