Future-proof building with consideration for the environment

Zero-efficiency homes as Meerpolder expands

De Vries en Verburg Bouw is realizing the final piece of the Meerpolder district in Berkel en Rodenrijs. The BuiteNOM project consists of 42 sustainable Zero-Meter houses. A generous green strip will surround the project, for recreation and strengthening biodiversity.

Hermen Zwijnenburg is a project developer at De Vries en Verburg Ontwikkeling, which developed the plan together with Jean-Paul Batenburg of Prodin Beheer. "The land we are developing here belonged to two private owners. Prodin Beheer made the contacts with the owners and came to an agreement. We were then asked to develop housing on this site, on the edge of the Meerpolder neighborhood. There will be one detached house, four semi-detached houses and 37 row houses, eight of which have been designated as attainable housing with a v.o.n. price of €429,000." 

Prefabricated elements

Wim van Staveren is project manager of the new construction project from De Vries en Verburg Bouw. "These homes lend themselves well to prefabricated construction," he says. "We use elements from Spaansen Bouwsystemen for this. In this way we can shorten the construction time compared to traditional construction, there is less assembly work on site and we reduce the nuisance for the surrounding residential area."

The precast elements are transported to the construction site painted and glazed, where they are placed automatically. Thus, the entire skeleton of the houses is assembled in one go. The construction time is therefore very short: within eight months, the first homes are completed.

A prefabricated building system does require time and attention in preparation. Van Staveren: "Engineering plays an important role in this. All connections of walls and window frames must be exactly right. We went through a period in which we had to do a lot of fine-tuning. That's a lot less with traditional construction."

Durability, aesthetics and quality

The homes will soon be zero-in-the-meter. This is partly due to the use of heat sources and pumps, an extra thick insulation package and the application of indented PV panels. Zwijnenburg: "For this project, in addition to sustainability, we also looked at aesthetics and quality. There are several ways to realize sustainable heating, but in most cases an outdoor unit is placed in the garden. This is always in the way and can cause noise pollution. We want to create a future-proof neighborhood here and therefore are happy to go the extra mile."

The name of the plan: BuiteNOM, refers not only to the Zero-Meter principle, but also to the green "arm" that will be created around it. This green strip will include a soccer field and playground, and trees will be planted to enhance biodiversity in the area. For example, there will be natural nesting opportunities for the house sparrow. "There will be space for recreation and it provides connection in the neighborhood," Zwijnenburg said. "It also helps prevent heat stress, just like the grass concrete tiles that will be in the parking lots. We look at the overall picture. Petrifying the entire neighborhood is no longer the benchmark."

Construction Info

Client

ProBurg Development (De Vries and Verburg Development and Prodin Beheer)

Architect

Maat Architecten BNA

Main contractor

De Vries and Verburg Construction