De Watergroep
Scope
The new office building for ‘De Watergroep’ in the Koning Boudewijnstraat, close to the Sint-Pieters station in Ghent, consists of a main building of four floors and a meeting hub at the back of the site. Sustainability is at the heart De Watergoeps mission. This is one of the reasons their new office is a Nearly Zero Energy Building with a BREEAM Excellent score.
Project Overview
At the designed stage of the project, the developers’ team focused the main attention on the sustainability aspects including:
- Energy extraction from geothermal sources
- Installation of green roofs and solar panels
- Rainwater recovery for local consumption
- HVAC system optimization
- Healthy air quality conditions
- Local water treatment plant
- Sustainable building materials
All the above-mentioned features were designed and validated through BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) certification.
The Airscan team completed a series of air quality tests post-construction and pre-occupation to assess the indoor air quality (BREEAM feature HEA 02) following ISO 16000-3 and ISO 16000-6 standards. These tests measure values of Formaldehyde and Total Volatile Organic Compounds; pollutants that can typically be emitted by building materials. As required by the BREEAM certification scheme, Airscan is an ISO/IEC 17025 accredited body by BELAC. The scope of the accreditation covers the applied ISO 16000-3 and ISO 1600-6 methods and is available through this link.
Result
The air quality test results provided by the Airscan team were submitted within the project portfolio to the BREEAM certification body. Which helped the building to receive a BREEAM Excellent certificate. This demonstrates that the building has a perfect balance between sustainability aspects, environmental responsibility, and last but not least health and well-being of tenants. We also would like to take the opportunity to thank Vandenbussche Bouw and Boydens Engineering (part of Sweco) for the professional and pleasant collaboration.
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