The new Holland Casino Venlo is an iconic building. The spectacular design, in the shape of a flower and with a facade completely clad in interactive LED lighting, was made by MVSA Architects, Arcadis and Gensler. In 2018, it was nominated for the World Architecture Festival (WAF) prize in the Leisure Led Development category. Located next to the A67 highway, close to the border with Germany, the new Holland Casino in Venlo acts as a gateway to the Netherlands. Holland Casino in Venlo embraces the municipal cradle to cradle ambitions and strives for sustainable solutions.

The Slimline floor system makes an important contribution in that regard. Thanks to the Slimline prefab floor elements based on IPE500 steel profiles, a fast, completely dry and stamp-free construction process is facilitated, in which a minimum amount of raw materials is used. The integral installation space is not poured in with concrete, which provides a number of significant advantages. In addition to the concrete (and the many trucks that transport it) itself, the entire load bearing structure is a lot lighter, which results in savings on the building foundation. Due to the light weight, larger spans are also possible, which provides more flexibility in the layout of the play area. In addition, the building installations in the hollow floor space remain permanently accessible for adjustments or maintenance. Just as almost the entire above-ground construction, the Slimline floor can be disassembled and reused or recycled.

Slimline also makes a contribution in the context of efficient and comfortable climate control. Thanks to the hollow installation space, ventilation air can be optimally distributed throughout the building. Due to the extremely low heat consumption of the building, heat and cold are also controlled through ventilation air. Energy-efficient cooling is possible thanks to excellent insulation and cooling using natural air flows and rainwater.

The special shape of the casino was made possible in part by the Slimline floor system as well. Because the floor is thinner, the facade does not need to be as high. The unique casino facade is relatively expensive, so every reduction in floor height yielded significant savings. In addition, creating the flower shape with traditional floor systems would have been laborious, with a relatively large portion of the work to be completed on site. Thanks to Slimline, the various sections could be entirely prefabricated and easily installed.

Thanks to the above advantages, Slimline was also the best choice from a cost perspective. Although Slimline had a slightly higher square meter price than alternatives, calculations proved that those were ultimately a lot more expensive, because of heavier materials, different cable facilities and additional ventilation installations were necessary. Wouter Schik, involved in the construction as a sustainability consultant for Arcadis, summarizes the benefits: "It was almost a million euros more expensive to replace Slimline with an alternative that initially seemed cheaper." (source)

Photo: MVSA Architects