ACTA

Bolidt News

Academic Centre for Dentistry

The new building of the Academic Centre for Dentistry in the ambitious Zuidas district next to Amsterdam’s A10 ring road was completed in 2010. The Dental Faculties of VU University Amsterdam and the University of Amsterdam (UvA) collaborate in the seven-storey building. At the time, Bolidt was commissioned by Benthem Crouwel Architects to install 30,000 m² of Bolidtop^® FiftyFifty flooring. Even after years of intensive use, the floor finish is still in perfect condition.

Amsterdam Architecture Prize

Benthem Crouwel Architects developed the design of the ACTA building to incorporate ACTA’s care vision. On average, 500 patients are treated, 800 students come to study and 700 (visiting) staff are working here every day. The SBT Special Dentistry Clinic and de Oral Health Science facilities of inHolland University are also located in the building, which was awarded third place in the 2011 Amsterdam Architecture Prize.

Chemical resistance

The architect placed particular importance on functionality in this project. The flooring, for instance, needed to have good resistance to the chemical liquids frequently used at ACTA, such as alcohol, iodine and fluoride. Together with ACTA, a series of tests were carried out in Bolidt’s innovation centre beforehand to provide maximum certainty on this point.

Bolidt was able to demonstrate that the Bolidtop^® FiftyFifty floor finish has excellent chemical resistance, opening the way for the next step of also looking at the design.

Own innovation centre

At the request of the architect, Bolidt developed a special colour to reflect ACTA’s care vision. Even after many years of heavy use, the floor finish is still in prime condition. Ruud van der Sloot, Sales Director at Bolidt: “We enjoy working with architects who have special requirements. Having our own innovation centre allows us to respond optimally to questions and wishes from customers. Lines of communication are short and the design possibilities are limitless.”

Underground car park

There was so much trust that ACTA later also asked Bolidt to cover the floors of the underground car park. Having been specially developed for parking applications, the type of flooring system used here was quite different, but the personal approach was the same. The aim was to make visitors feel comfortable and safe in this car park. Based on its expertise and experience, Bolidt recommended a number of specific measures to create a user-friendly design and make a tangible contribution to a sense of safety and comfort in the car park. Think, for instance, of generously sized parking spaces and a clear distinction between parking spaces and driving lanes.