7 circular homes in Stroinkslanden

High environmental performance homes have enhanced the Stroinkslanden neighbourhood in Enschede since 2020. The homes are known in the neighbourhood as the Seven Circular Homes. This designation is due to the high level of reused materials sourced from the homes that previously stood on this site and the use of timber as renewable material.

The project was conceived as Stichting Pioneering’s ‘living lab for circular construction’. This foundation aims to future proof the Eastern Netherlands’ built environment by combining the innovative strengths of the business community, housing associations, government agencies and educational and knowledge institutes. Stichting Pioneering organised a circular construction masterclass in 2017, This led to a construction project in which several companies in Eastern Netherlands developed a circular construction concept and gained practical experience in this. De Woonplaats housing association from Enschede contributed seven homes that needed renovating.

"An important aspect in the homes’ circularity is that we were able to retain the foundations and ground floor level flooring’, stated Martin Huiskes from LKSVDD architecten in Enschede. ‘Even the garden sheds were retained. We also used the old roof insulation material to insulate the ground floor level flooring. Of course, it’s fantastic when you can reuse items within the project, but we were also able to reuse externally sourced materials, such as the cladding made from second hand Dutch timber and the refurbished Trespa panels."

The value of reuse is reflected in the EPB calculation. The foundations of a standard terraced home quickly add 6 or 7 per cent to the total environmental performance score. In the seven circular homes in Stroinkslanden, the foundations’ EPB score was only 1%. This is due to the reduction factor of 0.2 that can be applied to reuse.

Project features
Project name	Stroinkslanden, 7 circular homes
Address	Het Stroink, Enschede
Use functions	street-level houses
Gross Floor Area	103 m2
Building service life	at least 75 years
Client	De Woonplaats Housing Association
Design and realisation	Ter Steege Bouw Vastgoed, LKSVDD Architecten, Bouwonderneming Oude Wolbers, Gebr. Van der Geest, Prefab NL, Lucassen Bouwconstructies and Loohuis
Delivery	2022

Design features
Foundations	maintain existing concrete foundation beams; supplemented with new precast concrete foundation beams (cat. 2).
Ground floor flooring	maintain existing Kwaaitaal floor; the floor is insulated using EPS boards taken from the roofs of the old houses.
Upper flooring	Timber frame construction (HSB) prefabricated floor sourced from sustainably managed forests (cat. 2); insulated using recycled glass mineral wool (cat. 1).
Balcony	the balcony floor is finished using European softwood from sustainably managed forests (cat. 3).
Closed facade sections	insulated (cat. 1) non-load-bearing HSB interior wall elements, sourced from sustainably managed forests (cat. 2); largely finished using reclaimed Dutch timber and partly using refurbished Trespa panels.
Open facade sections	frames made from European hardwood from sustainably managed forests (cat. 3); triple insulated glazing (cat. 2); exterior doors made from tropical hardwood from sustainably managed forests (cat. 2).
Roof	insulated (cat. 1) timber frame construction (HSB) prefabricated flat roof elements sourced from sustainably managed forests (cat. 2); EPS partition insulation boards (cat. 3).
Interior walls	insulated load-bearing HSB interior wall elements sourced from sustainably managed forests (cat. 2); interior window frames made from steel (cat. 3) and interior doors made from timber from sustainably managed forests (cat. 3).
Systems	5 kW heat pump (cat. 3); radiators 45 - 55°C (cat. 3); balanced ventilation (cat. 2);
Facilities	plumbing fixtures, kitchen cabinets and work surface based on category 3; in the implementation phase, some of the plumbing fixtures were purchased second hand and a circular kitchen was installed from the Bribus range.

ECI and EPB score Seven CIRCULAR Homes STROINKSLANDEN calculated using GPR Material version 5, NMD product database, version 3.0, product database from 2 March 2023
		ECI	EPB
A	Production phase	1977	0.256
A	Construction phase	106	0.014
B	Use phase	2501	0.324
C	Disposal phase	70	0.009
D	Outside building service life	-299	-0.039
		4,355	0.564

"Circular building requires a different approach than traditional building," states Martin Huiskes. "It is a different thought process. Then it is very good to brainstorm with other parties about the products, about the building process and especially about what comes afterwards. You have to think about how the home will be used and the easiest way to do maintenance. So you have to already be working on making structures demountable and being able to separate the materials."

Making the home demountable in order to renew it over time has also led to the use of renewable materials. With HSB elements, wooden balcony floors and wooden cladding, the project has a good score in the Paris Proof Indicator: 161 kg CO2 eq. per m2 GFA.

The homes are now complete and are rented out. The tenants feel as though they are in a new home and do not mind that some doors and washbasins were purchased via Martkplaats. The homes have a comfortable and sustainable look, are well insulated and are equipped with solar panels and a balanced ventilation system. This is more than a trial circular construction project for the housing association. The aim is that residents also become engaged in the environmental quality of their homes. The garden is communal and is landscaped using a climate-adaptive design. The housing association supports the residents in landscaping the garden and maintaining the homes.

More information about this project:

Woningcorporatie De Woonplaats

LKSVDD architecten

Stichting Pionieering

To Voorbeeldprojecten met een goede MPG

Example projects with very good environmental performance

7 Circular homes in Stroinkslanden

More information about this project: