Platform on new construction, renovation, restoration and transformation
Energy-efficient, gas-free, healthy and comfortable. These are the qualities that housing association de Alliantie is banking on during the renovation of the Hemsterhuis apartment building in Amsterdam New West. After this radical approach, the apartment building will be ready for another thirty years.
The Hemsterhuisflat is a porch-storey apartment building in the Jacob Geel neighborhood, a 1950s neighborhood that is being future-proofed over ten years. The renovation of the Hemsterhuisflat consists of the technical improvement, preservation and beautification of the interior and exterior. Jelle de Jong, Senior Project Manager of the Alliance: "With the help of the municipality of Amsterdam, we are making the homes gas-free. We are doing this based on agreements with the municipality to get the first existing housing association houses off the gas. It is important to us that this is done in such a way that it is affordable for the tenant.
Making homes gas-free also fits into our sustainability goals."
For the plan development and execution of the renovation, the Alliance formed a construction team with Hooyschuur Architects, structural engineer Strackee and Logchies Renovation and Maintenance BV.
"For the Alliance, we previously renovated the Anton Struik neighborhood," says Communications Advisor Myriam van der Wijk, on behalf of Logchies renovation and maintenance.
"Based on the pleasant cooperation and the good final result, the Alliance also asked us for the construction team of the Hemsterhuisflat." Logchies took the project team from the Anton Struik neighborhood to the Hemsterhuis flat. The same chain partners were also included as much as possible. "The cooperation is once again very pleasant," said Van der Wijk. "We are reaping the benefits of the knowledge and experience we jointly gained in the previous project. The construction team partners are familiar with us and each other. We form a solid team with a common interest."
The first homes will be completed this summer.
Based on the preliminary design by Hooyschuur Architects, the construction team budgeted and optimized the design for the Hemsterhuis apartment building. Van der Wijk: "The apartment building will have a contemporary appearance. In terms of sustainability and comfort, too, the building will be considerably improved. For example, the roof will be insulated and equipped with solar panels on the south side. The facade will be insulated with Sto exterior wall insulation and finished with mineral stone strips. There will also be new plastic window frames in the facade. At the rear, the facade layout is slightly modified. In the houses we renew the bathroom, kitchen and toilet. We also realize balconies facing south. We are including the existing loggias in the homes." There will also be nine additional homes in the existing attic, with a south-facing loggia, and three bungalows in the former business premises. This brings the total number of homes in the Hemsterhuis apartment building to 84.
During plan development, the construction team chose to make the building gasless and connect to the nearby heat grid. "Tenant affordability was the main reason for this," said Jelle de Jong. "Gas is becoming increasingly scarce and therefore increasingly expensive. The tenant will soon not be dependent on that. Moreover, the tenant is going to save on energy consumption." In collaboration with installation partner Van der Wal, Logchies is replacing the central heating boilers with new delivery sets. These are fed from a central point in the complex by an Indirect Heat Delivery Station (IWAS). Thanks to the good insulation, the supply and return temperatures of the delivery sets can be lowered to 70 and 40 degrees Celsius, respectively. So less energy is needed to get the homes up to temperature. This is good for the environment and for the tenant's wallet.
The work is taking place in an unoccupied state. The Alliance delivered the homes to Logchies empty in November 2018. In January 2019, Logchies started the earthwork, followed by asbestos remediation and demolition work. This was followed by work on the roof, facade and dwellings. Van der Wijk: "The work on the outside and inside will take place simultaneously, but in different construction flows. In the houses, the team works per strang. On the outside, we tackle the roof and facade as separate construction streams. The coordination of the construction streams, combined with the planning, is a challenge. Everything is interrelated and must be completed on time so that everyone can continue. The schedule is for us to deliver the first homes this summer. Before that, we are now performing some finalizing work."
