Social rental apartments should help solve shortage of suitable, affordable housing

In Nijmegen, as in many other cities in the Netherlands, the demand for smaller social rental housing is rising. That is why Nijhuis Bouw realized 114 social rental apartments for one- and two-person households and starters in the Woenderskamp district of Nijmegen-North on behalf of housing corporation Talis, as well as 10 so-called Mindset homes for people with physical disabilities. Both complexes with respectively three and five floors around a common inner garden were realized according to the well-known Trento® concept of the construction company.

Housing corporation Talis wants to guarantee people suitable and affordable housing and therefore recently invested in a large new housing project with social rental apartments in the Woenderskamp neighborhood in Nijmegen-North. Nijhuis Bouw was commissioned to realize this remarkable project. The design consists of two buildings with three and five floors, respectively, which on the one hand provide space for 114 small social rental apartments for one- and two-person households or starters. They include a living room with open kitchen, one bedroom and a normal bathroom. Some rental homes also have an outdoor space. "On the other hand, 10 adapted homes for the disabled were integrated, the so-called Mindset homes, named after a residents' initiative of 10 people with physical disabilities who want to retain as much control over their own lives as possible," says Patrick Zweekhorst, project manager at Nijhuis Bouw. "Together with Talis, we involved these people very closely in the design and realization of their homes. For example, we projected a full-scale floor plan on the floor in an old factory hall beforehand, so that we could check with a future resident whether she could easily move from one room to another with her wheelchair. These homes were therefore completely custom-built, including wider aisles, preparations for elevator elevators, sliding doors, door openers, camera facilities for the night care guard, .... Still, not everything was automated, because what the residents can still do themselves, they like to do themselves. And of course we took that into account."

Proven construction concept with established partners and construction solutions

This project was built according to the Trento® concept, which was developed by Nijhuis Bouw and implemented with established partners. It is based on pre-conceived solutions, which come from a dynamic knowledge base they call the Trento® cabinet. Thanks to the insights gained by the partners together, the library is also constantly renewed. "In October 2018, we were chosen as the contractor from a Best Value Procurement selection based on a Plan of Approach and opportunity and risk file. Then, together with the housing corporation, we started drawing out the integral design, elaborating the design in terms of both construction and installation. Flow architects created the building design and that was fine-tuned with the client and our regular construction partners," Zweekhorst continues. "The go-ahead for construction itself was given on June 10, 2020. As in all our projects, prefabricated building elements are used as much as possible, such as facades with integrated wooden frames, walls, floors, ceilings and roofs. Thanks to playful masonry, we still created a certain variation in the facade. Working with prefabricated elements does mean that everything in terms of dimensions and positioning of windows, doors, cables and pipes must be known at an early stage, but that need not lead to problems. This project was a first, by the way, because for the first time scaffolding-free work was carried out on a high-rise building with a fifth-floor canopy, which again presents other challenges."   

Certified steel company manufactures and assembles fencing, stairs and structural work

The 124 apartments of housing corporation Talis in the Woenderskamp district of Nijmegen-North are being built according to the Trento® concept. This 'cabinet of building solutions' from Nijhuis Bouw also includes the fencing, stairs and construction elements from all-round construction company Van der Sluis.

"The more complicated one builds, the more time it takes and the more budget goes to drawing, engineering and supervision. By building according to the Trento® concept, the lead time is much shorter. After all, there is much less engineering involved, because many concept drawings already exist and the details are also known. Like Nijhuis, we already know in advance what everything will look like," says company manager Arend van der Kamp. "For this new construction project we produced, delivered and assembled 1,200 m of fencing, as well as stairs, gallery supports and all construction work, totaling about 79 tons of steel. We were engaged only 2-3 months before the start of construction. In mid-January 2020, the first elements were produced. After that, we continued to be involved throughout the construction process until completion at the end of April this year. The successful completion of such a construction project obviously depends on the knowledge of the construction partners, but equally on the cooperation and atmosphere on the construction site. By trusting each other and being open and honest with each other, many problems can be avoided. And this openness is precisely one of the most important characteristics of conceptual cooperation."