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Temporary Housing of Economic Homeless People
Realization phase
In brief:
During this phase, the plans made are implemented. A tender takes place and the budget, quality and progress of the process are continuously monitored.
This phase consists of four steps:
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Assessment of the location
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Approach to contractors
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Resident selection
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Making the location habitable
Stakeholders.
Who is involved in this step? and why?
Contractors are needed for the execution of transformations. In addition, they are the connecting factors between all the different utility installers.
Reason for transformation
Transformation is not always feasible, so before actual living space can be made available, the necessary preliminary research must first be carried out.
As soon as the purchase and preparation of a residential location are (almost) completed, the building must be prepared for occupation. There are several ways to make a building ready for living. The approach mainly depends on the type of building. Hotels or care homes can easily be converted to house people, because the original function was already to house people. Facilities such as kitchens can be added, but these require additional investment, but are an important addition to the living comfort and independence of the customers. Other typologies of buildings such as shops or office buildings require more work, because the necessary utilities (gas and water, and their drainage) are not sufficiently available. This requires a larger investment, which in turn requires the building to be occupied for a longer period of time to make the initial investment worthwhile (Developer interview, 2022).
The most viable way to transform a building for temporary housing is through temporary transformation. There can be several reasons for opting for temporary transformation. For example, because many office buildings are vacant due to economic recession, an office building needs renovation and for that reason has been vacant for a while or the demand for homes is very high and new homes are urgently needed, as is currently the case. This situation is only exacerbated by standstills in new construction due to construction activities that emit nitrogen at a higher percentage than permitted (Noord-Holland, 2022).
Office buildings prove to be particularly suitable for transformation, because the dimensions used in construction are usually a multiple of 1.8 meters. This is a standard that is also applied in the construction of houses. Because of this standardization size, it is relatively easy to reuse interior materials after the transformation has been undone. Furthermore, the load-bearing capacity of floors for office buildings is 300 kg/m2, while the load-bearing capacity for homes is 175 kg/m2. As a result, little or no constructional intervention is required for transformation to another function. One of the biggest pitfalls in office transformation is meeting comfort standards, which differ between the two functions (of office or housing). Sound insulation is usually limited in office buildings, as is facade insulation. Both require large investments for insulation.
Due to the temporary nature of these transformations, the necessary investments are high, as most of the work will be undone. For this reason, municipal or other support to mitigate investor risk is very beneficial. Moreover, by making an empty building livable, the costs of vacancy (rent, maintenance) are limited. Other measures that can improve the feasibility of projects include material passports, which largely reduce material costs.
This approach to the transformation of vacant buildings is generally used for anti-squat properties. The method can quickly create housing options, which are mainly used by young people in the current system, but anti-squatting could also be an effective tool for housing EHP. An additional advantage of temporary transformation is that it can work without the problems of granting permits. In general, permits are not a major problem for buildings that have been inhabited for less than 5 years (Transformation of office buildings, 2007).
Steps.
A number of steps seem to be generally followed when performing temporary transformation of buildings, which you can see here.
Firstmust be assessed whether a building is suitable for transformation, for which you generally follow three steps.
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The first step is an independent assessment by the stakeholder. Inspector(s) visit a proposed site to investigate the presence of nearby amenities and look at the physical aspects of the building to determine suitability. A general assessment is made of the fire safety, including possible fire escape routes, and of the ventilation options.
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If the building is assessed positively, the party proceeds to the second step in this process, the technical plans of the building are taken over from the municipality. Based on these plans, plans can be formed for the interventions that need to be done, for fire safety, insulation, ventilation, noise nuisance and water drainage options. Furthermore, an estimate will be made of the costs and benefits of transformation; the potential number of rooms that can be created is calculated and the rental period is defined. If costs and benefits appear positive, the executing party moves on to the last step in the transformation process.
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This last step is a detailed feasibility study, with both organizational and financial components and a risk analysis that results in a completed cost-benefit analysis. Final drawings and requirements will be prepared for the transformation. When all these steps have been completed, a decision can be made whether the transformation of the building is worth the investment. Contractors will be found and depending on who the client is, a tender will be held.
The second stepis to contact a contractor, this is often done via a housing corporation or a commercial party (Taskforce Acceleration of Temporary Housing, 2022). This should be done as early in the process as possible as they have the technical knowledge of what needs to be done. In addition, they will be able to estimate the potential cost of transformation. It is advisable to contact a builder who has transformation experience or specializes in building transformation.
Once all plans and agreements have been finalized, a construction company must carry out the transformation. This stakeholder is involved in the entire transformation process. Lessons learned from housing refugees from Ukraine showed that the construction company involved is generally related to the owner of a building.
During this step it can also be assessed whether a part of the building can already be occupied.
Step threeis to select potential admirers of the building. In the process of finding suitable residents for the building, there is a collaboration between the department responsible for the temporary housing part and the social workers of the care party. Anyone can contact the Rainbow Group and register as an economically homeless person. In general, this application will initiate the process of screening, followed by a process of assistance with a social worker (for example, helping with registration for social housing or help with psychological or financial problems).
In the wider context of Amsterdam, there are several organizations that can take on this role, such as the Rainbow Group , but also HVO Querido. They care for those people who have been found to be self-sufficient and are therefore not eligible for social shelter. Social workers from the care organizations go through a screening process to see a potential resident's request for help and find out if they are eligible to live in the temporary housing project.
Finallypreparations must be made to make the building habitable. Certain responsibilities lie with the municipality, which has the task of finding a care party. Depending on whether the building is privately or municipally owned, the building owner looks for a party that can organize the maintenance of the building.
The building must also be habitable. This requires furniture. The Rainbow Group has affiliated companies that offer furniture for free, but often the economically homeless have their own furniture because they recently moved into a home.
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