PROJECT STORY
The challenge
Expansion, renovation and improvement of production in the Netherlands
Extensive new ASML factory complex
Arcadis in design consultancy role
The challenge
ASML is a high-tech Dutch company with 50 branches in Europe, America and Asia. It is one of the main suppliers of the machines that the semiconductor industry uses to make chips. In order to maintain production capacity in the Netherlands, the company has been steadily expanding, renovating and improving its site for almost 25 years.
The solution
ASML's head office is located in Veldhoven, where an extensive factory complex has been developed in stages from 1996 onward. The complex includes production areas, cleanrooms, warehouses, office buildings and a parking garage. ASML has demanding technical requirements for the new building, because the company makes extremely complex machines for the production of semiconductors. These integrated circuits (ICs or chips) can found in every conceivable electronic device: from computers, cellphones and robots to chipcards, airplanes and cars.
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The original buildings were constructed in 1985 and have long been inadequate for coping with growing production levels. For efficiency reasons, the management wanted to avoid spreading its facilities across the region, so it decided to build a central factory complex in Veldhoven. The entire construction is supported by bored piles and drilled steel monopiles; the pole foundations were tested with a statnamic test load. The site also has a parking garage with a total length of 2 x 250 meters, providing parking capacity for employees and visitors.
What makes this project special is that the offices are being built on top of the cleanroom. This creates a ‘stack’ of functionality.
The impact
The work in Veldhoven is progressing steadily. The functional complex already serves as a pleasant working environment for the thousands of ASML employees, thanks in part to the carefully thought-out design advice provided by Arcadis. In 2012, we were awarded the National Steel Prize (Industrial Construction category) for this project. According to the jury, the design in Veldhoven was selected because of the technical innovations of the steel construction. We are proud of this achievement, but for us, as always, the most important thing is that the building enables the staff to undertake their complex work even more efficiently.
