After a major maintenance plan with improvements for complex 1005 was rejected in 1994 due to insufficient tenant support (mainly because of the necessary rent increases), work on a high-level renovation plan started again in 2002. The goal was to create greater diversity in the housing offerings. After a process of very intensive consultation between planners and residents, the residents this time agreed to the plans. By combining the homes and creating more housing differentiation, a variety of social rental homes has been created.
Complex 1005 has since been placed on the municipal monument list at the request of the borough. This led to a discussion with the Welfare Committee, which wished for the tilt-and-turn windows in the facade to be restored to their original state. However, this advice was not followed due to considerations of use, but the facade has managed to retain its original character with the sliding windows that were installed.
Come and see in the Hasebroekstraat, between Kinkerstraat and Bellamystraat in the West, and the difference is immediately striking. On one side of the street nothing has been done yet, the other side has been renovated. The bricks have been cleaned, repointed, the decorative green tiles have been polished, and where necessary, replaced.
"These buildings are very characteristic of Amsterdam," says Rob van der Leij (42), director of the construction company of the same name, which specializes in restoration. "These used to be lettuce gardens. A little further down, three buildings were affected by a gas explosion. We rebuilt them entirely in the same style. Then you have to perfectly replicate the detailing in the facade. We had to have those tiles specially made in Italy."
That's just the exterior. Inside, homes have been combined: two adjacent homes or two homes stacked on top of each other. The entire complex received a new foundation. Where there were previously 67 social housing units, 32 social housing units and 22 owner-occupied apartments have returned. That process has been quite involved. "You're dealing with assertive residents here," says Birgitte de Maar (46), director of project development for housing corporation Rochdale. "You need to have seventy percent of the residents on board to carry out a renovation, and that took a long time."
The block nominated is the one with 32 rental homes on Hasebroekstraat and Van Effenstraat, referred to in construction jargon as Kinkerbuurt Complex 1005 Block C2. The residents are very pleased with their new homes and gave them a rating of 8.6. "Everything is beautifully finished and brand new. A renovation that was very well executed," they responded during the telephone survey. "The fact that the houses are being renovated is good for the living experience and for the streetscape."
Eelkje Nieuwland (35) is one of those lucky residents. She lived around the corner, also in a rental property from Rochdale. When it was renovated, she had to move out, and was allowed to state her preference. Now she lives in 65 square meters on the two top floors, for a rent of 490 euros. “At first I paid 180 euros, but that was for 35 square meters and it was nothing but misery. I had no central heating and it was incredibly cold in the winter. Everything here is new, insulated, double-glazed, and I have central heating and a bathroom. An enormous amount of time, money, and energy has been invested to make it a nice project.”
De Maar: “We all feel in this industry that we demolished too quickly in the past. Also, because of all the new ideas about sustainability, we are more aware of what renovation means for the city. That's why this project should also be eligible for the Amsterdam New Construction Prize.” The jury thinks along the same lines, considering this project worthy of a spot among the ten nominees. “Even though it's not entirely new construction, it's very good that it's being done this way,” judges jury member Niel Glas.
"I really appreciate that renewing old neighborhoods keeps the city vibrant," says fellow jury member Ed van den Boogaard. De Maar of Rochdale wholeheartedly agrees: "Building new homes with an old facade in the old city is much more complex than building a block in IJburg."
And then there's an even tougher challenge: the renovation of the building on the corner of Van Effenstraat and Bellamystraat, a beautifully detailed facade in the Amsterdam School style, and therefore a municipal monument. "That places very special demands," according to De Maar.
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