SAWA
Rotterdam
109 apartments
2022 - 2025
Exposed woodwork
Project SAWA
Circular construction, close to nature, bio based: all these terms apply to the striking residential building with a stepped facade (soon to be generously planted with greenery upon completion). There will be 109 flats for sale and rent in SAWA. The ground floor (including shops and bicycle racks) and the lift shafts are built in concrete, but otherwise the residential building is constructed with walls and floors of solid timber (CLT, or cross-laminated timber) combined with timber-frame façade elements. "A new building principle," as project manager Wido Verhulst of Bemar describes it. They are involved in the project as one of ERA Contour's regular collaborators. At SAWA, the developers are committed to creating the healthiest building in the Netherlands. Besides using wood for CO2 storage and increasing the city's biodiversity, the building will have as few installations as possible.
Panelling in timber frames
The ventilation system is simple: a mechanical ventilation device (BUVA Q-Stream evolution) extracts air in the wet rooms. Shared extraction shafts discharge into prefabricated chimneys on the roof of the residential building, and the supply of fresh air goes through grilles in the apartments' facades. The timber construction approach does have implications for the pipework that Bemar is installing: when using concrete, this largely disappears under the floor, but with timber construction, there are surface-mounted pipes that largely remain visible. In the wet rooms, the contractor is covering them up above a suspended ceiling, but in the hall and kitchen they are visible as surface-mounted pipes.
"This requires accuracy and symmetry where necessary, but also raises the profile of the installer's work," agrees Wido. "It also demands a certain type of fitter. We are mainly using one of our mechanics, who measures everything precisely and has a good eye for detail."
The power of collaboration
At SAWA, Bemar is responsible for the design and installation of the ventilation systems through to handover. Sister company Robé is also involved: it is producing the hot-dip galvanised ductwork for the apartments, the shaft ductwork and the rectangular ductwork for the catering business on the building's ground floor. Wido expects this iconic residential building to be completed during summer 2025. SAWA will not be the only challenge for Interduct: more timber construction projects are in the pipeline for various clients, in Pijnacker and Zevenhuizen, among others. In short: timber construction is spreading. With this project in Rotterdam, we demonstrate that with this construction method too, we can provide homes with fresh air and work together to achieve a healthy indoor climate for residents.
Project SAWA in photos
