While we try our very best, it is still impossible to develop the cities of tomorrow without any temporary nuisance.
But each day, we work very hard to reduce nuisance as much as possible.
As a project developer, we can be visitors in your neighbourhood for quite a while. But as we leave, our projects have a long-term impact on communities and cities, making them more vibrant, more enjoyable and more sustainable.
With our developments, we're fixing existing issues such as vacancy, parking problems or missing facilities and create tangible and valuable improvements for neighbourhoods. Together with our contractors, we do everything we can to limit any inconvenience for local residents during the construction process and actively reduce nuisance to a minimum.
Noise
We know how important peace and quiet is at home. That’s why we’re doing everything we can to have our projects built as quietly as possible – although, unfortunately, a fully silent construction site still is a distant dream.
We’re only collaborating with contractors who are committed to limiting noise pollution as much as we are, by applying the latest techniques to demolish and build as quietly as possible. Together, we're limiting noise and vibrations as much as we can, constantly monitoring the quality of life of local residents during the building process.
Noise Wuitenhart
Construction worker Amos helped build Wuitenhart, a new attractive and contemporary apartment building with 38 apartments.
“We know how unpleasant noise can be for the neighbourhood. That’s why our team works hard to demolish and build as quietly as possible! On the construction site of Wuitenhart, we followed our guidelines to reduce noise: we only worked during fixed hours, used the newest, softest building techniques and switched off engines and machines during breaks. Small guidelines like these make a huge difference: our neighbours can still hear the birds sing during construction in their area!”
Dust & mud
Coming home to a clean street has a big impact on how residents experience their neighbourhood. Nobody enjoys mud at their front door or dust blowing over into their garden.
That’s why reducing dust is a central topic in our nuisance policy! From preventively spraying the site with water to covering and cleaning: our contractors are doing everything they can to prevent dust as much as possible and to limit it to the boundaries of the construction site itself.
Dust & Mud Beau'Garde
In Diest we developed the new residence Beau’Garde in the middle of a cosy and tidy neighbourhood. We thought it was very important to keep the neighbourhood clean during the works and were happy to hear that this was noticed by local resident Lies:
“Ciril developed Beau’Garde just around our corner, but from the surrounding streets you’d be hard-pressed to notice! We like living in a well-maintained neighbourhood and the streets stayed just as tidy during construction.”
Safety
The safety of local residents, contractors and employees is and always will be our number one priority. Together with our contractors, we ensure a safe construction site and environment every day.
From closed, fixed and high fencing around our sites to secured building materials and tidy construction sites that are only left behind safe and clear: we've put in place strict safety precautions and regulations to constantly protect everyone's safety. In addition, we continuously monitor and evaluate safety on the construction process throughout the entire build. With these consistent, wide-ranging measures, we’re working on safe project development every day.
Safety Bonnefant
In the centre of Hasselt we developed Bonnefant on the old Belgacom site: a large-scale project with apartments, skyhouses, assistance apartments, student housing, commercial spaces and restaurants. A lively and green meeting place for the neighbourhood!
During construction we put the wellbeing of the neighbourhood first: our contractors clearly demarcated the site with sturdy construction site fencing to keep the streetscape pedestrian-friendly and passers-by at a safe distance from the construction works.
Traffic mobility
Being able to both leave home and get home smoothly is very important for a lot of families as well as less mobile residents. That is why we're taking traffic mobility in our cities to heart!
Fo each of our projects, we work out traffic plans that make sure neighbourhoods remain easily accessible at all times. Together with the authorized services, we put up clear, correct signaling and communication to prevent traffic jams and delays. And we always pay extra attention to the accessibility of security and safety services.
Traffic mobility Provincial Government Building
For the city of Antwerp, we built the architectural provincial government building: 14 floors of office space and a conference center with a capacity of 350 people on the ground floor. With 683 triangular windows and an eye-catching 'pivot', this beautiful building became a new landmark in the city. The compact design also left the neighbourhood with plenty of new green space.
Building this grand project called for a smart construction site that would not disturb the busy city. With a detailed mobility plan and a conscious layout of the construction yard, we ensured that the surrounding neighbourhood remained accessible at all times and that all our trucks and vans were given a place within our own fences.
Communication
Unfortunately, we cannot prevent all nuisance a new construction project can cause. We can, however, communicate clearly about what will happen, when it will happen and how it could affect the local community. We always keep neighbours readily informed so they know exactly what to expect.
What people experience as nuisance is often personal or specific to a neighbourhood. That is why our communication flows in two directions: we encourage locals to tell us what is important to them and ask for their input and feedback during the entire construction process. This allows us to prevent frustrations even before they arise and to safeguard the quality of life of local residents while we upgrade their neighbourhood.
Communication Stadsterras
In Mortsel we held a neighbourhood information market for local residents and neighbours of Stadsterras. We organized this first moment of contact long before construction started, ensuring we were well-informed about what people found important for their neighbourhood. Together, we were able to get to work based on those insights.
With the nearby school and the city of Mortsel, for example, we determined new, safe cycling routes for the children and drew up a specific brochure about adapted parking facilities during construction.
We always listen to local residents and take their preferences into account from the very beginning. That’s how we make sure we do exactly what our slogan promises: developing city real estate for real people.
Thibaud, Project Developer Ciril