Delft students present prototype to build at least 160,000 homes

Students in Delft will present a prototype on Friday with which the Netherlands could get an estimated 160,000 to 320,000 new homes within a year. The new homes will be placed as extra layers on old portico flats in the Netherlands, and the old flats will be renovated and insulated within the same year. In this way, the old flats don't have to be demolished. And as renovation causes minimal nuisance, the residents can continue to live in the flat.

The extra floors on top of the porch flat act as a kind of battery. It stores solar energy and can power the entire building. Rainwater can also be collected. A filtering system can make the water clean enough to drink - although current regulations don't allow this yet.

The over 70 students in the TU Delft team Symbiotic Urban Movement (SUM) came up with this plan, board member Nikki de Zeeuw said. She contributed to the project, which will be the Dutch entry to an international competition for innovative buildings equipped with renewable energy in May and June.

If it is up to the students, the plan won't stop at that competition. "As far as I'm concerned, there will be portico flats with sustainable residential layers on top in the Netherlands next year. But it is up to 'the bigwigs' whether that goes ahead," said De Zeeuw. Regulations will have to be changed, she said. This includes the water rules that state rainwater can't be reused as drinking water "while the technical possibilities for filtering are already present."

Municipalities are usually too focused on short-term costs, she added. "Municipalities look four years ahead, construction companies a maximum of ten years. Our plan is especially advantageous if you look more than 30 years ahead." The renovation method and extra floors on top of the portico flats ensure that elements in the apartment can easily be replaced if they break. "That is not yet possible with the traditional way of building; then it is simply broken," De Zeeuw said.

The TU Delft team was co-financed by ABN Amro. Several construction companies assisted with the construction- and technical aspects of the design. The prototype will be revealed for the first time at The Green Village in Delft.