The Dutch Salvation Army provides shelter and care for the homeless. Urban Climate Architects has designed a new wooden building in Rotterdam with 50 care units and supporting functions like a public community space.

Besides the social aspect of the project it also has a high sustainable ambition. The project has a wooden CLT structure and is designed with a high percentage of biobased- and Circular materials. 85% of the energy demand is produced by the PV panels on the roof and the façade and gardens also provide shelter for local animals and plants.

As a result of this high ambition the project has a GPR score with an average of 9.0

The new building is designed like an L- shaped volume in the urban setting. On the streetside the architecture appears more closed to provide privacy for the tenants, on the inner courtyard side the building is more open and lively to encourage social interaction between the tenants.

In the architecture we wanted to show that it is a wooden building by making a façade with wooden elements. The vertical elements are wood where the horizontal lines are metal to prevent unwanted maintenance. Climbing plants add green to the facades.

The wooden lines are also used as French balconies to provide shelter, but give an outside feeling in the rooms by bringing in the natural daylight.

Groundbreaking will start before Christmas, and delivery is planned before the Summer of 2022.

This project shows that also for projects where the budget is limited a wooden structure can be used.