'Nowhere does it show that these are modular homes'

Displaced housing with permanent quality for NDW21

In Winkelsteeg, an inner-city business park between the Goffertpark and Maas-Waal Canal in Nijmegen, a new urban neighborhood has emerged: Nieuwe Dukenburgseweg 21 (NDW21). This special pioneering project consists of seven residential buildings with a total of 489 circular homes, which will be given a new purpose after twenty years. At the base of the buildings are the Flexgoed homes from VDL De Meeuw, finished with architectural steel facade profiles from ArcelorMittal Construction Specials. By playing with profiles, colors and coatings, varied and recognizable anchors in the neighborhood have been created. Moreover, the façade profiles contribute to the desired high quality of living.

Winkelsteeg in Nijmegen is being redeveloped into a lively working, living and residential area, with over 6,000 new homes and countless jobs. In anticipation of this large-scale area development, the municipality of Nijmegen wanted to realize 489 circular and relocatable homes. In December 2021, it signed an agreement to this end with housing corporations Talis, Portaal, SSH& and Woonwaarts. Brink was then involved to draw up a joint Program of Requirements and to lead the tender, which was won by VDL De Meeuw.

Fast affordable and quality housing 

VDL De Meeuw is responsible for the design and realization of the residential buildings. "With our Flexgoed concept we are responding to the desire of the municipality and the housing corporations to quickly realize affordable and quality housing," says William Derksen, project manager at VDL De Meeuw. "The homes comply with the Building Code for new construction, have a technical lifespan of no less than 75 years and in terms of appearance and finish are not inferior to traditional construction. Moreover, they are completely detachable. At the end of their useful life, we can easily disassemble and remount the homes, in the same or a different composition. Floors, roofs, columns, interior walls and sanitary units can be reused over and over again and remain in the cycle, greatly reducing waste streams as well as the extraction of new raw materials."

1,500 residential modules

A total of 1,500 modules were used in project NDW21. "All homes consist of one, two or three modules and approximately 250 modules were used per residential building," William explains. "At the base of these modules is a steel frame with a concrete floor, steel columns and a steel roof, combined with walls made of Metal Stud C-profiles, melaminated chipboard and gypsum board. The facades are closed with wood frame elements, which are finished on the outside with a weather-resistant fiberboard. Any desired finish can then be screwed against this." 

For the design of NDW21, VDL De Meeuw engaged firm partner DoepelStrijkers Architects. "Architect Duzan Doepel played freely with facade profiles, colors and coatings, giving each building its own look and feel," William says. "This is how we create unity in diversity. The seven residential buildings are surrounded by greenery and strategically placed to encourage encounters between residents and public space." 

Own identity, permanent quality

Initially, the desire from the tender was to finish part of the 489 homes with wooden facades, William knows. "However, this proved financially unfeasible, partly due to price increases as a result of the war in Ukraine. So we looked for an alternative, and it was found in ArcelorMittal Construction's architectural steel façade profiles. The housing associations were initially a little apprehensive that the residential buildings would have a container-like appearance, but nothing could be further from the truth. ArcelorMittal Construction offers a huge variety of façade profiles, colors and coatings. This allowed us to give each building its own identity and permanent quality."

To select the right panels, detailing and finishes for each building, DoepelStrijkers Architects and the housing corporations visited ArcelorMittal Construction's Experience Center in Tiel, where they had an interesting session with Manager Special Façades Levi Kleinjan. "Particular attention was paid here to the quality of the facades," says Levi. "To overcome the image of stacked modules, we looked closely at panel distribution and seams. We also replaced the standard corner solutions with custom details, so that the buildings are not inferior to traditional construction in look and feel either."

Extensive range of profiles, colors and coatings 

A huge variety of façade profiles, colors and coatings were selected for the seven residential buildings. From simple and symmetrical profiles to varied designs, in varying heights, widths and depths. From horizontal and vertical lines to a special checkerboard ratio and from pearl green to gold and red, also playing with gloss levels, says Levi. "The result of this is stunning."

The preferences of the architect and housing corporations were worked out into drawings, parts lists and an assembly schedule by VDL De Meeuw's facade construction partner Bijlbouw, on the basis of which ArcelorMittal Construction delivered the architectural steel facade profiles to the project just-in-time and just-in-place. As a result, the assembly of the façade profiles also proceeded quickly and flawlessly.