OAK Bosrijk in Eindhoven presents a broad interpretation of sustainability

Plan OAK Bosrijk was developed on the west-side of Eindhoven and comprises 45 street-level houses. The homes have an EPB of 0.5. The most important building blocks for this good environmental score are the use of wood and materials that can be reused at the end of the construction works’ life. A good environmental score is not the only striking part of this project. Sustainability, spatial quality with unique architecture and integration in the landscape form the basis for plan OAK.

The plan was developed based on a tender issued by the Municipality of Eindhoven. The municipality issued the tender with the idea of developing homes that fit within the landscape. The landscape should also form a garden for the residents. Guided by Janssen de Jong Projectontwikkeling, Team OAK submitted the plan for 45 street-level houses to be built around an existing oak tree. OAK-Bosrijk offers eleven different types of home, from tiny houses to spacious family homes.

The calculated environmental performance of the spacious family OAK-Bosrijk home is 0.469. The calculation shows that wood plays a key role in this project. The main support structure comprises timber frame construction modules (HSB) with facades made from poplar trees. The poplars are grown locally in Brabant, which reduces the number of transport movements for equipment and raw materials. Circularity also plays an important role in choosing materials. Urban Mining Concrete is specified for the ground floor flooring and Dak en Milieu bitumen for the flat roof covering. Reused cement is used to reduce the environmental impact of concrete and stimulate sustainability in the concrete industry. Circular bitumen ‘Citumen’ is used for the roof covering, so that this product is more in line with
the character of OAK.

Interestingly, the ECI for the disposal phase is only 3 euro and over 20% of materials are released for reuse and recycling at the end of the home’s lifespan. The number of installations in the total ECI could be reduced by using the adjacent Meerhoven heat network and by choosing PV category 1 PV panels from the NMD database.

Project features
Project name:	OAK Bosrijk
Address	Bosrijk, Eindhoven
Use functions:	street-level houses
Gross Floor Area:	233 m2
Building service life:	at least 75 years
Design and realisation:	Team OAK, comprising Janssen de Jong Projectontwikkeling, Barli Bouwsystemen, FAAM architects, LANDLAB landscape architects, Merosch, Ecoresult, De Enk Groen en Golf, New Horizon, We Drive Solar, Van Santvoort Makelaars, Chainable, FPW, Backbone Visuals, Connected Worlds, Department of the Built Environment TU/e and Stichting The Natural Step.
Start of construction:	2022

ECI and EPB score Bosrijk XL 30 calculated using GPR Material version 5, NMD product database, version 3.0, 10 April 2021
		ECI	EPB
A	Production phase	4,886	0.28
A	Construction phase	264	0.015
B	Use phase	4,229	0.242
C	Disposal phase	3	0.0
D	Outside building service life	-1,188	-0.068
	TOTAL	8,194	0.469

‘We opted for three themes, namely health, nature and energy’, stated Robbert van Tilborg, Project Manager at Jansen de Jong Projectontwikkeling. ‘The connections between these themes are considerable.

Health: the homes are produced with health in mind and, together with the OAK surroundings, provide all the tools needed for a healthy physical and social lifestyle
Nature: we realised a plan using the landscape as one of the most important starting points
Energy: the OAK homes are produced in an energy-neutral way and we stimulate residents to select sustainable energy and water solutions indoors and out.’
The basis for the approach is the Barli construction system. The system builder from Uden developed modular homes for OAK that comprise 70% circular materials. The homes are manufactured using an industrialised process in Barli’s production hall. The components are then transferred on a flatbed trailer to the construction site, where the sections are assembled. At the end of their lifespan, the homes can be fully disassembled.

Nature inclusivity is a theme that is closely associated with building using timber. ‘We introduced various native plants within the landscape. Combined with flower-filled grasslands, this creates a natural landscape and varied habitat for birds, bats, insects, reptiles and amphibians. Nesting sites for birds and bats are also incorporated in the homes’ architecture’, stated Robbert van Tilborg. ‘We opted for maximum greenery and minimised paving.’

There’s also a focus on water. Rainwater is captured on the roofs and drainage is delayed. This helps cool the roofs and prevent the homes from overheating, as well as reducing the energy consumption for cooling the homes. The environmental impact is further reduced by capturing some of the rainwater in an underground water tank. In dry periods, this water can be used to water the courtyard garden of one of the two buildings.

‘Sustainability isn’t just about good environmental performance’, concluded Robbert van Tilborg. ‘With OAK we wanted to take the lead in creating a future-proof and healthy living environment. This doesn’t only mean healthy homes with good light ingress and ventilation, but also homes that do not impact nature and that enhance biodiversity.

More information on the project can be found on the website of OAK Bosrijk

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