Caritas and Fortitudo respond to Amsterdam housing needs

Affordable and comfortable living at Rembrandt Park

Along the A10 in Amsterdam Nieuw-West, at the edge of the Rembrandtpark and on the corner of Postjesweg and Derkinderenstraat, two new residential towers are being built: Caritas and Fortitudo, with a total of 221 apartments and commercial facilities on the first floor. In accordance with municipal policy, a housing program has been developed with 40% social, 40% medium and 20% free-sector rental apartments, ensuring that the project fits seamlessly with the housing needs in Amsterdam. Eight two- and three-room apartments will be realized per floor, with living areas ranging from 40 to 60 m². Breman Harderwijk is responsible for the mechanical installations in both towers. Breman Installatiefabriek was also involved for the ventilation in the central corridors and bicycle sheds.

Residential towers Caritas (20 residential floors) and Fortitudo (9 residential floors) are a development of Maarssen Groep. The aesthetic design was created by Geurst & Schulze Architects, while Van Wijnen Amsterdam is responsible for the realization. Commissioned by the building contractor, Breman Harderwijk is taking care of the engineering, work preparation and execution of the complete mechanical installation. From heating and ventilation to plumbing. "The apartments will be connected to Vattenfall's district heating network," says Dick Winter, project manager at Breman Harderwijk. "Low-temperature underfloor heating was chosen as the delivery system. A balanced ventilation system with heat recovery provides a healthy and comfortable living environment, while keeping energy consumption to a minimum." Breman Harderwijk is also installing a wtw ventilation system in the central corridors, while natural supply and mechanical exhaust were chosen in the bicycle sheds.

Individual use meters

For the drinking water supply in Caritas and Fortitudo, Waternet is laying one main per residential tower. "At the location where the water main enters the building, a hydrophore installation will be used," Winter said. "In addition, we are laying the main water pipes to the apartments, including individual usage meters in the meter boxes. This allows exact billing according to consumption."

Special construction method

What is special about this project is the construction method, Winter emphasizes. "Both residential towers will have a precast concrete shell, with massive prestressed floors and massive exterior walls. One complete building layer is delivered each week, allowing our mechanics to work in a wind and watertight environment. For safety reasons, we always work several floors below the contractor. We install our sewer pipes and ventilation ducts on the structural floors, after which 12 cm of foam concrete and 25 mm of insulation material are applied. On top of this comes the underfloor heating. A cast floor then provides a high-quality floor finish as well as excellent heat transfer." The project is scheduled for completion in late 2023.