Park Delfzicht in Delfzijl

Park Delfzicht Delfzijl: A green living environment with space for nature

Park Delfzicht lives up to its name: greenery and space are central to the design of the neighborhood. The new homes will have the park as their front yard, as it were; from every front door you walk straight into a car-free park with walking paths, playgrounds and lots of greenery. Existing mature trees from the old site have been retained as much as possible and additional water features will be constructed to collect rainwater and create a varied landscape.

New plantings of flowers, shrubs and trees provide food and shelter for species. This green design provides habitat for a rich urban biodiversity: insects such as bees and butterflies, but also birds, bats and hedgehogs are attracted by the planting. This nature-inclusive design is in line with the sustainable ambitions of the Eems Delta municipality and shows that living in a new housing estate can go hand in hand with nature.

Wood concrete built-in cabinets for swifts

For swifts, GZP2 boxes were bricked into the end walls of the homes. The GZP2 is a single-compartment wood concrete nesting device designed for permanent masonry installation. The dimensions make the box suitable for integration into standard facade masonry.

The boxes are placed under the eaves, at a minimum height of 4.5 meters and free of obstacles in a radius of 2 meters around the entrance opening, in accordance with the guidelines for swifts. Orientation is primarily north and east, to prevent overheating.

Built-in nest boxes for house sparrows

In addition to swifts, house sparrows also benefit from nature-inclusive construction at Park Delfzicht. Several HMP2 nesting boxes have been integrated into the new building. House sparrows like to live in groups and prefer to nest close together; the applied facilities respond to this by combining multiple nesting facilities. Park Delfzicht proactively incorporates nesting facilities for this Red List species.

They are placed at least several meters high on the cool north or east facade. An additional advantage is that the immediate area becomes rich in greenery: within a few meters of the nest sites are gardens, hedges and the central park.

Integrated bat boxes

Bats were also carefully considered as part of this project. Special integrated bat boxes were installed within the upper sections of the façades, providing safe daytime roosting spaces for species such as common pipistrelles. Many bat species in the UK rely on buildings for shelter, yet modern well sealed buildings offer fewer and fewer access opportunities. By incorporating integrated bat boxes directly into the construction, new roosting opportunities are created for these protected species without requiring major modifications at a later stage.

VMPM boxes were used for the bats. A modular wood concrete facility with multiple layers. This series of bat facilities consists of six different cabinets and 3 types of entrance stones, which are indefinitely expandable and linkable.

Unitura also offers assembly

In Park Delfzicht, the GZP2, HMP2 and VMPM facilities were supplied by Unitura and bricked in by the contractor during the structural work. We also offer the option of assembling the facilities ourselves. This is frequently used within renovation projects.

We then take care of the complete execution: from preparation and measuring to assembly on site. Positions are recorded in our implementation application, assembly is performed by a fixed team of technicians, and upon completion you will receive a digital report with photo registration. This is suitable for ecological logbooks or as proof for the competent authorities.