Plasterboard brings fire safety Plesmanduin to top level

Later this year the completion of Monument Plesmanduin, beautifully located in the green The Hague neighborhood of Duttendel, is scheduled. The project involves the renovation and high-quality transformation of a former ministry (also a national monument) into a more than 60,000-square-foot complex with more expensive owner-occupied housing, starter homes and office space. Ignis Fire Prevention, a subsidiary of GDS Bouwsystemen and Van de Wiel Complete Afbouw, was commissioned by main contractor Van Wijnen to provide the steel main load-bearing structure of the complex with fire-resistant cladding. For this purpose, the company used Gyproc FireBloc, Gyproc's fiberglass-reinforced plasterboard. A conscious choice that delivered both the intended result and the necessary benefits....

With the application of Gyproc FireBloc within the project frameworks of Plesmanduin, Gyproc, part of Saint-Gobain and market leader in gypsum products for interior construction, has a downright first. "Never before has a plasterboard been used for fireproofing a steel structure," says Tom van Engelen, manager of marketing, engineering and innovation on behalf of Gyproc Netherlands and also closely involved in the development of FireBloc. "There was a growing preference from the market to carry out such jobs with a product that is easy to process, durable and locally sourced. This gave us the idea of filling that need by means of a plasterboard. After a great deal of innovation and testing, Gyproc FireBloc, consisting largely of recycled materials, was born in late 2020. A fully-fledged Class A2 product whose core remains intact even at high temperatures and which has virtually no shrinkage. At the same time, it can be processed in the same frameless manner as other systems. So there is no need for retraining the fitter. Added to the other benefits, this makes FireBloc the perfect solution. To start with during this amazingly beautiful project in The Hague."

Conscious choice

This is also Bart van Eijk's opinion. As director of GDS Bouwsystemen, a specialist in dry interior finishing and passive building fire prevention operating out of 's-Hertogenbosch, he looks back. "In addition to providing a piece of advice, we were asked by construction company Van Wijnen to supplement the dry finishing package primarily with a fire-resistant cladding of the main load-bearing structure. In total, approximately 1,000 square meters of steel were to be clad with plate. Taking as our starting point, on the one hand, the existing regulations in accordance with the Building Code and, on the other hand, the client's requirements in terms of critical steel temperatures and the time that the structure must remain intact in the event of a fire, we deliberately and purposefully chose Gyproc FireBloc from our long-standing cooperation with Gyproc. This is because it is highly fireproof, durable and impact-resistant. Moreover, the product is very quick and easy to work with. This was the decisive factor for us. Furthermore, thanks to the attractive, smooth surface, there is no need to finish the boards. An extra icing on the cake is that with Gyproc you, as a customer, are assured of an excellent warranty and can count on solid support and guidance. On a personal basis, but also in the form of a comprehensive piece of documentation, such as the special Gyproc Fire Book. Once again, this has been done here as well. In short, with the client's requirements package as a starting point, Gyproc has once again guided us to the best suited solution."