Living and caring in future-proof properties

The care complex in Ter Aar is already the eighth care complex that Van Vliet Bouw B.V. has built. Lars van den Akker, director-owner of Van Vliet Bouw B.V. talks about his mission to deliver high-quality care homes that are also energy-neutral.

The idea for the residential care complexes originated in 2008. "Futurazorg arose from the demand for small-scale care with direction for the residents. There are currently several concepts in the Netherlands, but in 2008 we were still unique. We set up the construction, development and care ourselves," Van de Akker explains. 

Van Vliet Bouw B.V. develops innovative products and services and shapes it all. "We think about how we ourselves, in healthcare, prefer to see it. Optimal buildings have emerged from that. For the realization we used the expertise of persons with knowledge of care, consultants, municipalities, GGZ and our own knowledge and expertise, among others."

The benefits

From a sustainable mindset, realizing a sustainable living environment was an important goal, says Van de Akker. "Think for example of lots of light, good air quality, clarity, a spacious layout and a beautiful appearance. This all serves the residents so that they feel optimally at home." With these homes, the high demand for care can be met. "We even get requests from municipalities. This is also how this complex in Ter Aar came about. There is a similar complex of ours in Nieuwveen. With this, this is a good addition in the region to provide care for the elderly."

Energy neutral

Van de Akker says that on previous projects he mostly looked at what the company could take over from previous projects. Now it has looked at an additional sustainability feat. "Previously we always had energy label A and met the BENG standards, but now our goal was energy-neutral. That was quite a puzzle, because it is difficult to achieve both a sustainable living environment with fine heating and still keep the building energy-neutral. Fortunately, we have a lot of expertise in house, because we have been working with wood as a building construction since the early 2000s. Wood is more CO2-efficient than concrete, for example, and it is easy to adapt and thus change its function. That's how you build very sustainably." 

20 years of craftsmanship applied

Van Vliet Bouw B.V. began in 2003 and soon formed a partnership with a group of six contractors, Sament, to join hands on innovative wood building applications. "Our intention has always been to collaborate a lot with clients and other contractors and companies in an open way. We work with a lot of innovative products and services. So this was the basis for Futura. Since 2006 we have been trying to innovate together with other companies. This is how the prefabricated wood building system came into being. This is an improved version of the well-known timber building frame. We looked at detailing and noise complaints," Van de Akker says. "With this timber building system, as well as our other works, we have been concerned with sustainability for 20 years, which is unique!"