Capelle aan den IJssel dives into new adventure: meet Blinq

Former swimming pool de Blinkert is making way for 180 apartments. Blinq will be completed at the end of 2025 and promises to become a beautiful part of Capelle aan den IJssel. It will be a future-proof green oasis with a nod to the rich history of the site and will offer housing for various target groups from Capelle.

Where the iconic swimming pool de Blinkert used to stand for every Capellean, four residential buildings are currently being constructed. "Everyone from Capelle knows this site," explains Martin van Cappellen, project manager at Van Wijnen. "Therefore, during the design we already thought about how we could bring that history back to this development." And that worked out well. The four residential buildings will be named "The High," "The Low," "The Deep" and "The Starting Block. A nice reference to their former purpose. "Connecting, moving and meeting were central themes in the development. In doing so, Blinq will have a meeting square similar to a swimming pool where children can play," Van Cappellen continued. "This square also serves as a water reservoir. It collects rainwater, which we then use again to water our roof garden."

An ingenious roof garden

The homes are surrounded by a lot of greenery. The new neighborhood is connected to a small forest and will have a very special parking garage. "In the middle of the four buildings will be all the parking spaces," Van Cappellen says. "You don't see these, because they are covered by a roof garden. This will be the beating heart of Blinq and turn four separate residential buildings into
one whole."

Behind the realization of the roof garden is a strong piece of craftsmanship. "The roof is made of channel plates," Van Cappellen explains. "These are normally 40 centimeters thick and can withstand a certain pressure. The pressure put on this roof garden is greater than ordinary hollow-core plates can handle. That's why we developed a brand new 50-centimeter-thick channel plate. This didn't exist before, but is exactly that little bit extra we needed for the roof garden!"

The conscious Blinq

In addition to the water tank and the impressive roof garden, Blinq is heated and cooled by a Heat Cold Storage (WKO) system. Sustainability is thus high on the agenda. Not only in the final design does Blinq respect the future, but also during construction Van Wijnen works as sustainably as possible. "On top of the construction hut are solar panels, which largely cover the electricity consumption of our chain park," Van Cappellen explains. "In addition, our cranes for 90% run electrically. Not only because it's the norm these days, but we also think it's very important to be sustainable."

Van Wijnen and the residents

The four residential buildings offer a comprehensive mix of housing. Every segment is represented, so that all of Capelle and the surrounding area will feel at home in Blinq. Purchase, rental and social housing make up the brand new neighborhood. If realization goes according to plan, Blinq will be completed by the end of 2025. So there is still some time to wait for the new residents, but fortunately Van Wijnen is happy to include them in the construction process. "We like to involve them in the process," says Van Cappellen. "We regularly give them a look at the construction site in real life and online. Via videos, everyone follows the realization closely. It's great fun to hear what the new residents think of it so far. I notice that they are just as enthusiastic as we are, and that only makes us even more determined to make something beautiful out of it!"