Amare lifts off for repair works

Yes, that’s right: Amare will lift off! As the Concertzaal has sunk by a few millimetres more than was anticipated, the entire hall will be lifted up by 2 centimetres, on 1 and 2 August. This way, constructor Cadanz can perform the necessary repair works.

All of Amare’s halls rest on their own foundation to prevent sound transfer between them. For the Concertzaal and Conservatoriumzaal, so-called ‘shock absorbers’ have been installed between the foundation and the hall. These have distorted more than was expected and will now be replaced and reinforced. For the Concertzaal, this requires lifting up the entire hall. 

All of the pillars on which the Concertzaal rests will be braced so that the hall can be lifted up by two centimetres. The absorbers can then be replaced by ones made of stiffer rubber.

Cadanz’s project leader Jan-Hein Reefhuis explains that, for these shock absorbers, it is important to calculate “exactly what weight they will be subjected to in practice.” Although approximate calculations are made beforehand, the real weight can only be determined definitively once the construction is complete. For these halls the actual weight turned out to be more than the calculated weight.

A complex operation

Reefhuis describes the operation as complex. “Amare is already a fairly complex building, but then to lift up a concert hall weighing fifteen million kilos within an existing building is a huge operation.” 

The Concertzaal rests on fifteen pillars with shock absorbers. All in all, there are forty absorbers that need to be replaced. This will happen on 1 and 2 August, when the fifteen-million-kilo hall will be lifted up. This will probably not be as spectacular as it sounds, since the hall will be pushed up with such small increments at a time that it will hardly be noticeable.

The repair works are being performed during Amare’s summer break, so visitors won’t notice anything at all.