Woonvloot

Up until now, living on the water has only been available to a slim few. However, housing development is not only about individual living satisfaction, it also has a major role to play in the collective quality of life in our towns and cities. Although we daily hear that more houses need to be built, at the same time the Dutch housing sector is struggling with all kinds of problems. Angry local residents, high building costs, scarce building land and new developments such as the nitrogen policy are some examples.

But like the quest for the right balance between land and water, the search for additional housing remains. By adding new housing in an innovative and efficient way, VOA aims to contribute to the solution to the housing shortage, targeting a transition from "happy few" to "happy many".

Solutions to the housing shortage range from single-family houses, apartements to the contemporary importance of flex living. Flex living can help all kinds of groups of urgent seekers to find housing. Anyone can be or become a urgent seeker and what they all have in common is that they are in a hurry. The urgent seeker does not have time to wait for years.
This is where our experience with water homes comes in. Through our unique digital and integrated approach, these water homes can be built quickly, sustainably and affordably without taking up new building land. In this way, VOA aims to turn a housing shortage, into a housing fleet.

Woonvloot is much more than just a number of homes on the water. They are the ideal solution to today's housing shortage and climate issues.
Woonvloot has the ability to provide housing to many target groups. Besides being a solution for the previously mentioned urgent seeker, elderly people who want to live smaller get a comfortable ground-floor option, more housing is created for students as well as starters on the housing market. Further benefits are listed below in no particular order:

• the construction cost of a Woonvloot home can be compared to the cost of a traditional row house, with Woonvloot offering higher levels of comfort
• compared to traditional housing construction, permit periods are shorter
• Woonvloot homes can be built faster compared to traditional construction, allowing these homes to be realised sooner
• buildable land is becoming increasingly scarce, building on water leaves more space for our nature and thus biodiversity
• the houses do not require permanent foundations and will therefore not result in any environmental impact in the event of relocation
• Woonvloot homes are manufactured indoors and nitrogen-free
• the location on the water is ideal for energy performance of the houses
• local residents are not affected by a construction site on their doorstep as the homes arrive on site delivered

Urban planning and housing go hand in hand, in general, but also certainly at Woonvloot. Urban planning and housing development share the common goal of creating habitable and valuable neighbourhoods for all. Densification on the water, whether by de-poldering or densifying our existing cities, will require communal spaces to add value.

Therefore, in addition to housing, urban planning interventions have also been considered. For example, floating community centres, gardens, parks, bicycle sheds and greenhouses can be integrated into the design of these new floating housing estates.

Furthermore, it is important to take into account the unique character and individuality of the neighbourhood when designing. An important aspect is to continue to recognise the main forms with then all kinds of individual variation. In this way, the right balance can be achieved between the overall appearance and the recognisability of individual houses.