Completely gutted apartment becomes sought-after place to live

Amstelveen gains 34 sustainable rental homes with renovation

On behalf of housing association Eigen Haard, TBI company ERA Contour is renovating the Aquarius apartment complex in Amstelveen-Zuid. The renovation is being carried out in an unoccupied state, to realize extensions and bring facades, installation technology, housing differentiation and social safety up to date. Work started in mid-2021. All homes are expected to be completed by 2023.

Just about everything is being tackled in the Aquarius flat, situated on the Watercirkel in Amstelveen's Groenelaan neighborhood - a mix of post-war low-rise and high-rise buildings. A major renovation involving the complete stripping of the two buildings down to the shell. The exterior of the five-story Aquarius will receive a complete, "fresh and modern" makeover with new facades, an elevation and an extension. Parapets and exterior cavity walls have been removed and will be replaced with insulated mineral stone strips. Solar panels will be installed on the roof. 

Sample project

Aquarius, designed by AG Nova, will have more variety of housing types - divided between larger and smaller apartments. The end result is 182 homes instead of 148, offered in a mix of mid-range social and free sector rentals. To make the jump in scale possible, a five-story extension has been added to the existing complex. An additional layer of residential space will be added on top of both buildings. The top floor will be executed as the second floor of the underlying apartments - in wood frame construction; these will become maisonettes. Project manager Jeroen Eijkelboom of ERA Contour explains: "Part of the old top facade and the new top floor are cut out at an angle for a varied facade appearance. The end facades will be fitted with stone strips and bat boxes." 

The new Aquarius offers both differentiation in housing supply and an improved appearance in the neighborhood. Eijkelboom: "Aquarius used to be a social housing complex that needed attention. Soon you will hardly recognize it. You live here beautifully, overlooking the greenery on the outskirts of Amstelveen. Some thirty residents are returning, and are already very enthusiastic, for the remaining residents a home has been found elsewhere. We receive many visits from representatives of the housing corporation sector and government. After all, this type of renovation project offers the opportunity to quickly scale up housing production and feasibly make it more sustainable."

Expansion of entrances

The complex will soon have four entrances, and the number of elevators and stairwells will be increased proportionately. "The social environment is greatly improved by dividing the building into sections," says Eijkelboom. "In the old situation, there were long corridors. With four entrances instead of one main entrance, fewer homes will end up in the same place. By doing so, we create more space for mutual contact and thus more social safety. There will also be new lighting on the outside."

The buildings will be future-proofed with insulated facades. Plastic exterior window frames will be fitted with triple glazing and a cascade system for collective central heating. "This means that the building meets current insulation requirements (label A; ed.) and is prepared to be gasless later on based on a low-temperature heating system. This can be done, for example, in combination with district heating and/or heat pumps." The homes will be energy efficient and comfortable, with ClimaRad ventilation units and heat recovery. 

Safety

The renovation will be carried out using construction cranes and scaffolding systems. ERA Contour works according to the lean planning system KYP (Keep Your Promise), which is based on a day's start with all construction partners and a result-oriented planning. Eijkelboom: "We go through the building with several parties at the same time and a lot has to be done in a short time. Then it is essential to solve problems in the planning immediately, for example with regard to deliveries and neighborhood nuisance. Arranging time or activities of project stakeholders more efficiently is part of that."

ERA Contour is a Conscious Builder and recently certified for step 4 on the Safety Ladder. "This means that we deal proactively with subcontractors with regard to safety and continuously make improvements. We prefer to work with permanent teams anyway, based on order and tidiness, on a well-secured construction site. And we all want to get back home safely at the end of the day; in that, ERA Contour takes responsibility."