A very different take on building and living, that's where lifestyle brand marketer of The Urban Woods Jasmijn Rijcken happy. Next March, the first residents will move into a special housing concept.
Jasmijn Rijcken, what are the principles behind this concept?
"You won't solve the CO₂ problem by relaxing the rules. What is needed is a structural solution that construction industry in the Netherlands can move forward with. At the moment we are still allowed to emit 13 megatons of CO₂ until 2030, while about 40 megatons are needed. The question is how to use that 13 megaton as smartly as possible to still be able to build. The good news is that much is possible within the limits of current nitrogen laws and regulations. There are already several great examples of scalable and affordable ways to build. But the founders of The Urban Woods, techexpert Sebastian Monteban and architect Tim Vermeend, looked beyond just building. They see homes as a platform for the future because so many issues come together. A home is the hub from which people live. That offers opportunities in areas such as energy and mobility, but also in all kinds of social areas."
So The Urban Woods is more than a building, or a roof over one's head?
"Yes indeed. It is a scalable high-tech housing formula for the modern city, bringing together health, sustainability and social cohesion. It is woning, working and relaxing in one. Sharing is an important value. Residents have some of their own facilities, of course, but washing machines, workplaces, sports facilities, indoor bicycle storage and the like can be shared. The building is also designed so that residents meet each other, to promote social contact. And the stairs have been made attractive to make people move more unnoticed. The building consists entirely of rental apartments. We consider tenants as customers whom we want to offer the best service."
The Urban Woods residential building Delft
Why rent?
"Renting offers all kinds of advantages that you can emphasize and deploy in housing concepts. Gone are the days when people worked for forty years with one employer and knew exactly where they stood in terms of income and expenses. We change jobs on average every seven years, and there are many self-employed people and people on flexible contracts. People want to be able to work from home, or perhaps work less for a while, or temporarily not work at all. Also, many people live alone, while on the other hand there are composite families. But living larger or smaller at your convenience is difficult these days. Considering all that, renting is a way to move with the changes. We don't call it renting, by the way, but a subscription to living. Your housing bundle is standard, but beyond that you can add things: cleaning, shared car, office space, guest room, or you name it. Because of flexible income, it's nice if you can vary your monthly expenses. So in good financial times you swipe in extras, in bad times you swipe them back to a bare minimum."
Are you from the construction industry yourself?
"No, I am a lifestyle brand marketer and have a lot of knowledge about image and behavior change. Branding is not an issue in construction, but ... why not really? Where hotels are strong brands - anyone can name ten names in a heartbeat - this is not the case in the housing industry. While branding can help enormously to change behavior and image, and that is badly needed! For example, a term like "rental property" has a negative connotation for many people, but in society, services on which you can take out a subscription are very fashionable. People want to be taken care of without suddenly putting a large amount of money on the table. Renting is exactly that: you live without worries. If something breaks, it's fixed. That's what people want and the construction/housing sector can respond to that need. In The Urban Woods we apply that principle: how can you combine things, think around, approach things differently?"
What about sustainability?
"This residential building is circular and net zero. Fifty percent of materials are bio-based. Rainwater will be stored and a ground source heat pump will provide heat in winter and cooling in summer. The building will have a green roof and partially green facades. The construction of both the core and the elevator shaft consists of CLT and partly even C-CLT, which is made from waste wood. The building is also very easy to disassemble again so that the parts can be reused.”
Where will these complexes be located?
"The Urban Woods Delft has now been realized. Plans are ready for a second residential tower in Delft, and buildings in Deventer, Zwolle, Amsterdam and Groningen. Our goal is to roll out this concept even further, and to use the lessons learned even more carbon storage, even fewer resources, even more comfort per m2. By the way, we are working closely with TNO, Arcadis, Gideon and other parties in the development. We very much want to share knowledge, and not just in construction. In Delft we are investigating how we can match the planting around the residential building with the vegetation in the nearby park. There we are creating a 'menu' for local residents that includes plants that increase biodiversity in their immediate environment. If all local residents join in greening the neighborhood, the project will have even more impact."
How are other construction companies and parties looking at this concept?
"Haha, we won the Futureproof Building Award, which is saying something. Further the concept gets a lot of attention in the press and we regularly show around interested parties from the sector in Delft, both from the Netherlands and abroad. Sometimes there is skepticism but as soon as they see it with their own eyes that is gone. People are especially curious about what we do and how we do it. We have nothing to complain about in terms of consumer interest; we get a lot of questions and applications. The first residents will move into the building in Delft from the beginning of 2026. And yes, of course we don't know if they will indeed use the gym, or if people will want to work in the office spaces. We are going to find out. But we did make the layout of the floors so that adjustments can take place. So that we can move with consumer needs. The construction industry is traditional, but there are so many opportunities. This concept is a great example of that."
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