Polygon supplies temporary climate solutions to the Royal Library of the Netherlands

The Royal Library of the Netherlands, KB, founded in 1798, has a vast collection of publications, including books, magazines, maps and newspapers, concerning the Netherlands since the 15th century. This valuable cultural heritage of the Netherlands is preserved under precisely the right climate conditions. To maintain these conditions during major maintenance, Polygon was asked to supply temporary cooling to continue to condition the archive warehouse seamlessly.

The Library needed a temporary climate solution for nine weeks to coincide with the disconnection of their existing air treatment installation by Maintenance E&W Installations. Thanks to excellent collaboration in the past, Patrick van Dijk, the Project Leader, reached out to Polygon Netherlands. Polygon’s positive reputation for completing earlier projects during the construction of the new building and maintenance work resulted in this referral.

Gerard de Mol, Mechanical Engineer at the Central Government Real Estate Agency, coordinated the integral design. "It is important for the Central Government Real Estate Agency that we can still carry out work on the installation without disrupting the Library. To guarantee the continuity of spatial conditions of the library warehouses during maintenance work, we devised a design together with Polygon for a temporary facility.”

“First we looked at the specific wishes of the customer and the technical (im)possibilities, and then we engineered a plan with all stakeholders involved. Of course, the risks and safety of the environment and the object were central here,” says Eddy van Oers, Regional Manager at Polygon Netherlands, who worked on this project.

Detailed installation

The Royal Library is in the centre of The Hague, surrounded by residential towers and a tram track. Because the temporary climate solution proposed by  Polygon had to be lifted onto the roof of the building with a crane, it was essential to plan the installation in detail and also devise an appropriate conditioning plan.

Together, the Royal Library, the Central Government Real Estate Agency, the crane company Nederhoff, the contractor JP van Eesteren and installation company Unica needed to establish the ideal solution within three to four weeks to meet the desired disconnection date. The preparation of the delivery of the equipment and the installation itself took about three days. Polygon Netherlands installed a cooling machine IC770 and air handler AH25 to provide cooling within the structure.

Following the installation of the equipment, the Polygon team (Steven van der Pijl, Kevin van Geel and Bram van Weenen from Polygon Netherlands) worked quickly to connect the machines, with flexible hoses, to the air treatment system of the building via a passage in the facade. In just one day, the team secured Polygon’s solution.

To demonstrate the work’s importance and satisfaction with the work delivered, all parties involved received a tour, arranged by Patrick van Dijk. E.e.a. in consultation with Foekje Boersma, Head of collection preservation at KB.

“When you look behind the scenes in our warehouses, it becomes evident how large the collection is. We take the care and security of our physical National Library collection very seriously. A suitable solution was found together with Polygon for the challenge we faced. The cooperation was pleasant and everyone performed the work well,” Patrick van Dijk, Project Leader at Maintenance E&W Installations, concludes.