Schoonschip | Amsterdam

Project Clean Ship nears completion

Europe's most sustainable floating neighborhood is in Amsterdam North

Europe's most sustainable floating residential district is beginning to take shape. Meanwhile, 26 water homes from project Schoonschip have reached their final destination in the Johan van Hasselt Canal in Amsterdam-North. A total of thirty homes are being realized, which should accommodate 46 households. Thirteen water homes (for 23 households) fall within the scope of Dutch Lotus and Bouwbedrijf van Middendorp.

"For us, Project Clean Ship started running in mid-2015," says Bart van Selm, Owner of Dutch Lotus. "Initially, three contractor parties were selected for the Research & Development project, but the Schoonschip Foundation - in which all private clients are united - was still missing certain areas of expertise among some of the selected parties in order to properly fulfill the ambitious Program of Requirements. Together with Bouwbedrijf van Middendorp, we clarified all the requirements and drew up a Plan of Action. In January 2016, we made an extensive presentation, based on which 23 households chose our joint construction approach."

Diversity in size and appearance
As an independent and groundbreaking consultancy and project management agency, Dutch Lotus has enormous expertise in the field of (floating) construction, in groundbreaking projects. "In this project we deployed our (technical) knowledge, expertise and network, while Bouwbedrijf van Middendorp was responsible for the execution," said Van Selm. "What is special about this construction project is that each home is unique. The thirteen waterfront homes were designed by six different design parties and therefore differ not only in size, but also in appearance." 

Sec sustainable building materials and techniques were used to build the waterfront homes. "At the base of each home are a concrete float and a wood-frame construction structure," says Adriaan van der Zande, director of Bouwbedrijf van Middendorp. "In most cases, the facades are finished with wooden cladding, combined with plain wood window frames. Painted window frames were chosen for two homes. In addition, one home has straw panels and is finished with spray cork. One-third of the roof area is set up as a green roof. In addition, about 500 solar panels have been installed." The homes are not connected to natural gas, but generate their own energy and heat, he says. "In special greenhouses and floating gardens to be realized later, crops are grown that can be eaten by the residents. Showering and washing dishes are ideally done with collected rainwater."

"On May 11, all the water homes sailed to their final destination, after which we started connecting all the installations and - where necessary - the final finishes."

Spectacular operation
Construction of the homes began in March 2018. "We chose to build all the water homes on the quay and then launch them," Van Selm explains. "Because of the dimensions of the floats - but also because we wanted to build lean - building in a dry dock was not an option. Moreover, most subcontractors were more familiar with building on solid ground." The choice was made for the Achtersluispolder in Zaandam, which offered sufficient space, was price-wise attractive and also offered a good drop-off position to sail the houses to Amsterdam North. "In addition, there was enough space here for a barge to launch the homes." Van der Zande: "Because of the large weights of the water homes - the heaviest home weighs 350,000 kilograms - we used the HEBO-Lift 9, HEBO Maritiemservice's largest floating sheerlegs that experienced its first in fresh water, for the launch." Divers cleaned all floats on the underside and removed all wooden boards and plastic, after which the water houses were sailed by tug and push boats to the Johan van Hasselt Canal in Amsterdam. "At the inauguration moment on May 11, the Ridderspoor bridge was temporarily lifted with cranes. A spectacular moment, in which as many as 13 water homes were guided through the narrow passage in a short time. At 1 p.m., all homes were in place, after which we started connecting all installations and - where necessary - the final finishes. In mid-June, the final homes will be delivered."