When a new project is planned to replace older buildings, the materials from the demolished buildings are usually on their way to a landfill, not recycled into the modular components of the new buildings.
But that’s exactly what happened in Rotterdam when an existing housing project was ready to be replaced.
HA-HA, in partnership with BIK Bouw and Wooncompas Housing, will develop four social housing blocks for the community of Ridderkerk, near Rotterdam, Netherlands. The project uses materials from the existing social housing estate built in the 1950s and employs an innovative modular-timber system to create sustainable human-centered housing.
The old buildings are planned to be disassembled and their components reused and integrated into the new development, which will increase the number of affordable units by 13%.
In order to achieve a degree of circularity, HA-HA has created a catalog of reusable elements. Examples of these are the window frames and doors, which will become community planters and seating areas, and the bricks, which will be reused for landscape paths.
The Rembrandtweg Ridderkerk development will also reuse the concrete structure and basement of the existing buildings as the foundation for the new modular units. The project works within the confines of the original footprint of the four buildings.
The design utilizes a prefabricated modular wooden system developed by BIK Bouw. The two different unit types are designed to have a span of 7.8 meters to align with the structural span of the reused basement. The modules will be assembled off-site, including wet walls and plumbing, and then transported to the location. This is an energy-efficient type of construction that contributes to the affordability of the design.
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