A new office in Amsterdam has been rated the world’s most sustainable office building by the Building Research Establishment (BRE)
Amsterdam’s Zuidas area is rapidly emerging as one of Europe’s most significant business districts, with excellent connections to public transport and cycle-route networks and the new high-speed train station.
PLP Architecture’s new 40,000m² office for Deloitte is the world’s most sustainable office building having been awarded the highest rating ever recorded by the Building Research Establishment (BRE), the global assessor of sustainable buildings. The project, named ‘The Edge’, achieved a BREEAM new construction certification of ‘Outstanding’ and a score of 98.36% by employing innovative smart technology.
The work space is organised around a grand 15-storey atrium, a window animated by office activity, circulation bridges and lift cores. The base of the atrium is activated by a restaurant, a café, exhibition spaces and conference facilities. The atrium is the lung of the building, ventilating the office space. The shape of the building allows north light into 60% of the offices. East, west and south walls have smaller openings in a dense load-bearing structure; on the south, photovoltaic cells shade the openings.
In addition to its role in the environmental strategy, the atrium provides the building with an identity that will contribute to the outstanding architecture of the Zuidas.