Podium Amersfoort connects green and meeting

Affordable, collaborative and forward-looking

On the edge of Vathorst station in Amersfoort, Heijmans is developing and building Podium, a new urban district with 440 homes. Buy and (social) rent are next to each other here, in green surroundings and close to amenities. Housing corporation de Alliantie is buying 135 homes. The shared ambition to create homes where people feel at home is the common thread.

Fleur Imming, regional director of the Alliance in Amersfoort: “With projects like Podium, we can realize affordable housing in a healthy, green and sustainable environment.” For Heijmans, too, it's about more than building. Remco Melgert, director of Heijmans woningbouw: “Besides a varied housing supply, we add sustainability, welfare and accessibility here. That's important for livability.” 

Confidence in cooperation

The two have been working together for decades, and that makes a difference, Imming notes. “Then you quickly move past practical agreements and get to who you're doing it for. Are we making residents happy with what we're doing?” According to Melgert, that equality is essential. “Who the end user is makes no difference in our cooperation. We're going for the same goal.”

Affordable and future-proof 

“Affordability is an important condition for us,” Imming says. “But that doesn't mean we sacrifice quality. By investing in sustainability, we keep housing costs low.” According to Melgert, the profit lies in smart choices. “Where it can be sober, we do that. Where quality is needed, we make that step.” ❯

Vathorst in a new phase 

Podium connects to the broader development of Vathorst, with its own identity and urban character. There will be a mix of target groups, housing types and a connection to public transport. The neighborhood is within walking distance of Vathorst station and the shopping center, making car ownership less of a given. Heijmans is also making thirteen shared cars available.

Green connection 

Between the phases will be the Common Green: an urban park that is the entrance to the neighborhood. The landscape zone is the natural counterpart. This green space will be ecologically designed with natural plantings and provide enough space to capture the ever-increasing peaks in rainwater. All homes have their front doors on one of the green spaces. The green roof garden on the 4,500-square-meter roof of the parking garage can store 150,000 gallons of water. This helps combat heat stress and flooding. Trees provide shade, color and habitat for bees and birds. The gas-free apartments are also connected to a single UTES installation that will soon supply heating as well as hot and cold water to the entire Podium. 

Looking Ahead 

Ten years from now, both parties hope to see a neighborhood that feels natural. “A place where people feel at home and neighbors know each other,” Imming says. Greenery plays a key role in this. “The courtyard gardens provide cooling and are meeting places. People naturally meet each other here. We encourage this for example with picnic benches, made by local artists with a distance to the labor market.”