Tender Nieuwe Veemarkt
The New Vezelmarkt is growing and thriving
Tender Nieuwe Veemarkt
A new building culture
With the New Vezelmarkt, we design more than buildings, we shape a new life cycle for construction. From farmer to home, and from existing neighbourhood to future residents. Like a plant, design goes through a life cycle: in fertile soil, the seed grows into a plant. The plant blooms and then makes the seeds for another cycle. Those seeds are inspiration and practical lessons for other urban developments in the Netherlands.
Everything starts with a healthy breeding ground. That is why we look at what beauty the place offers us. We will work with the soil under our feet, the inhabitants of Kamperpoort, the living nature in the IJssel delta and the farmers who make our building materials. Then we will sow the ingredients for a pleasant living environment: a housing programme for everyone, living space for people and animals and smart connections through the neighbourhood. We make self-growing houses: from wood, straw, hemp and other plant-based materials. With two simple systems, we make many different homes, living forms, spaces and atmospheres. The Vezelmarkt really comes to life when people start living there, birds make their nests and worms and fungi work the soil. The design gives residents every opportunity to make it their own dream place, now and in the future. Ultimately, the benefits of the Vezelmarkt will be reaped by the neighbourhood itself, by producers of plant-based building materials, and by future sustainable building projects in other places in the Netherlands.
Working with the city
We make sure the Vezelmarkt connects well with the Kamperpoort. That is an open neighbourhood with many small squares and parks where people meet, and which are connected by smart dabbling routes. Kamperpoort is smaller-scale than the new neighbourhood being created on the Veemarkt. Therefore, Veemarkt rises in scale from the old to the new neighbourhood.
We build for a broad public: young Kamperpoorters and new Zwolle residents, young creatives and starting entrepreneurs, students, families, elderly people who have grandchildren staying over and elderly people who need extra care. For all these needs, we design housing in a smart mix of social and medium-rent and owner-occupied homes. The social and medium-rent are in the upper part of stacked flats. The owner-occupied homes are around the forest. At the core of the building with rental housing is the car park, and around it we make the public programme. The current local residents know very well what is needed in the neighbourhood. We will use that knowledge and respond to it. In a number of places in the plan, there are spaces that will be filled in cooperation with the neighbourhood. Those who dare will be involved in the implementation. We will also build a residential building for young people from Kamperpoort in the heart of the plan.
Self-growing buildings
The construction of the buildings is made of wood. We use two methods of building with wood. On one side of the Velvet Market, we make the rental houses from ready-made wooden modules that can be stacked and combined. Around the forest, we make the owner-occupied houses from a combination of a timber frame structure and load-bearing walls made of wood and loam. Both systems allow us to build fast and lightweight, and to create house plans that suit residents' needs. This is how we keep the Vezelmarkt affordable for everyone. The modules can also be easily connected to the module next door to extend a home. Additional modules on the roof could also be added in the future.
In addition, we choose plant-based building materials that meet the necessary quality requirements for all other building parts. These are building materials consisting entirely or partly of flax, hemp, straw, bamboo or wood fibre. For floors, internal walls, insulation, facades and more, plant-based products are increasingly available. We have already made a first selection. Between now and the actual construction of the Vezelmarkt, more will come onto the market.
Buildings with a future
Life in the city is constantly changing. That's why we create buildings that can change easily. With smart layouts and with a flexible construction method in wood. The car park can become a gym. Two houses can be combined into one, or vice versa. An extra floor on the roof is also a possibility.
Regional chains and climate data
Natural raw materials for construction are already growing in the Netherlands, even close to Zwolle. Straw, Hemp and Flax, for example. That's a win-win opportunity! To make construction more sustainable while helping farmers and producers scale up, we are going to work with those products. The Vezelmarkt will become a serious outlet for breakthrough products. Moreover, we can count on the climate gains being made: CO2 is stored in the materials. How much exactly, we can calculate. Then we give the farmer a carbon certificate in which that amount is fixed. And the farmer can then sell that to parties who want to offset their emissions. This way, we strengthen the business case for farmers and for construction.
Soil restoration and placemaking
Now the site is a stony plain on a layer of sand. To make a healthy habitat here, we must first make the soil healthy and vital. Therefore, on day one, we will start a nursery with young trees on the site. We are bringing greenery and biodiversity into the Velezmarkt. The plants we plant will improve the quality of the soil and grow into a beautiful forest. We leave plant remains for the animals. Soil, animals and plants together form the basis for a resilient urban ecosystem. Between the trees we create sitting and playing areas. This way, the neighbourhood can come and get to know the Vezelmarkt.
