Militair steunpunt voor het Korps Mariniers en de Koninklijke Marechaussee

On the Caribbean island of Sint Maarten, we are collaborating on an exceptional project for the Central Government Property Agency (RVB): the construction of a new military support base for the Marine Corps and the Royal Military Police. This complex provides support to the local authorities and police, particularly in the wake of Hurricane Irma, during which the presence of the Ministry of Defence proved invaluable.

Conditions on the island are anything but standard: high humidity, extreme temperatures, the risk of earthquakes and the hurricane season present unique technical challenges. This calls for a design that can withstand all the elements.

We fulfil a comprehensive engineering role and are responsible for the entire technical design: from building physics and services (in collaboration with VerenS), to structural engineering (with IMD), hydraulic engineering aspects (with VSP) and on-site geotechnical investigations.

What makes this project special is the collaboration with the architectural team of the Central Government Property Agency (RVB) itself. The RVB has its own architectural department, comprising architectural and landscape architects, whom we fully support as a technical partner. This collaboration is on an equal footing: we operate as colleagues, not as a traditional contractor.

From our central role, we have developed the integrated design through to the Technical Design (TO). The aim is to prepare the design for tender in the short term and to select a suitable contractor.

By combining our knowledge and experience, we are ensuring a robust, future-proof design that is in keeping with both the climatic and social context of the island.