Two building blocks of social and market rental apartments form capstone of new housing development

From Tram 19, which circles the construction site every 10 minutes, one gets a clear view of the construction work on Blocks M and T on the edge of residential area Plantage De Sniep in Diemen. When the 208 sustainable rental homes, collective garden and 2 parking garages are completed from early 2021, the streetcar will pass between the two buildings in a green oasis. The ASR Dutch Core Residential Fund, the housing fund of a.s.r. real estate, will own 102 market rental apartments and 87 parking spaces, while housing corporation de Alliantie will have 106 social rental apartments and 69 parking spaces in its portfolio. Bot Bouw is responsible for the realization and coordination of this construction project by DID Vastgoedontwikkeling.

The facades each have their own identity, yet blend perfectly with each other and with the rest of the environment. They stand out for their brickwork in 7 different masonry dressings.

Plantage De Sniep is a new housing estate on the south side of Diemen, a stone's throw from Amsterdam. On the edge of this green, child-friendly neighborhood of some 1,250 homes, above and around the terminus of streetcar line 19, contractor Bot Bouw (Heerhugowaard) is constructing Sniepkwartier, specifically building blocks M and T, together accounting for 208 rental homes. "As in many other cities and municipalities all over the Netherlands, the demand for social rental housing is also rising in Diemen. This project by DID Vastgoedontwikkeling includes 106 social rental apartments and also 102 free-sector rental homes," said Bart Groot, project manager at Bot Bouw. "In the preliminary phase of this project, we first thoroughly discussed the Programs of Requirements with a.s.r. real estate and de Alliantie, the parties that will have the homes in their portfolio. In addition, we made a number of agreements with the municipality of Diemen and the GVB, which will, for example, allow the streetcar to continue running during the construction work. In August 2019, the first soil displacement foundation piles (vibro-piles) were placed and in mid-October followed the official starting signal for the construction of the apartment buildings."

The foundation consists of cast-in-place piles. On the first floor, a combination of cast-in-place concrete floors and hollow-core slabs was chosen.

Closed building blocks with a distinctive facade

M3H Architects was responsible for the design of the two building blocks with striking facades, which exude both coherence and diversity and, despite their own identity, fit in perfectly with the surrounding buildings. The facades consist of prefabricated wood frame elements, which were already assembled on site during the shell construction phase with all the painted wooden frames, so that the buildings were wind and watertight faster and the finishing could start faster. In a later phase came the insulation around the built-in elements and the facade was finished with striking brickwork in 7 different masonry dressings. "Inside, we chose a combination of poured concrete floors and hollow core slabs on the first floor and wide slab floors on the first floor. Concrete walls were used for the superstructure. Of course, attention was also paid to the sustainability of the apartments. The project is gas-free and each apartment will be equipped with a heat pump system and underfloor heating. Solar panels will be installed on the roof," explains the project manager. "If everything continues to go according to plan, we will be able to start delivering the apartments in Block M in the first quarter of 2021. For this to happen, it is important to keep a tight pace throughout the entire construction process, which is only possible with accurate planning of all works and close cooperation and good communication between Bot Bouw and our many subcontractors, as well as between all construction partners themselves."