How can police stations help solving housing crisis in the Netherlands?

Master thesis (2022)

Authors

A. Rakauskaitė Architecture and the Built Environment

Contributors

W.L.E.C. Meijers Heritage & Design - Architecture and the Built Environment (mentor)
F.W.A. Koopman Heritage & Technology - Architecture and the Built Environment (graduation committee member)
H. Zijlstra Heritage & Design - Architecture and the Built Environment (coach)
Faculty
Architecture and the Built Environment, Architecture and the Built Environment
Copyright: © 2022 Aiste Rakauskaite Rakauskaitė
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Published Date

20-06-2022

Language

English

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Faculty

Architecture and the Built Environment

Abstract

The Netherlands is facing a severe housing crisis. There is a necessity to create 845.000 new homes due to its growing population by 2030 (NL Times, 2020). According to prognosis (Capital Value, 2020), the housing shortage is greater than recently estimated and will continue to grow. Especially in Groningen, where the Police office building is located, the need for housing is one of the greatest in the Netherlands (Dutch review, 2021).
In Groningen, the housing crisis influences rising property and rental prices. Consequently, it affects young people or families who cannot afford to buy property while students cannot find a place to live in general (Dutch review, 2021).
The transformation of the National Police in the Netherlands in 2013 brought new possibilities for urban redevelopment in particular city areas. Those possibilities could help tackle previously mentioned problems. Around 700,000 m2 of current real estate of the National Police will be divested in the upcoming ten years (HA Lab, 2021, p.5). Around 30% of real estate objects owned by the police in the Netherlands need to be redeveloped considering renovations or functional adaptation.
Building more houses is one of the ways to tackle the housing crisis, but it is crucial to understand that there is a possibility to transform an existing building into housing instead of solely building new ones. The design proposal for Vacant Police heritage in Groningen city aims to cope with previously mentioned social and economic problems. It is important and urgent to understand that adaptive reuse of the building can significantly influence life in the Netherlands.