SUPERLOCAL - Super Circular Estate

SUPERLOCAL is an innovative real estate project in the south Limburg region in the Netherlands. Housing corporation HEEMwonen, the municipality of Kerkrade and IBA Parkstad have joined forces to transform three high-rise apartment blocks into +- 125 new subsided rent houses. As demolition is such a radical process, the partners have formulated the ambition to sustain the values and qualities present in the area. Examples are reuse of the concrete frame of the flats, materials such as window-frames, but also the social structures amongst former inhabitants. For the preservation of the latter aspect, two complementary publications of stakeholders’ experiences, memories and attitudes about the apartment blocks have been published. These are also known as the books of neighbours and can be consulted via the project website: www.superlocal.eu. From June 2017 on, the project entered a new phase with the experimental demolition of one of the three high-rise buildings. The materials that are released during this demolition will be deployed to develop an exposition pavilion. This pavilion will provide insight if reuse of the materials and on this large scale is possible.