Representatives of the Statia Housing Foundation (SHF) recently visited Hof Wonen in The Hague as part of SHF's continued efforts to identify innovative, affordable, and sustainable housing solutions that could be adapted to the needs of St. Eustatius.
The working visit provided an opportunity for knowledge exchange on two areas of particular interest to SHF: building with wood as an alternative construction method, and community-oriented housing concepts, including the Dutch “woongroep” model.
Hof Wonen is a housing corporation operating in the Haaglanden region with more than 19,000 homes. Its work focuses on good and affordable housing, sustainability, new construction, and creating liveable neighbourhoods.
Exploring the potential of building with wood
A key part of the exchange focused on timber construction and its potential application in social housing. Hof Wonen is currently developing its first timber apartment complex at Steenwijklaan in The Hague — 63 homes, built with a strong emphasis on sustainability, flexibility, and long-term residential quality. The building makes extensive use of timber and is designed according to the “Open Building” principle, allowing it to respond more flexibly to changing housing needs over time.
For SHF, the discussion was particularly relevant given the need to find construction approaches that can help Statia deliver more homes while managing building costs and reducing environmental impact. Timber construction may offer opportunities for more efficient and sustainable housing development — though for St. Eustatius, any future application would have to be specifically designed and evaluated for the island's tropical and maritime environment and local building requirements.
SHF sees significant value in investigating whether modern timber-building techniques can be adapted to Statia in a way that combines affordability, durability, sustainability, and resilience.
“As a small island, we have to remain open to doing things differently. The question is not whether we can simply copy what is being done in the Netherlands, but what we can learn from it and how we can adapt those lessons to Statia. If alternative construction methods can help us build quality homes more efficiently and sustainably, then they deserve serious consideration.”
Could a “woongroep” work on Statia?
The SHF delegation also visited a woongroep, providing an opportunity to experience firsthand a different approach to housing and community. In the Netherlands, gemeenschappelijk wonen, or community living, can take several forms. In a traditional woongroep, residents may have private living areas while sharing facilities such as a kitchen or living room. In Centraal Wonen, or cohousing, households generally have fully independent homes but also share facilities such as a community room, garden, laundry, or activity areas. There are also dedicated senior communities, intergenerational concepts, and resident-led cooperative housing models.
More formal cooperative models can give residents responsibility for managing their housing collectively, while other models allow residents to jointly develop or own their homes. Dutch housing policy increasingly recognises these different forms of cooperative housing as a way of combining housing with stronger resident involvement and community building.
For Statia, the concept raises interesting possibilities. Community-oriented housing could potentially provide independent homes combined with shared spaces, allowing residents to maintain their privacy while creating more opportunities for neighbourly support, social interaction, and shared activities — for seniors, young adults, single-person households, families, or intergenerational communities, depending on Statia's future housing needs.
“Housing is about more than constructing buildings. It is also about creating communities where people can live independently while remaining connected to one another. On an island like Statia, where community and looking out for each other are already important parts of our way of life, concepts such as a woongroep are worth exploring.”
SHF emphasises that introducing such a concept would require consultation with the Statian community. Any future model would need to reflect local culture, housing preferences, affordability, and the actual needs of residents. Rather than importing solutions directly from the European Netherlands, SHF is focused on learning from proven experience and determining what can realistically be adapted to the island context.
Thank you, Hof Wonen
The Foundation thanks Hof Wonen and the residents of the woongroep for their hospitality, openness, and willingness to share their knowledge and experiences. The lessons from the visit will contribute to SHF's ongoing discussions on the future of social housing on St. Eustatius — including how homes can be built more sustainably and efficiently, and how housing design itself can contribute to stronger communities.