Expansion of Saxion school of higher education

February 2011 – With more than 21,000 students, and locations in Deventer, Enschede and Apeldoorn, Hogeschool Saxion is one of the largest schools of higher education in the Netherlands. The location in Enschede has moved into a 37-metre-high training tower. The building has acquired a 'second skin' that will retain heat in the winter and keep it cool in the summer. Verzinkerij Kampen hot-dip galvanised the steel structure for the frame of the outer wall.

The new training tower has nine stories, and a roof garden with a fantastic view of Enschede. The outer wall consists of a relatively simple concrete inner wall fitted on the outside with a steel structure containing glass panels that works like a 'second skin'. The panels are made from hardened glass with a decorative print. Between the inner and the outer skin, there is a cavity with walkways.

The steel structure of the outer wall was produced and assembled by Tasche Staalbouw from Albergen and it consists of 1040 frames. These frames vary in width from 690 to 1,080 mm and they were hot-dip galvanised by Verzinkerij Kampen and bolted together. A major difficulty during the assembly of the frames was horizontal, vertical and diagonal positioning. The glass means that every detail is on view and so assembly is crucial to the appearance of the outer wall. Tasche Staalbouw and Verzinkerij Kampen teamed up to make a sustainable contribution to the appearance of the Saxion training tower in Enschede.