Green buildings: certification strategy for our existing buildings

Multiple certifications

The Edge received BREEAM New Construction sustainability certification with a rating of Outstanding, and from 2014 to 2016 achieved the highest score received so far for a sustainable office building anywhere in the world. In 2016, The Edge also won the BREEAM Award in the Office New Construction category. In addition, The Edge was awarded WiredScore Platinum certification, meaning that the office building in Amsterdam demonstrably meets the highest standards in terms of connectivity, digital infrastructure and future security.

Energy-positive

The Edge is not just energy-neutral, it’s energy-positive. Intelligent materials and technology, such as electrochromic glass that allows building users to control how much light is let through, smart LED lighting systems and clever architecture ensure efficient energy consumption. The Edge was built to allow optimal use of sunlight; daylight illuminates the rooms without affecting the indoor temperature. There are also 660 solar panels on the façade and the roof, supplying enough energy to cover all the building’s electricity requirements. The energy is fed into a geothermal system to make the building self-sufficient in terms of heating and cooling. Not only that, the energy can also be used for other tasks like charging electric cars.

Biodiversity

The specially designed natural green space around the building provides a home for bees and bats and also features insect hotels. The green space separating the building from the nearby motorway serves as an ecological corridor that allows animals to cross the area safely. Rainwater collected on the roof of the building is used to water the greenery.

Smart office

Around 30,000 sensors and a mobile app for the building provide intelligent networking. Other features such as automated parking space assignment (with electric vehicle charging stations), an intelligent room booking and lighting system and continuous optimisation of temperature, light intensity and air quality make the building both highly efficient and extremely comfortable.

Farmers’ market

The Mahon Point farmers’ market is the largest organic market in Cork. More than 50 stalls offer high-quality foods, all exclusively from local producers. The market’s vision is to be “as plastic free as possible and fully sustainable”. As an example, the market vendors have all committed to using compostable packaging for all of the food sold. 

Charging stations for electric cars

Mahon Point promotes electric mobility and provides charging stations for electric car drivers. Today, shoppers can make use of six electric vehicle charging stations, including four 250 kW Tesla Superchargers. More charging options are set to come.

Green energy

Since 2017, the centre has operated exclusively using green energy – a combination of wind power, solar energy, bioenergy and hydroelectric power. Much of that energy comes from the solar array on the roof of the shopping centre. Measuring a total of 1,587 sqm, it produces some 250,000 kWh of solar power a year. The panels deliver roughly 25% of the centre’s yearly electricity needs, helping save 131 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually.

Recycling 

All the waste generated at Mahon Point is recycled. Thanks to professional waste management, an average of 900 tonnes of paper, plastic, glass, metal and compost are collected for recycling every year.

LED lighting

From car parks, to Christmas lights, to escalators: The Mahon Point shopping centre reduced its power consumption significantly by converting to energy-saving LED lights.

Well-connected

The office complex is located in Warsaw’s city centre directly at the Daszyńskiego roundabout and has excellent public transport connections (underground, bus and tram stops). For those who prefer alternative means of transport, Generation Park Z also offers 102 parking spaces for bicycles, as well as showers, changing rooms and a repair station.

Smart data

An integrated building operating system enables users to move around the building using a smartphone instead of conventional access cards and functions as a virtual reception desk. The lifts and air conditioning systems in the rental units are regulated using an app. It also has a parking system that recognises number plates and allocates free spaces. Smart data technology will also be used to proactively control the building in future, resulting in a high-quality indoor climate and a reduction in energy costs and carbon emissions. Deka Immobilien is now using such a solution in the form of MeteoViva Climate at a large number of properties in Germany and abroad.

Rainwater system and Green concrete

Generation Park Z relies on grey water recycling. The rain that falls on the roof of the building is used to flush the toilets or water the plants. Water is also saved in a user-friendly way inside the building too, including with water-efficient taps featuring hand movement detectors. To enhance the environment for tenants and visitors, there is a garden café in the leafy, park-like inner courtyard between the buildings, a restaurant and a green roof terrace measuring around 500 square metres on the 13th floor. The pavements in the inner courtyard are made of innovative green concrete with self-cleaning properties, which reduces the amount of toxins from car exhaust fumes in the air.

Multiple certifications

Parkview reflects the spirit of contemporary design and combines sustainable features with modern technological innovations to satisfy the highest standards. The office property received the maximum Platinum certification under the US LEED standard with a score of 97 points. WELL Gold Core & Shell certification and the WELL Health-Safety rating from the international WELL Building Institute are also testament to the many measures implemented for the health and well-being of building users.

High energy efficiency

The building’s façade elements and innovative air-conditioning system provide an extremely high level of energy efficiency. One of the highlights of the building is the energy-recovery system that produces electricity when the lifts are descending.

Location, accessibility and comfort

Parkview is set in a prestigious location near the park in Prague 4 and provides excellent accessibility by car and public transport. Tenants can also use the facilities provided for cyclists.
The design and amenities of the building – including modern, flexible office space and conference rooms with business grade Wi-Fi and a roof terrace with bar, grill and seating – place special importance on state-of-the-art office comfort and user well-being. The U-shaped floor layout and glazed atrium allow daylight to enter and provide an unobstructed view of the neighbouring park.

