intervention strategies for renovation of social housing estates

A Dutch case study. The Bijlmermeer, Amsterdam Zuidoost. Chapter 5
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showed in chapter 4, this is a very common physical solution aiming at solving liveability
problems.
According to the budget, technical performances are also improved. Simple improvement of
thermal performances of the facade is the most used solution. A case in which those
characteristics have been substantially improved is the Fleerde-Frissenstein. After
renovation, all the dwellings have been sold.
For what concerns the look of the building, not many renovations were aimed to substantially
transform the initial appearance of the building. An exception is the renovation of the Florijn
Noord or the Fleerde-Frissenstein, but interventions like Osdorperhof (Chapter 4, Tab 4) are
absent.
With respect to the place of physical solutions within the blocks, there are no relevant
variations. Generally, iinterventions can be roughly gathered into two groups:
Bottom and the first floor. Mainly improvement of accessibility to building and dwellings,
housing differentiation by conversion, addition of social facilities (school, special centres).
Interventions regard to upgrade the gates crossing the blocks, restyling existing entrances,
conversion of storages into housing (maisonette 7 or atelier).
Upper floors. Mainly improvement of accessibility to the dwellings and housing
differentiation by combination of existing units.
Technical interventions usually regard thermal insulation and/or change of window frames
and front-doors. Combination is often implemented horizontally by matching two existing
units (in one case it led to conversion into student housing). The most visible changes
regard the elevators (upgrading and new additions) and change of parapets. Because of
their technical state or to enlighten the flats, concrete parapets are often substituted with
transparent materials ones (sometimes glass). The 110cm high parapets, in fact,
obstructed the view and penetration of natural light (in the picture below can be seen the
new glazed parapets on left and the old one on the right).
Total or partial demolition (so-called selective demolition) is also implemented in the
Bijlmermeer. Being, mainly driven by financial motivations, this is an extreme solution to
break repetitiveness of the high-rise blocks and diversify the urban layout. After works, the
demolished lots are often occupied by new middle-low rise construction (see the ‘F’
Neighbourhood in Chapter 6).
7 Conversion of existing room on the ground floor into maisonette or their addition on the top-floor (optoppen) is a very
common concept in Dutch renovation. With this word is meant an apartment, usually a duplex, with independent
entrance being part of an existing building characterized by different housing typology.
20. E
BOTTOM AND FIRST
FLOOR
UPPER FLOORS