Platform on new construction, renovation, restoration and transformation
Making a historic building more sustainable is already a major challenge. But what if you also want to add five full stories on top of it without modifying the existing foundation? In Arnhem, that’s exactly what’s happening at De Nieuwe Post. Heijmans is giving the former post office a major renovation, adding a wooden extension, and thereby ensuring a circular future for the building.
De Nieuwe Post is a municipal landmark and an iconic attraction in Arnhem. Heijmans is collaborating with Kraaijvanger Architecten, IMd, Dgmr, Karres en Brands, and a broad team of specialists on the transformation. “The approach is to preserve the authentic qualities of the existing building while preparing it for an energy-efficient and circular future,” says Johan van der Velden, project manager at Heijmans.
The foundation for this approach was laid during the tender issued by the Central Government Real Estate Agency. To that end, Heijmans formed a consortium that included Kraaijvanger Architecten, IMd, DGMR, and Karres & Brands. “What made this call for proposals unique was that it didn’t ask for a ready-made design, but rather for a vision on collaboration, spatial quality, circularity, and project management,” explains Van der Velden. “From the very beginning, circularity and collaboration were approached holistically. After all, a sustainable choice almost always involves multiple disciplines: architecture, construction, finance, and execution. By bringing specialists and the execution team to the table early on, decisions can be made and tested collaboratively.”
One example of such a decision concerned the historic window frames. “Replacing them would make sense from an energy efficiency standpoint, but it would detract from the building’s historic value,” says Van der Velden. “After extensive research, it turned out to be possible to preserve the existing window frames while significantly improving their energy efficiency.” At the same time, the building is literally viewed as a resource bank. “During the demolition, we’re examining which materials are being recovered, what their quality is, and which components can be reused. Floor tiles are given a second life elsewhere, while solid wood doors are cut into pieces to be used for furniture and planters.”
The project team is also actively seeking out materials from other projects. For example, a steel structure being decommissioned from another Heijmans project is being repurposed as the main support structure in De Nieuwe Post. “When using new materials, future value is also a key consideration,” Van der Velden emphasizes. “Components are designed to be removable and in standard sizes as much as possible, so that they can potentially be reused in a subsequent phase of the building’s life cycle.”
One of the most ambitious projects is the all-wood addition. Five additional stories will be added on top of the existing four-story building, without the need to modify the foundation. “That’s obviously a huge challenge,” Van der Velden rightly points out. “Nevertheless, together with IMd, we’ve found a structural solution. The addition will be constructed entirely of CLT. It’s relatively lightweight, structurally efficient, and has a significantly lower carbon footprint than a comparable solution made of steel or concrete.”
In addition to its focus on sustainability and circularity, Heijmans is also committed to the well-being of the building’s users and the surrounding community at De Nieuwe Post. Van der Velden: “The building will feature open workspaces with plenty of natural light, high atriums, and abundant greenery. The existing parking lot at the rear will be replaced by a green courtyard garden with trees and planters. The site will be open to the public during the day, thereby creating a new green corridor in the city.” De Nieuwe Post is expected to be completed in March 2027. This will be followed by fifteen years of maintenance. In this way, the municipal monument will not only be given a second life, but above all, a future.
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Heijmans is a listed company that combines activities in real estate, construction & engineering and infrastructure in the areas of Living, Working and Connecting. We identify, conceive, advise, develop and design, always with the ultimate goal of bringing something about. We want to contribute to making a healthy living environment and in doing so we focus our [...]
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