Ridderkerk redevelopment project shows building the future

Four blocks of porch housing are being uniquely redeveloped into a contemporary residential area, with a conscious commitment to circularity. New Horizon Urban Mining is contributing to this with the circular dismantling of two blocks.

"Our housing portfolio in Ridderkerk largely consists of porch homes from the 1950s," explains project developer Marianne Schuimer of Wooncompas. "These homes no longer meet today's requirements. For example, they have no elevator, which is undesirable given the increasing aging population. We are actively working to transform these homes, or replace them with new construction. With this in mind, we are also tackling Stadhouderslaan."

Renovation and demolition/new construction

Stadhouderslaan consists of four complexes of porch houses, referred to as Blocks 1 through 4. The houses in Blocks 2 and 3 will be sustainably renovated into Zero-Efficiency houses. Block 1 and 4 will be demolished. Several new homes will be built in their place. Schuimer: "Block 4 consists of 32 apartments. That will be replaced by 29 new apartments, including a number of senior apartments. Block 1 has 40 porch apartments. Initially we wanted to build 15 single-family homes in return. So a loss of 25 housing units. That was not desirable given the growing housing shortage."

Modular homes

Looking for an alternative infill for Block 1, Wooncompas came across StartBlock. This party builds light and circular three-story homes with a living area of 50 square meters. These wooden houses come ready-made from the factory, including kitchen, bathroom and toilet. "Exactly what we were looking for," Schuimer said. "The compact size makes them ideal as starter homes. Moreover, compared to traditional construction, we can place twice as many homes. In total, we are putting up 32 of these homes. They are produced in just ten weeks and placed back-to-back on the lot. This way of building is not only fast and smart, it also ensures very low nitrogen emissions. As far as I am concerned, this way of building is the future."

Circular dismantling

For 93%, the homes at StartBlock are circular. When the homes are demolished in forty to fifty years, 93% can be reused. Says Schuimer, "We wanted to carry that circular thinking through to the rest of the project. For the circular dismantling of the two blocks, we turned to New Horizon Urban Mining. They looked at the residential blocks to be demolished. There is quite a lot of asbestos in them, yet 51% of the demolition waste is reusable. New Horizon Urban Mining "harvests" these materials and turns them into new building materials. The concrete, for example, is turned back into sand, gravel and cement. Kitchens are also harvested. They act as raw material for new sheet material, which is used to make new kitchens. In cooperation with Chainable, New Horizon Urban Mining markets these kitchens."

Shrub robberies

Wooncompas is taking circular harvesting a step further, as the deep backyards of its porch homes are also getting a second life. Together with the initiative Struikroven, Wooncompas organized times when residents could pick shrubs and plants from the gardens for their own use. "A nice concept," Schuimer said. "As a result, all that beautiful greenery didn't have to end up under the bulldozer. At the same time, we promoted social integration in the neighborhood."

Four homes a day

Currently, Wooncompas is in the process of renovating the Zero-Meter homes. It is also busy harvesting in Block 1. At the end of August, the demolition work will be completed and the land will be prepared for construction. In September, October and November, StartBlock will install the 32 modular homes there. "Soon, four turnkey homes will be erected per day," Schuimer says enthusiastically. "Stadhouderslaan will transform in record time. I am incredibly looking forward to that." 

Construction Info

Client
Wooncompas, Ridderkerk

Circular dismantling
New Horizon Urban Mining, Raamsdonksveer

Modular homes
StartBlock, Emmeloord