Working more on the basis of standardised processes and products
For more than 10 years now, Heijmans has been successfully marketing affordable concept homes for all kinds of target groups. Given the increasing pressure on the housing market and an ever-increasing demand for affordable homes for multiple target groups, the advantage of conceptual construction is becoming clearer by the day. This is because we can develop and build faster at lower costs, making us flexible enough to respond to changing market conditions. This enables us to deliver sustainable, high-quality homes with excellent customer ratings. Based on established house types, variations and a standardised process, we create houses with their own unique identity. Variation and sustainability are the norm and as a result no two neighbourhoods are the same.
Efficient configuration of data centres
A few years ago, we developed a platform for efficiently configuring data centres. Last year, we presented a first version of our data centre generator to clients. The aim was to arrive at a product version suitable for running a pilot project. We developed this product version in cooperation with our own software development team, so we could gain knowledge and experience for a wider range of purposes.
Meanwhile, we continued to develop the underlying platform to create a suitable base that all our business areas can use to develop new modular building blocks, for instance in the design of houses and viaducts. Expanding the functionalities will enable us to respond optimally to the wishes of our clients, giving them even greater insight into criteria that are important to them and consequently into the feasibility of an assignment. These include analyses of investments, lead times and sustainability criteria such as the impact on CO₂ and nitrogen emissions.
This platform, complete with its catalogue, is a very powerful and growing tool. The synergy between individual products, the knowledge and experience of Heijmans, our chain partners, our projects and our business areas is opening up a whole world of innovative solutions.
Flexible living
An increasing number of local authorities and housing corporations are finding a solution to the continuing housing shortage in temporary buildings. The Heijmans ONE is an affordable and sustainable tiny house with the same living comfort and experience as a ‘normal’ home. With these quickly installable ready-made homes, we contribute to the solution to many social issues. Such as the circulation of residents, affordability of housing and construction speed. Small neighbourhoods with Heijmans ONEs can already be found in many places in the Netherlands, like Vlaardingen, where the Waterweg Wonen housing corporation offers displaced Ukrainians a home in one of 48 Heijmans ONEs. The homes are part of the Mrija temporary housing estate, where a former industrial site was transformed into a small village for Ukrainian refugees in less than a year.
In addition to the Heijmans ONE, we have also developed the Heijmans TWO. This too is a ready-made relocatable wooden house with an efficient lay-out and a high-end appearance. The Heijmans TWO complies with the building code for permanent housing, which means it is not mandatory to relocate the house after ten years. The first Heijmans TWO is in Nijkerk, where the home will be used as a work, meeting and information centre for a newly developed neighbourhood.
In addition to the quality of the housing itself, we also consider connection with the environment and nature important in temporary construction. Because in many cases ‘temporary’ housing still means a period of ten years or more. This makes a healthy living environment just as important as in large area developments. This is why in these projects we also create nature-inclusive neighbourhoods with, for example, flower gardens, bee hotels and vegetable gardens.
Smart apartment concept for inner-city construction
In addition to our house concepts, Heijmans Property Development and Heijmans Residential building have teamed up to develop the Heijmans urban apartment complex. This allows us to carefully add affordable housing in inner-city (redevelopment) areas and provide affordable housing for every target group. We do this while maintaining urban planning and architectural quality, but also in a sustainable, healthy way that boosts the liveability of the neighbourhood in question. By standardising while maintaining variation, digitalising and prefabricating, Heijmans can develop more efficiently and build more quickly. This results in affordable apartments for various target groups in the social, middle and higher segments, both for the rental and the owner-occupied markets.
This apartment concept consists of numerous building and housing types (with one-room to five-room homes), ensuring suitable housing types for many target groups. This creates a diverse building with greater social cohesion. The structure-defining elements, such as shafts for pipes, are placed at strategic positions, allowing us to stack and link the different housing types in a smart way. This ensures a high degree of variation in housing type and size within one building. Heijmans customises the building’s ‘plinth’, facades and roofs, giving each building a unique look. As part of the transformation and renewal of the Dreven, Gaarden and Zichten neighbourhoods in South-West district of The Hague, in 2023 we started construction of Steenzicht, based on the principles of this new concept. We will also develop our next projects in this area development in line with this apartment concept.
Affordable Huismerk Apartments
Heijmans started construction on the first Huismerk apartment project in January 2023 and we successfully completed the project in November of last year. The Heijmans Huismerk Apartments is our residential product that offers affordable apartments for the government-regulated social rental and owner-occupied markets. This concept consists of four fixed apartment types with 50 m² and 70 m² of floor space, together with gallery access modules. Using these modules, we can put together a wide range of buildings to meet the wishes of our clients and fit the location.
During the development of this gallery apartment complex, we worked intensively with co-makers. The aim was to create the most efficient and affordable building possible. Consequently, many components arrived at the construction site ready-to-use. Technicians install all the technical installations in the special precast floor in our production facility. The precast concrete shell elements, together with balconies and galleries, are quickly and safely assembled at the building site. In the same cycle, the unique precast façade elements with mineral stone strips and window frames are fitted without scaffolding. The first project in Culemborg, 43 apartments for the Kleurrijk Wonen housing corporation, was completed within nine months. For the second project in Arnhem, Heijmans is currently working on the realisation of 65 apartments, together with a number of Huismerk houses. Together, they will form a unique new neighbourhood! Affordable apartments in Gorinchem will follow in 2024.
