Seaview Scheveningen by RE:BORN Real Estate   

Concrete structure of former office now supports a flexible, divisible hotel  

What is good, is good—at least, that's the philosophy at project developer RE:BORN Real Estate. This specialist in sustainable renovations and transformations built the Seaview Scheveningen building on a concrete structure dating back to the 1980s. The developer specifically calculated the EPB score for renovation-transformation, even though it was not legally required. Jouke Hennipman, technical developer at RE:BORN, shares all the ins and outs of this sustainable renovation-transformation. 

In April 2025, RE:BORN will celebrate its 10th anniversary. The company acquires existing real estate in regions such as The Hague and Amsterdam and transforms it into functionally dynamic buildings. "For every property we develop, we consider how we could repurpose it in the future with minimal investment. Right now, this location in Scheveningen presents great opportunities for a hotel. In 20 years, there might be demand for an office or residential units. The building has a mixed-use zoning designation, and we already hold the permit for permanent rental." In February 2025, the aparthotel (an apartment complex for short stays with hotel facilities) will welcome its first guests. 

S-layer quality is decisive in purchasing properties 

Jouke and his colleagues select properties using the S-layer system (see box). 'We look primarily at structure and skin to determine whether we purchase a property. The lifespan of the site never decays. For example, that of the structure can be 200 years, that of the skin between 50 and 100 and that of the services about 30 years. Properties that we renovate, we usually lease for a period of 15 to 20 years. We therefore design part of the S layers specifically for this first tenant.' The structure of this property could last another 150 years or so and contained no load-bearing walls. 'That makes it ideal for us because we can therefore easily adapt the function.'   

History of the Seaview Scheveningen location

Until 1975, the site in Scheveningen was home to the Hotel van den Abeelen, a stately building with a turret, built around 1900. The hotel was destroyed in a fire and subsequently demolished. Later, Seaview Offices was constructed here—a modern office building with a sturdy concrete structure. 

RE:BORN completely stripped the building. "We’re not fans of wet connections, so we fitted the facade with detachable brick strips that can be easily removed and reused either as whole components or as raw materials. The side and rear facades were brick-built and in good condition, so we preserved them. The facade was retrofitted with insulation panels covered in stucco." Inside, sliding walls were installed, allowing tenants to easily create larger apartments. "During high season, there’s significant demand for standard hotel rooms from beachgoers and holidaymakers. In the low season, Scheveningen tends to attract tenants who stay longer, for instance, because they work in the region."

Beyond legal sustainability requirements

RE:BORN exceeds legal standards and requirements for sustainability in its development projects. "Seaview is designed for lodging. For this purpose, there are no specific soundproofing requirements. So, we could have opted for standard glazing in the window frames, but we chose acoustic glass instead. There are two reasons for this: trams run along the street, and acoustic glazing is a requirement for buildings with a residential function." This means that if the function of the building changes, the windows won’t need to be replaced. 

Learning from the EPB 

Although the EPB calculation for renovation and transformation is not legally required, its use is encouraged to improve the environmental performance of buildings and facilitate more sustainable choices. "We already include this calculation in our projects because we want to know how we score. From the score, we draw lessons for future developments. The EPB of Seaview shows that we used relatively few bio-based materials. This is partly because we didn’t need to add much. The concrete structure remained intact, so we only added a timber-frame facade and a wooden roof deck. We could have used wooden partition walls, but financially this was not the best choice. Wood prices were extremely high due to the war in Ukraine. Moreover, we almost always opt for interior walls made of metal studs because they allow for flexible layouts, which is essential to our vision. And we don’t believe in wooden load-bearing structures. They don’t create reconfigurable constructions that last for 200 years."