Sustainability and improvement High ERAs, Rotterdam Ommoord

In Rotterdam Ommoord, work recently started on making the last of three 'High ERAs' more sustainable, commissioned by housing corporation Havensteder. Team ERAflats, consisting of Smits Vastgoedzorg and ERA Contour, is carrying out improvement maintenance on a total of 525 homes, with the aim of (1) making these homes future-proof, (2) improving the appearance of the flats and (3) increasing safety and livability around the buildings. The last homes will be completed in the fall of 2022.

"ERA Contour and Smits Vastgoedzorg have a lot of experience in maintenance and making the existing housing stock more sustainable," says Michel Ouwens, deputy director of Major Maintenance & Renovation at ERA Contour on behalf of Team ERAflats. "Smits Vastgoedzorg is known in the market as the founder of the RGS (Result-oriented Cooperation) method. As ERA Contour, we also have a history with ERAflats; our predecessors built them themselves in the 1960s and 1970s. As cooperation partners, we joined forces and focused full attention on these time-honored ERA flats. Since 2016, we have been maintaining and improving these flats almost as rationally as they were built back then. For us, the improvement maintenance of the so-called High ERAs at Zernikeplaats, Einsteinplaats and Debijeweg in Rotterdam Ommoord is a continuation of previous successful collaborations with Havensteder. For example, following on from the Lewis and Eliot flats in Rotterdam Ommoord, we recently completed improvement maintenance on the Purmerhoek; a large flat with 504 homes in Capelle aan den IJssel."

Sustainable and natural gas-free future

Like these flats, the High ERAs were overtaken by time, Ouwens says. "Residents were struggling with draft and moisture complaints, and the appearance of the flats could also use a facelift. In a year and a half, all three apartments will be prepared for a sustainable and natural gas-free future. The end walls, parapets and roofs will be highly insulated. All homes will also receive new rotating parts and insulating triple glazing. Thanks to this 'warm coat,' the homes will make an energy label jump to label A." The heating system will be prepared for district heating and the existing ventilation system will give way to a new ventilation system with CO2 control. In most homes, kitchens, bathrooms and toilets are also being replaced. "Residents will start cooking electrically. From Havensteder they will all receive an induction cooktop as well as a new set of pans."

High quality and fresh appearance

The three High ERAs will regain a high-quality and fresh look, thanks to a new entrance, refurbished common areas, modern fencing on the galleries and a new coat of paint. "Also, the first floor plinth with storage rooms will be better incorporated into the streetscape," Ouwens said. "Partner of Team ERAflats A3 Architects explicitly looked at how the safety and livability around the flats could be increased. For example, all around LED lighting will be installed on the second floors, lighting the street perfectly and making dark corners a thing of the past. Large glass surfaces provide pleasant sightlines in the process."

The residents central

In addition to the attention to safety and livability, the focus on residents is strong in Team ERAflats' approach. "The work takes place in inhabited conditions and is carried out by apartment, by strang and from top to bottom," Ouwens says. "Every day we start up two homes. The work in each apartment takes 12 days and is quite impactful for the residents. Therefore, in collaboration with Havensteder, we have set up guest houses where residents can stay during the work. Residents who choose to stay in their own homes can use emergency kitchens and emergency toilets."    

All residents have been involved in the planning process from the first ideas, he emphasizes. "And our housing coaches have also already been involved in the development process. Together with a sounding board group of residents, they mapped out the impact of the work. They are also the point of contact for questions. Prior to the work, they take care of the warm recordings and look at where support services are needed. In our model home, residents can see exactly what work is being done in their home, what the impact is and what they will get in return. We have also developed various supporting tools, such as a tear-off calendar showing which work will be carried out on which day, the time and inconvenience involved and who will perform the work. This is how we try to manage expectations on a daily basis."

Flowers, cake and chocolate

Every major maintenance project requires a minimum of 70% consent from residents. "In this project, too, we more than met this, but it was not easy," Ouwens looks back. "There was quite a bit of resistance and it took us a lot of time and energy to get the necessary approval. Thanks in part to these efforts, however - to this day - all the front doors are opening for us. Residents have clearly seen the (comfort) benefits of this improvement maintenance. There are even examples of residents who voted 'no', and who now bring flowers, cake and chocolate to our team! Naturally, we are very proud of this. To ensure that all colleagues on the building site hear these positive stories, we have placed a 'customer enthusiasm board' in our shed. After all, the success stories have as much impact as the figure that will soon come out of the residents' survey."

Work experience spot for SROI workers

The improvement maintenance of the High ERAs was also seized upon by Havensteder and Team ERAflats to offer work experience places to people distanced from the labor market and to help them (back) into the profession. "With this we are taking our social responsibility, in cooperation with our partners," Ouwens concludes. "In addition, we see the SROI efforts as an opportunity to reduce the labor shortage in the construction industry. Thus, we are also contributing to a sustainable future in this way."