Geelen Counterflow in Haelen, the Netherlands, has received a Five Star “outstanding” BREEAM-NL certificate during the “Duurzaam Gebouwd” conference in Maastricht for the design of its new office.
Annemarie van Doorn, director of the Dutch Green Building Council handed over the sustainability certificate to Sander Geelen, Managing Director of Geelen Counterflow. It\'s a remarkable performance: the design team earned a score of 94.19 %, the highest score ever achieved in the Netherlands.
The new office for 50 employees will be fully constructed with prefabricated walls and floors of 100% unglued and non-chemically treated wood, grown in sustainably managed forests in the Black Forest region of Germany. Where possible \"Cradle To Cradle\" certified building materials will be applied.
Design for sustainability
By building according to the “Passive House” guidelines and thanks to the 330 solar panels on the roof, the office will produce 50% more renewable energy than the total energy consumption for heating/cooling, ventilation, lighting, copiers/printers, servers and PCs.
This can be achieved thanks to the thermal bridge free detailing, wide and tall window openings with triple glazing, Southern orientations with external sun shading, day light controlled LED lighting, air-tight design with balanced mechanical ventilation, Ba-Opt climate control, geothermal heat probes and solar energy collectors. The excess of solar power will be used elsewhere on site for, among other things, charging of forklift trucks and laser cutting of stainless steel. Rainwater is reused for flushing toilets and around the building ecological measures are taken to promote biodiversity.
Positive influence on working environment
Design and selection of materials are aimed at a comfortable and healthy indoor climate with plenty of natural light and a minimal risk of evaporation of harmful substances. Every effort has been made to minimize the risk of health problems and to ensure a work environment that stimulates the communication and cooperation between all departments of the company.
Building without main contractor
Geelen Counterflow builds the 2400 m² office without using a main contractor, working directly with the design team and the subcontractors. Thanks to a clear division of responsibilities, the building construction process was efficient and fast with minimum material waste costs. As a result, the construction costs are not significantly higher than a traditionally designed and built office. The return on investment of the additional costs for modern energy technology is approximately 10 years.
Pushing limits
Sander Geelen: “ We will have to change the way we do business to stay within the limits of our planet’s resources. On a very small scale, this office shows that this is possible and that it can be done with a reasonable return on investment.”
Annemarie van Doorn: \"Geelen Counterflow can be proud of this unique result, the highest BREEAM score ever for a design. Again an end user who sets a sustainable example and is willing to make long term investments.
The design team consists of Rob Wolfs and Ron Hochstenbach, Robert de Bourgraaf, Ad van de Ven, Jos Wagemans and Sander Geelen. Completion is scheduled for December 2014.
Geelen Counterflow is the world market leader in counterflow dryers and coolers for the food & feed industry. The family company with 90 employees develops all required technology itself and builds the machines entirely in-house at its plant in Haelen. Over 80% of the sales is exported outside of Europe.
BREEAM is the biggest certifying system for sustainability for buildings worldwide. Since the introduction in 1990, more than 250.000 buildings have been certified. In the Netherlands the system is managed by the Dutch Green Building Council.
