home
About us
Current affairs
Trees on the balcony

New architecture: Trees on the balcony

Living in the Trudo Tower in Strijp S is something most Eindhoven residents can only dream of

TEXT MARIEKE POOL █ FOTOGRAPHY KEESNAN DOGGER

What makes this tower so special? All 125 social housing apartments in this architectural masterpiece have a tree on their balcony. These trees, together with 1,600 shrubs and 8,600 perennials, create the striking appearance of the tower and also form a complete ecosystem that combats air pollution and the lack of biodiversity in the city. We speak to Martijn Verberne and Mark Vloet of Du Pré Groenprojecten and Kris Bouhuijzen of HB Watertechnologie about the creation of this landmark.

PLANTING AT HEIGHT IS NOT EASY

'It was Stam + De Koning that approached us asking if we could grow trees on the balconies of the Trudo Tower,' begins Mark Vloet. 'This uncommon question prompted us to invite our regular partners to the table and pool our expertise. It involved 135 trees and over ten thousand plants. Trees and plants that need to be able to ground at height. Obviously, that raised some questions. Which substrate do you choose, which plants are suitable, how do you ensure water supply and drainage, is re-use of rainwater possible? Together with the tree grower, substrate supplier and HB Watertechnologie, we identified all the questions and answers and prepared for the test phase.'

THREE HUNDRED GARDENS AT HEIGHT IN EIGHT MONTHS

After a year and a half of testing tree species, plants, substrates and degree of watering, the construction team was confident. The results were incorporated into the final design of the layout of the planters. In the realisation phase, the familiar train quickly got underway. 'At first, it took some getting used to. None of the parties involved had realised anything like this before, as the Trudo Tower is the first green tower in the Netherlands,' Kris Bouhuijzen said. 'Du Pré started by furnishing the planters, HB Watertechnologie provided the irrigation system, after which Du Pré took care of the planting. We then came back for the adjustment of the irrigation system. After the first planters, the train started moving and after eight months we had realised all three hundred gardens. The fact that we could also plant outside the traditional planting season has everything to do with the grower's preparation of the trees and plants. Without them, we would have had to realise the planting in several stages.' The current state of the beautiful greenery on the Trudo Tower is living proof that the parties know what they are doing. The greenery is growing according to plan and there is only minimal plant failure.

GREEN ALSO BELONGS IN BIM

It is not so long ago that parties such as Du Pré and HB Watertechnologie only came into the picture after the realisation phase of a building to fill in greenery in the surrounding area. Nowadays, architects and developers engage with these parties as early as in the exploration phase. This prevents structures from being too light -or too heavy- and leaving no room for pipework to serve the irrigation system and drains. 'The companies in the construction team each bring their own expertise, so that the architect is aware of the challenges and risks. What are the ideal locations of technical areas, what about drainage, how do we bring rainwater to the different planters? It prevents us from having to improvise in the implementation phase or conclude that things are not possible. For the Trudo Tower, all facets were incorporated into the BIM model at the architect's request.' Martijn Verberne adds: 'Greenery is becoming an increasingly prominent part of a structure. Indeed, many municipalities see it as a requirement. In Eindhoven, too, the processing of greenery and rainwater harvesting on private property is mandatory for new buildings.'

CRITICISM

Bouhuijzen: 'When you realise new developments, you also increase the chances of criticism. And we like to learn from this by further developing and innovating. As for the Trudo Tower, critics indicate that a lot of concrete and non-circular facilities were needed for its realisation. The questions on this are justified. Trees as tall as 6.5 metres affect the structure, and this did not always result in the most sustainable solution in this project. However, we -like the housing association- felt it was important to show what is possible.

Socially -the tower consists of 125 social housing units- and technically in terms of innovations. Fortunately, you never reach the end point; we will further polish this success on the next project.'

HB Watertechnologie and Du Pré Groenprojecten work(ed) together on, among other things:

De Weef in Helmond (planters on apartment balconies).
ASML 6KLM in Veldhoven (roof garden).
Veemgebouw at Eindhoven Strijp-S (roof garden with trees).
Albert Heijn XL in Helmond (planters in facades).