ULMA´s HWS Perimeter Safety Screen in the Centre of Utrecht, Netherlands

WTC Utrecht forms part of the World Trade Centre Association (WTCA), the global organisation created to promote international commerce and commercial relationships.

The building is one of the most sustainable WTC’s, and will receive a BREEAM Excellent certificate for its design, use of materials, and construction methods.
The client’s previous experience with ULMA’s formwork and scaffolding systems was the determining factor in their choice of the HWS safety screen for this project.

HWS, adaptable to irregular geometries

A building composed of irregular lines, rounded chamfers, and arrises requires a safety screen like HWS, capable of adapting to these features with a simple panel connection.

The panels measuring 7.90 m by 10.80 m were assembled onsite. Their considerable size increased productivity, with fewer panels and less lifting time necessary.

The HWS system was reinforced with push-pull props, allowing it to double as formwork for the slab edge.

Safety and protection for work at height

In addition to being lightweight, at only 41 kg/m2, the HWS system didn’t require any supplementary wall anchorage. The panels were lifted by crane, one by one, and guided into place by a system of climbing heads joined to the slab. The HWS panels provided partial coverage of the perimeter of the second storey, and total coverage from the fourth storey to the top of the building, at 70 m in height.

The HWS perimeter safety screen created working areas that protected workers from inclement weather, vertigo, and falls, in an area crowded with pedestrian traffic. The wire netting reduced the effects of wind by half without compromising the entry of natural light into the work area