Queen Máxima and Minister Elanor Boekholt-O'Sullivan of Housing and Spatial Planning paid a working visit to the Achterhoek on Thursday, September 3. At the invitation of Building Balance, they visited three locations in Hengelo and Doetinchem, where the path from renewable raw material to finished home could be followed step by step. The visit is part of a series of working visits by the Queen focusing on sustainability and circularity. The host was Norbert Schotte of Building Balance; the Minister joined at the second location.
The visit began at an agricultural plot in Hengelo where fiber hemp is grown. The dried fibers lay there in ridges. The owner of the plot explained the cultivation process, and the Queen used the tractor to bring in two ridges and press them into bales, with contractor Bernd Bösing by her side. Arne van Eindhoven then explained how the crop is sown, harvested, and processed into building and insulation material, and what discussions are currently underway with housing corporations regarding this. He also pointed out the effect on the soil: hemp roots deeply and loosens the soil, allowing a subsequent crop to grow better. Fiber hemp grows quickly and sequesters CO₂ during that growth. These properties position the crop as a raw material for insulation.
In Doetinchem, the WeideWald new-build project was on the agenda, part of the De Kwekerij district. There, BAM Wonen is realizing 32 rental homes for Sité Woondiensten and 41 owner-occupied homes, designed by MIX architectuur with LAP Landscape & Urban Design. The homes are built using Flow, BAM’s wooden housing concept, featuring a cross-laminated timber core, timber frame construction for roofs, walls, and floors, cellulose insulation, and Dutch poplar cladding. The roofs feature sedum and solar panels. Henk van Kleij of BAM Flow explained that the homes are manufactured as two-dimensional elements in the factory and assembled on-site, which shortens construction time. Project Manager Nard Everdij of the Municipality of Doetinchem provided an explanation of the district. The Queen and the Minister spoke with residents of an owner-occupied and a rental home about their first experiences.
What slows down scaling up
The visit concluded at Vrije School De Kleine Prins, constructed twelve years ago from wood and biobased materials and equipped with a sedum roof. Director Machteld Blok spoke about the experiences with the building. Director Jan Willem van de Groep of Building Balance gave a presentation there on the National Approach to Biobased Construction and noted that an increasing number of housing associations are signing declarations of commitment regarding the use of bio-based raw materials.
The subsequent panel discussion focused primarily on the question of why biobased construction succeeds in one place but not elsewhere. Saar Veneman of Sité Woondiensten pointed out that construction practices are geared towards brick, with fixed heights for eaves and ridges. Wooden walls are thicker, causing a design to no longer fit within the environmental plan and delaying the permitting process. Viviane Regout of BAM Residential advocated for faster procedures and an aesthetic review that looks beyond brick and concrete. Alderman Rens Steintjes of Doetinchem attributed the result at De Kwekerij to a request for proposals based on societal values rather than detailed regulations. The Minister asked those present to identify more specifically where the bottlenecks lie, whether this concerns flexibility in regulations or room for innovation.
Elsewhere in the Achterhoek, biobased homes were also completed this summer. In Varsseveld, builder Tala handed over the first 39 homes of the Essenkamp project to housing corporation Wonion from Ulft: fifteen age-friendly homes and 24 small family homes. According to Tala, the homes consist of 85 percent biobased materials and meet EPV 2.0 standards thanks to solar panels and a ground source heat pump. The last residents received their keys at the end of July. The second phase begins in October with the demolition of existing homes; the project will ultimately comprise 68 new homes. This project was not part of the site visit.
Source: Royal House
Photos: Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations / Robin Utrecht