Resource conservation

The building has an advanced energy-saving LED lighting system with motion and daylight sensors. Using rainwater to water the green spaces reduces water consumption.

Oosterdokseiland peninsula

The headquarters of hotel booking platform Booking.com is part of one of the largest city centre development projects in Europe. The campus is located at the tip of the Oosterdokseiland peninsula, right near the central railway station. This is a vibrant location where people work, live and spend their free time. Oosterdokseiland, known for its proximity to the railway station, has become one of Amsterdam’s most vibrant neighbourhoods in recent years.

Excellent connections

The building benefits from its strategic location and excellent transit and transport connections. The immediate vicinity of the main train station ensures very good connections to all means of public transport such as train, subway, streetcar and bus. For individual traffic, the A10 ring road can be reached within ten minutes. The large underground car park also offers Booking.com over 200 parking spaces, including around 30 electric charging stations for cars, along with 2,200 bicycle parking spaces, including around 250 charging points for e-bikes.

Flexible working environment and “green” indoor climate

The overall design of the campus reflects Booking.com’s functional, transparent and interconnected approach to work. The building has various internal amenities such as cafés, restaurants, a multifunctional auditorium and a number of different event rooms. Special attention was also paid to the acoustics both in the offices and for the spacious central atrium, which spans eight storeys and floods the building with natural light. The atriums on the various storeys feature greenery in forms such as green walls with an irrigation system. There are more than 11,000 plants throughout the building, providing the overall green look and, above all, a fresh indoor climate.

High tech for smart property

The Booking.com campus was designed as a smart property. The entire complex is equipped with sensors throughout, which function like an ecosystem and automatically regulate the lighting and temperature of each individual room based on actual occupancy and use, for example. But that is not all. Key innovative and sustainable design features of the building also include the use of renewable energy provided by 832 solar panels on a moss sedum roof and a connection to the thermal energy storage system. This system supplies the entire Oosterdokeiland with heating and cooling. The building meets stringent standards for technology and sustainability and has an A+++ energy label.

Sustainable refurbishment

In the course of the refurbishment, the original building structure dating back to the 1970s was reduced to the shell and the façade and parts of the building services were renovated and optimised to improve their energy efficiency. In addition to the efficiency-enhancing measures in the building structure, emphasis was also placed on improving well-being and creating high-quality, healthy spaces. The building was given a nine-storey extension, two roof terraces, a prestigious two-storey entrance hall, a conference centre and a bistro with terrace areas. Green electricity is purchased for shared spaces.

Most recently, systematic investments were made in optimising the heating and ventilation system and further measures were implemented in relation to the health and well-being of building occupants and the building’s waste management concept. To make commuting to work more pleasant for cyclists, there is a large bicycle area featuring shower facilities and changing rooms. EV charging points are also available in the underground car park.

Lower energy costs

Westend Sky is one of many buildings owned by Deka Immobilien that uses a smart data solution to control its systems by looking ahead at weather forecasts, thereby creating a high-quality indoor climate and reducing energy costs and CO2 emissions. In just the first year of operation, the building’s energy costs were reduced by 27% and 193 tonnes of CO2 emissions were saved.

Climate action roadmap

In terms of environmental qualities, the building also has a tailor-made climate action road map, which simulates its performance with a view to national climate goals. The climate action road map defines further medium- and long-term optimisation measures for the building with the aim of achieving climate-neutral operation in the long term.

Water and energy efficiency

Both the water and energy concepts are designed to save resources. Rainwater is collected and used to water the plants in the exterior area. Inside, water-saving fittings ensure that as little fresh water as possible is used. Heating and cooling are provided by geothermal energy using heat pumps, ensuring a positive energy balance. A proportion of the electricity required for this system is generated directly on the building via photovoltaic elements on the roof. The mechanical ventilation of the building is controlled as needed via CO2 sensors.

Green oases

The planning team paid special attention to the building’s roofscape. Generous roof terraces and greenery offer a high-quality experience for users. Elegantly designed canopies provide shady retreats on sunny days, while the solar panels on the canopy tops generate part of the building’s required energy. An inner courtyard and various terraces invite users to relax.

Mobility

The location in the heart of the historic centre near Piazza Cordusio and Milan Cathedral ensures excellent transport connections. Shops for daily needs are within walking distance. To make commuting to work by bike more pleasant, there are also large bicycle parking spaces in the underground car park as well as changing and shower facilities.

Free from fossil fuels

Moving away from the direct combustion of gas or oil is of enormous importance on the journey to CO2-neutral building stock. 90 Fetter Lane is fully-electric with heat pump technology for heating and cooling, and there is no use of fossil energy in the building. By purchasing green electricity to operate the heat pumps, the building will even be CO2 neutral in operation.

Thinking ahead

Despite the BREEAM certification and satisfied users, Deka Immobilien has further ideas for improving 90 Fetter Lane in the coming years. For example, an in-house photovoltaic system on the existing green roof will generate part of the required electricity itself, thus reducing the procurement of green electricity. To further increase efficiency, there are also plans to expand the building’s level of automation even further, optimising the building’s operation and user comfort.