New generation homes
As the next step in its journey towards a combination of standardisation and sustainability, Heijmans will produce energy-neutral timber-frame houses on an industrial scale: Heijmans Horizon, houses that can be assembled on a modular basis. At the end of 2021, Heijmans acquired the energy-neutral timber-frame house production plant in Heerenveen and expanded it for the production of these sustainable homes. In October 2023, Mayor Avine Fokkens-Kelder of Heerenveen and Heijmans CEO Ton Hillen hosted the festive opening of the production plant, which was attended by Heijmans employees, business associates and cooperation partners. The new production plant has an area of 18,500 m².
With the opening of our own timber-frame house production plant, we can now produce future-proof and affordable houses quickly and on a large scale. This is how we are responding to the challenges of today and tomorrow. The basic principles in the development of the homes are variation and sustainability. The Heijmans Horizon concept has an unprecedented number of options that enable us to meet the wishes and requirements of both clients and consumers. Thanks to the use of timber and energy-neutral installations, these Horizon homes are also highly sustainable. At the same time, we build and develop in a nature-inclusive and climate-adaptive way. This is how we contribute to a healthy living environment for both people and nature.
To ensure the efficient management of the production plant, we have digitalised the entire primary process. The machines in the factory can now be controlled directly from our 3D models. This saves time and reduces the risk of errors in the process. In addition, this way of building keeps the houses affordable. In parallel with the refurbishment of the timber-frame housing factory, Heijmans, together with its strategic partner VDM, gained a lot of knowledge in building with timber for the Heijmans Horizon concept.
Heijmans has now installed the first Horizon homes produced in Heerenveen for the ‘thuis housing foundation in the ‘t Ven neighbourhood in Eindhoven. This project involves a total of 88 homes. In 2024, the Heijmans production plant is expected to produce between 200 and 250 homes. This will increase to around one thousand homes a year in the coming years.
Optimum freedom of choice
Clients and consumers can use an online home configurator to put together their own homes. The many options and execution levels offer optimum freedom of choice, giving Heijmans the opportunity to help create diverse and attractive residential neighbourhoods in the Netherlands.
Accelerating housing production
Once they have been configured, the houses are produced at the production plant using a digital process; they then emerge from the factory in demountable blocks, including sanitary fixtures, and finished walls and floors. Timber is much lighter than other construction materials, making it more sustainable to transport. This means we need fewer and lighter transport movements. The house is produced entirely at one location and then transported to the construction site in one go, which means less inconvenience for local residents. Once at the construction site, a house can be built in a single day. Once the preparatory work has been done, the delivery of a Horizon home can be reduced to about nine weeks, compared with around nine months in regular housing construction. This results in a meaningful acceleration of housing production.
With the production of Horizon homes, Heijmans is taking the next step towards circular and energy-neutral construction. This is in line with our ambition to build entirely emission-free in 2030. The environmental gain is directly measurable because the production plant is 100% carbon-neutral. Moreover, the timber used is circular, which means these homes have a smaller CO₂ footprint throughout their lifecycle. In addition, all Horizon homes are energy-neutral in use.
Renovation and improved sustainability
With a view to 2050, when the energy supply in the Netherlands must be almost entirely sustainable and carbon-neutral, the renovation of existing buildings is becoming increasingly important. Heijmans ensures that existing buildings and homes are comfortable, energy-efficient and future-proof. An important premise in this process is the reuse of materials, by both clients and suppliers. The advantages of renovation are that it is possible to preserve architecture, it is usually quicker than demolition and new-build and can even yield cost benefits in the long term. In 2023, we renovated 1,363 homes and made them more sustainable, compared with 1,200 homes in 2022. All the homes were renovated in line with the principles of B’woond, our renovation concept for existing homes aimed at housing corporations and investors.
Standardisation makes construction one dimensional
In the construction sector, we are increasingly faced with cost increases. There is no let-up in the rise in purchase prices for materials and energy, which is affecting the affordability of housing. Combined with rising costs, it is increasingly difficult for many people to find affordable housing in the tight housing market. And faced with labour shortages in the years to come, we will look at construction differently in the future.
Standardisation or building from building blocks enables faster and cheaper construction. Using industrial/modular construction techniques, we have been developing and producing a wide range of solutions for many years. This results in shorter lead times, greatly reduced failure costs and higher quality of the end products. It also makes it easier to respond to various sustainability requirements. A specific type of approval for factory-built houses could also speed up permit processes and the creation of new houses.
For some people, standardisation may also conjure up an image of neighbourhoods where every street looks the same. Like in the 1960s, when a lot of houses had to be created in a short time, resulting in massive, one-dimensional construction. However, variation and customisation involve higher costs and do not help make homes more affordable. So what do you opt for?
At Heijmans, we believe in building on the basis of building blocks and feel responsible for what the Netherlands looks like. This is why we always put end users first and strive to contribute to the well-being of the residents of a neighbourhood. So we build in variation in a smart way, something we can do thanks to the techniques we apply. This can best be compared to building with Lego, where you can create almost endless combinations to achieve variation while the basis remains the same. At the same time, we also look at urban integration: a good combination of different buildings with an eye for architectural quality, social cohesion and enough space to accommodate nature.
Residents Julian and Shana
“This is the first house we have bought. Before this, we lived with our parents-in-law. We couldn’t have dreamt it would happen so fast, especially if you think about the current housing shortage and house prices. That is until the ‘Hink Stap Sprong’ project came along. This project is specifically aimed at keeping young people from Eemnes in the village. Heijmans gave us excellent guidance during this project. Our buyer’s advisor was open and transparent. He took us through the process step by step and gave us good advice.”