Senang Residential Block, City Housing, Amsterdam Real Estate, Netherlands, Dutch Apartments, Architecture Images

Senang Residential Block in Amsterdam

15 Sep 2022

Architecture: M3H Architects

Location: inner-city Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Photos: M3H Architects

Senang Residential Block, Holland

The residents of the new residential block Senang do not heat their houses with gas, but via a collective heat pump. A sustainable solution in the middle of inner-city Amsterdam. The completion of Senang marks the end of the transformation of 20 years of the Indische Buurt.

The completion of Senang in Amsterdam-East was festively celebrated with the residents last week. A total of 118 rental homes have been built here, of which 83 social rental homes and 35 mid-market rental homes. The plinth contains three commercial spaces, which has given the sidewalks and squares around the project more life.

When you stand in front of the building, you immediately notice that the plan has a lot of repetition. Just like the building that stood here before. In total there are three entrances, all equipped with ‘floating’ mail boxes in a steel frame. Each entrance has its own masonry bond above the mailboxes.

The homes and business premises in Senang do not have a gas connection, but use a collective thermal storage system. In summer, cold water is pumped from an underground well and after use for cooling infiltrated back into the warm well. In the winter, hot water is pumped up to heat the building and cold water is stored in the ground for the summer months. A heat exchanger extracts the energy from the groundwater that is used for cooling or heating.

The inside of the residential building has galleries, the special thing about the Senang project is that shared balconies hang from this gallery. The balconies offer the space to be used alternately or together by the residents.

Over the past 20 years, the Alliance has been working on the renewal task of the Indische Buurt. Some of the residents who lived here temporarily stayed in a change of house and have now found a new home in Senang. Many other residents opted for another project in the area. This was possible because there were many social rental homes in the new-build projects, such as at Smaragd and the Soendablok. Quite special, because often transformed neighborhoods are designed in such a way that they become unaffordable for the original inhabitants.

Partners:
De Alliantie, client
Vink Bouw, developer

What are the sustainability features?
The homes will be gas-free and equipped with all conceivable sustainability solutions, such as a collective heat-cold storage (ATES) that provides the heat for heating and hot water. In addition, the houses will have triple glazing, a heat recovery installation (WTW) for the ventilation of the houses and the roof will be covered with solar panels.

For the construction of the ATES system, a mono well of 140 and 180 meters deep, respectively, has been realized. The wells are fitted with two pipes and have thus been made suitable for the safe pumping and discharging of groundwater.

What were the key challenges?
There were challenges in the field of architecture, the social task and floor plans.

Architecture: the existing block have been replaced, but the structure of the environment has been preserved. Both in terms of scale and atmosphere, the new building adapts to its surroundings. It’s a modern translation of 19 century architecture. You can see this, for example, in the rhythm of the windows and the layout of the facade.

The social task: a majority of the homes are social rental homes. By offering a lot of social housing in a redeveloped neighborhood, the negative consequences of gentrification have been kept to a minimum. Quite special for a metropolis like Amsterdam.

Floor plans: The advantage of a clumsy lot is that you can make much more efficient homes. For example, Senang is located on a point. That makes the layout playful. In the tip, the beech size is wider and houses are shallower. We have retained that advantage, because the extra light entry ensures that the apartments are experienced as much larger.