intervention strategies for renovation of social housing estates

A Dutch case study. The Bijlmermeer, Amsterdam Zuidoost. Chapter 5
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CONCLUSIONS
The Bijlmermeer is the most extreme and well-known large housing estate in the
Netherlands (1966-1973). It is currently the largest Dutch restructuring project.
It was designed as a modern place in a park to respond to the housing shortage of that
period. It embraced all the concepts of modern living: separation of functions (living,
working and recreation), mobility, green and parking garages. Being based on the concept of
collective living, social spaces would have compensated limitations of living in high-rise.
Dwellings for about 40.000 inhabitants were placed in thirty high-rise blocks, ten stories
high, mostly shaped according to a hexagonal pattern for a length up to 400 meters.
Observing the historical background, recent developments and examples of physical
renovation, three aspects emerged:
- Optimistic modern beliefs have definitively failed but restructuring on neighbourhood and
building level could help solving the main problems multiplied over the years. After decades
implementing solutions to solve multiple problems, the very definitive structure of the
Bijlmermeer will be finally completed only by 2012. The restructuring is being directed by the
Final Plan of Action which is based on three key words: integrated approach, differentiation
of the stock (mainly by demolition) and better management.
- The Bijlmermeer is changing its physical appearance. Due to a restructuring strongly
focused on demolition of high-rise, more than half of the original blocks will disappear (15
out of 31) and very little of the initial housing model will be recognizable.
- It is not that clear yet what factors caused such a deterioration of the Bijlmermeer. Most of
the people tend to say that the spatial concept of the Bijlmermeer is the most important
cause of decay. Leferink gathered all the misfits of the spatial concept as follows:
massiveness and monotony; identical high-rise estates of 400 or 500 flats, all connected by
balconies; excess of semi-public open spaces; rigid division between functions; intangible
size and scale in which the individual disappear.
However, causes of deterioration seem to be caused by problems on different levels. With
this respect, Wassenberg identified three groups of problems: unfinished character,
liveability problems and demand- supply.
- Wassenberg identified five conditions that support the success of the renewal in the
Bijlmermeer so far and can be useful for transferability of the approach to other estates in
other circumstances. They are: improvement of surroundings, integrated approach, radical
solutions, alternative financing and perspectives to inhabitants.
- A lot of interventions to improve the quality of the high-rise blocks have been carried out in
since the middle ‘90s. First renovations are still good examples being project. They affected
solutions applied later in other blocks.
- Examples of renovation in the Bijlmermeer are quite homogeneous. Four aspects are
usually treated by renovation: building function (accessibility to the block and/or the
dwellings, social safety and liveability of shared spaces), housing differentiation (adaptation
of existing dwellings by combination of existing units), technical performances (better
insulation of the façade) and appearance (improved meanwhile preserving initial
architectural features). Specific solutions can be distinguished as placed at the bottom and
on the upper floors.
INTRODUCTION TO THE SIXTH CHAPTER
The sixth chapter deals with an in-depth description of the ‘F’ neighborhood that is an area
recently restructured in the Bijlmermeer. In particular, it focuses on a good example of
building renovation that is the Florijn Noord high-rise by van Schagen architects. The project
was nominated by the NRP in 2003.
21. E