Next project of Finch Buildings will be in Alkmaar.
AMSTERDAM - On 1 August 2019, the municipality of Alkmaar issued the environmental permit for the construction of 38 residential studios on the Cornelis Buysstraat and the Van Oostsanenkade in Alkmaar. Finch Buildings' solid wood studios are intended for young people aged 18 to 28 and will be operated on a permanent basis at various locations.
With the granting of the irrevocable environmental permit, the sixth and largest project of Finch Buildings to date is official. Previous projects of the Amsterdam scale-up (2014) can be found in Hoofddorp, Leiden, Tilburg, Vierhouten and Amsterdam. Also for the coming years the pipeline is well filled.
The project in Alkmaar is unique, because Woonwaard will initially use the building temporarily, but will operate it permanently. For the first 10 years, the building will be located on Cornelis Buysstraat and Van Oostsanenkade, after which it will be moved to a second temporary location or to a permanent location. In its 50 years of operation, Woonwaard has included two relocations. Finch's houses comply with the Construction Decree for New Build and are therefore permanent real estate.
Temporary and yet circular
"At Finch Buildings, we make permanent and sometimes temporary buildings. Even in the case of temporary housing projects, you have to offer quality, both for the residents, the local residents and the environment. We see that transience and circularity are usually at odds with each other; temporary buildings are then simply discarded after 10 years. Because we are building not only for the present but also for future generations, we can no longer view these issues in isolation from each other. For our temporary projects we make permanent buildings on temporary locations" says Jurrian Knijtijzer, founder and owner of Finch Buildings. The architect founded the company in 2014 from the idea that construction should be more sustainable and healthier, with reuse of raw materials and less waste. Knijtijzer: "As a construction sector, we are responsible for more than 1/3 of the costs.Eof global CO2 emissions, 40% of energy consumption and 40% of demolition waste. As a sector, we could therefore make a huge impact, but this is only happening very rarely. For us, this impact is the starting point, among other things by building with solid wood."
The houses in Alkmaar are made entirely of solid pinewood (CLT) from sustainably managed forests. In the 38 solid wood residential studios for the project in Alkmaar, 478 tons of CO2 is stored. This saves 568 tonnes of CO2 emissions by not building with building materials such as concrete, steel and brick. This is comparable to 2,352 years of oxygen and 2.7 million kilometres of driving an average car. Because 5 trees are replanted for every 3 felled trees, the forests grow on balance when Finch Buildings builds buildings.
Most sustainable housing corporation in the Netherlands
The collaboration with Woonwaard is a logical one. Earlier this year, the housing corporation won the Sustainable Construction Award for the most sustainable housing corporation with its 'collaborative innovation for sustainability'. Thanks to the cooperation with the municipality of Heerhugowaard and the waste management company HVC, Woonwaard was able to coordinate the investment programmes in housing, public space and the construction of the heat network, thus creating an integrated approach to sustainability, district quality and quality of life. "We look forward to working with the most sustainable housing corporation in the Netherlands. You immediately notice when both companies have sustainability in their genes," says Knijtijzer.
Ex works so on location
Finch's buildings are produced in the factory of partner De Groot Vroomshoop, a subsidiary of VolkerWessels. Due to the modular construction method, the building can be produced and installed within a few months with as little inconvenience as possible on the building site. The complex will be completed in the first quarter of 2020.
