Meet the housing factory of Barli

Barli builds modular homes in wood, from affordable to extraordinary. For over thirty years, they have been a pioneer in prefabricated construction. With their modular timber construction method and housing concept Barli Base, they show that building can be more efficient and sustainable. Modeling of these prefab elements is done in 3D with Tekla Structures. Bart van der Kallen, Senior Tekla Engineer and 3D team leader at Barli, says: "With us, everything is set in 3D, everything. Production works almost completely paperless." Construsoft visited the housing factory in Uden last month.

Barli focuses entirely on residential construction for housing associations, property developers and leisure. According to the prefab wood builder, it is time to start building in a different way, namely more efficient and sustainable. The company does this by building modular homes made of wood. A great example is the apartment complex "Juf Nienke. Van der Kallen: "This project is special in many ways, not least because the 61 apartments are being built modularly and in wood and this construction structure has never been done before. Besides the structural complexity, it is a huge challenge to work with many different partners in one model, from architect and co-contractor to client and various subcontractors."

"Trimble Connect helps us make everything visual and share all the information with the partners involved," van der Kallen said. "In 3D, you can only really see how everything works and fits together. We also use the collaboration platform for clash detection, which allows us to clearly visualize any bottlenecks in the models of the various parties. After all, specific components from suppliers must fit perfectly with our model for the modules and build. Through good collaboration in the model, we are able to make all parts fit together seamlessly."

Tekla Structures is increasingly being used to design wood structures in complete detail in 3D, as is the case at Barli. Van der Kallen explains, "We use the capabilities of Tekla Structures for automated modeling with self-made components. A major advantage of the software here is that all desired production information can be generated directly from the 3D model. We ultimately use the model internally in various parts of our production process. Both in the automated prefabrication of our timber frame elements and in the assembly in our halls and on the building site in Amsterdam. From Tekla Structures we control all our machines: from our speedcuts machines, an SCM Gabbiani GT2 several other SCM machines and no less than three Mobi one machines, one of which is even a complete street."

"Tekla Structures makes it possible to model everything in its entirety," says van der Kallen. "Directly controlling machines from a 3D model requires that all dimensions are correct down to the smallest level of detail and material and parts lists can be easily generated. Tekla Structures provides this functionality and also allows us to create construction parts. By preparing in the office in more detail, we save a lot of time in production, which leads to more consistent quality and competitive advantage." The way Barli deploys the BIM software creates a paperless digital process. Van der Kallen: "For example, 13,000 working drawings were created for the 'Juf Nienke' project, of which only a handful were printed. We use tablets where each employee has their own detailed drawings to do their part."

At this moment Barli realizes almost 900 houses per year and has the ambition to become the housing factory of the Netherlands by further automation and digitalization. Twan Vrijsen, responsible for marketing communications at Barli: "We see an enormous need for affordable homes, which are sustainable and preferably can be realized as quickly as possible. This is where our construction method offers opportunities. On the one hand because we build very sustainably with bio-based materials. On the other, because the process in our housing factory is efficient and we are not affected by weather conditions, for example. That is good for the quality of the house and nice for our people. For us, that is also an important form of sustainability."

Where it is sometimes thought that prefab homes are sameness or would not last as long, Barli proves otherwise. Vrijsen: "We build varied, both ground-level and stacked houses. The standard housing types from our housing concept are the starting point. But that is always customized for each project with location-specific requirements or wishes from the target group." What about that lifespan? "Timber construction is not yet as established in the Netherlands as it is in Scandinavia, for example. Wooden homes last just as long as traditionally built homes. Not for nothing has Juf Nienke been labeled a 'Future Icon' for Amsterdam by architects!" said an enthusiastic Vrijsen.