Platform on new construction, renovation, restoration and transformation
In Amsterdam's Kolenkit neighborhood, the new "Poets' Homes" are rising. The houses stand out because of their brickwork: modern and at the same time so typically Amsterdam. Varying masonry dressings and multiple shades of color give De Dichters a striking appearance from the very first moment.
Space for a construction site is lacking.
'The Poets' consists of 56 social rental housing units, 69 private sector apartments and 137 owner-occupied housing units divided into four residential blocks. Each residential block has two end buildings with single-family homes in between. Housing corporation Eigen Haard looked for the right construction company for the extensive project primarily among its regular clients. It was Heddes Bouw & Ontwikkeling that also submitted the most competitive price.
Heddes Construction & Development has been building The Dichters homes for more than a year and a half now. It has become accustomed to the site, which has no space to set up a construction site. "It has made us inventive," says Wasim Haji, Heddes' project manager. "To install a crane, we left the spots of two houses empty. Only at the last moment did we remove the crane and build the last two houses."
With the flexible modular shells, construction is lightning fast.
Logistics also required creativity. The area is characterized by narrow streets, schools and nurseries. Haji: "To give everyone safe passage during our work, we deployed a traffic controller. At the same time, we limit the number of transports to the absolute minimum. Suppliers are only allowed to deliver just-in-time."
The area is teeming with narrow streets.
Thanks in part to these measures, construction is proceeding quickly and successfully. The single-family homes are being built with prefabricated shells from Heddes Bouw & Ontwikkeling, the so-called FMC (Flexible Modular Shell) concept. This modular system allows them to achieve a high pace. "We place the shells between the two end buildings in one day," Haji says. "After that, all we have to do is brick and the homes are ready for finishing work. To keep the construction feasible, the construction activities take place in one construction flow."
The first homes are now visible, and Haji is pleased with the results. "The combination of masonry and precast concrete gives the homes a contemporary look, but fitting perfectly into the typical Amsterdam environment."
