Porseleinen Toren

Redevco, one of Europe’s largest privately-owned real estate investment managers, has recently expanded its residential portfolio with the acquisition of the Porseleinen Toren (Porcelain Tower) in an up-and-coming district in the Dutch city of Delft from developer Synchroon. The 40-metre high, energy-efficient residential complex will be the centrepiece of Nieuw Delft, a sustainable neighbourhood being built on a site above a new tunnel created for an underground high-speed railway line.

The Porseleinen Toren comprises 85 unregulated rental apartments on 11 levels as well as 200m² of cafes and restaurants on the ground floor. The complex provides covered storage for 268 bicycles and eight parking spaces in an adjacent carpark for residents. The terraced design of the building allows for an open deck measuring 154m² as well as a 35m² sky bar on the fifth floor, both of which are available to residents, meeting the growing trend for communal shared facilities.

The Porseleinen Toren derives its name from its white glazed exterior and will form the nucleus of Nieuw Delft. The development of this remarkable district to the west of Delft’s city centre in one of the most densely populated areas in the Netherlands became possible after new land was created following the construction of an underground railway tunnel in 2013. This is not a traditional ‘greenfield’ area development, it is more like a ‘newfield’ project, where land is being carved out in one of the most densely populated and built-up areas in the country. Even better, no trees are being chopped down – in fact, a parklike environment with plenty of trees will be created where once a fast-speed train cut a swathe through the countryside.

The building itself and the entire new location will also have excellent green credentials. The Porseleinen Toren will use solar panels – like all the other homes being built here – and an alternative energy source supplied by a highly innovative fresh-air heat-exchange installation. Maximum insulation will add to a high level of energy efficiency. All in all, this development definitely contributes to our ambition to create a carbon-neutral portfolio by 2040.

Nowhere in the country is the housing shortage as acute as it is in Delft; the average shortfall here is even higher than in Amsterdam and Utrecht. The new neighbourhood aims to be sustainable and CO2 neutral through a mix of measures including a mobility hub with facilities for shared cars, electric scooters and bicycles.