Mobility

Even though London has an extremely dense network of public transport, commuting by bicycle in the British capital has developed well beyond a fashionable trend in the last ten years. In addition to the reduction in journey times that are often possible, there is also a positive health effect. Against this backdrop, the users of 90 Fetter Lane also have the opportunity to park their bikes in the underground car park, protected from wind and weather. In the course of the renovation, parking spaces for cars were even given up for this purpose. In addition, there are changing facilities and showers for the building users.

Energy efficiency

The building, which is gold certified according to the standard of the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB), has an energy requirement that is approx. 30% lower than required by the Energy Saving Ordinance (EnEV) 2016 for comparable buildings. The building only uses electricity to cover all of its energy needs, with no gas- or oil-based systems installed. This lays the foundations for climate-neutral operation. In technical terms, the building is heated using a geothermal system with a heat pump combined with concrete core activation and a digital control system exclusively designed for the building.

Digital planning

The building was planned entirely in BIM (building information modelling) and the interior design was realised on the basis of predefined area modules. A digital model allows for significantly higher precision and optimisation than conventional planning and construction, reducing sources of error and optimising subsequent operation. All space-creating interior walls are free of technical installations and can even be repositioned while the building is still operational due to the existing mobile, programmable buttons. This creates a high degree of variability and adjustment potential for future tenants.

Sustainable digital building control

The high level of indoor climate comfort is ensured by digitalised control of the system technology during operation. This is based on numerous sensors, measuring devices and actuators that generate data that is extensively monitored. In addition, the heating and cooling system processes data from the latest weather forecasts to pre-emptively adjust the highly efficient temperature control system to predicted temperatures for the next days. BOB monitoring ensures that the system operates comfortably and energy-efficiently over the long term.

Balancing natural and artificial light

BOB lets as much daylight as possible into the interior of the building. This is helped by a high proportion of glass and a specially developed blind that “pulls” a variable amount of light into the building depending on the seasons. The total window area is designed in such a way that the amount of light entering the building is in proportion to the light’s energetic properties (solar energy input). Daylight control and highly efficient LED lighting round off the lighting concept.

Indoor climate

A pleasant and comfortable indoor climate is created at BOB.Rheinallee through the use of concrete core activation. Pipes inside the concrete heat or cool the ceilings. This system, which is based on the natural radiation of thermal energy, is perceived by the users as extremely pleasant and draught-free. Since such systems can generally be operated at more efficient temperature levels, the energy required to heat or cool rooms is significantly reduced.

Park in the Sky 

The Park in the Sky is a central design element of the renovation work. Six roof gardens provide exceptionally high user comfort in central London while also increasing the biodiversity of the urban space. The terraces vary in size from approx. 300 to 600 sqm and are planted with up to 40 different plant species.

Digital consumption analysis

Thanks to a modern, digital readout system, consumption data relating to shared areas and areas used by individual tenants can be analysed in real time. This data is available to both the tenants and the landlord, ensuring both transparency and accessibility of information and providing a sound basis for analysing, planning and implementing further energy-saving measures.

Mobility

With its close proximity to Victoria Station, Verde SW1 is ideally connected to London’s public transport system. Since the trend to use bicycles for commuting to the office has increased enormously in London in recent years, the building’s underground car park offers over 400 bicycle parking spaces, supplemented by the necessary changing rooms and showers for users. For those for whom the daily ride to the office is not enough of a workout there is also the possibility of using the Verde SW 1’s own fitness area.

A natural workspace

True to H2O’s vision to create a natural workspace, water is a key element in improving the level of comfort in the building through optimised temperature regulation. Among other things, more than half of the heating energy in the building is sourced through geothermal energy in the groundwater. An absorption and suction well ensure resource-friendly cooling through the concrete core in summer. A chiller, which acts as a heat pump in winter to deliver additional sustainable heating, provides support during peak use.

Green oases

The H2O office building, just a stone’s throw from the Olympiapark in Munich, offers users an appealing environment with ample green space and modern office equipment providing excellent working conditions in line with the new work approach. Extensive greenery in the direct vicinity – along with a location in a neighbourhood that includes offices, housing, hotels, restaurants, retail and childcare facilities – offers users everything they need for an attractive social environment. Modern conveniences, a green courtyard and a roof terrace with a clear view of the Olympiapark’s inspiring architecture deliver additional positive effects for a healthy work-life balance.

Mobility

H2O is situated in the Munich North submarket, which is characterised by commercial tenants from the industrial, automotive, trade, IT and media sectors. The adjacent middle ring road (Mittlerer Ring) and underground station provide excellent transport connections. Tenants can also take advantage of around 200 spots in the underground car park, some of which offer charging stations, as well as a large bicycle storage area in the basement that includes shower and changing facilities. The building’s users are active in a wide range of industries and include respected consultancy firms and businesses from the automotive sector. The main tenant is Westwing, an online retailer specialising in furniture and accessories.