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Head office De Woonplaats
Head office De Woonplaats
175, Wethouder Beversstraat, Eschmarke, Enschede, Netherlands
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Head office De Woonplaats
175, Wethouder Beversstraat, Eschmarke, Enschede, Netherlands
This office building is characterised not only by sustainability in terms of flexibility, indoor climate and energy efficiency, but also its striking twisted shape, which widens as it rises. Located along the A35 motorway, just outside the city centre, this branch of De Woonplaats forms the gateway to the new Zuiderval work and residential area.“A sustainable building in which we felt extremely at home, right from the working breakfast on day one.” (De Woonplaats annual report)In spite of its striking exterior, the real strength of this building, designed by RAU, is on the inside. Each storey is enveloped by an all-round, architectural cove that houses the ventilation shafts, electrical and data cables. Almost all of the available space can be freely laid out as desired, fulfilling one of the user’s greatest organisational wishes. The relocation to this building has allowed the housing corporation to make the switch from small office cells to flexi-workstations and open spaces. Should the organisation then change its mind at any point in the future, it will be possible to realise a new layout of the space without problems, thanks to the functional cove.Cooling and heating of the building are by means of concrete core activation, making air conditioning units and radiators redundant. The indoor climate in buildings without radiators and air-conditioning is usually found to be more comfortable than the climate in traditional buildings. There are fewer air currents and fewer allergens and less dust in the air. The distribution of warm and cold air is extremely homogeneous and draught-free. People using the building experience fewer problems caused by headaches and breathing difficulties.“Since we have been in this new building, my headaches have stopped.” (an employee of de Woonplaats)Concrete core activation not only has a positive effect on the indoor climate, but also saves energy in comparison to buildings with traditional climate-control systems. To heat the building, the concrete core activation is connected to the district heating system. For cooling, use is made of groundwater. Thanks to the efficiency of the concrete core activation, the groundwater does not need additional mechanical cooling. The system can work with relatively small temperature differences. This means that the naturally low temperature of groundwater is already enough to cool the building.In addition, passive design elements also play a considerable role in the energy efficiency of this building. The design of the building volume takes into account the course of the sun at this location, the sun blinds are geared to the geographical situation of the building. The twisted volume and the increasing dimensions of the storeys as they get higher create overhangs on each storey, which provide natural shadow for the building. The use of efficient sun blinds allows 60% of the exterior walls to be made from glass. Two-thirds of the glass panes are transparent, while one-third of the glass panes are coloured and have an additional function cutting down direct ingress of sunlight and noise. By combining large glass openings with carefully adjusted sun blinds, heating up of the building is prevented while a great deal of indirect daylight is allowed into the building.
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