About

Quartz is a high-quality office building on a corner plot on the Kunstlaan close to the Brussels inner ring road and the Parc de la Warande. The glass façade with white architectural concrete and stainless steel curtains gives the entirety a fresh look.

Challenge

A durable replacement building that focuses on the quality of life and work of its users.

Solution

The offices are equipped with an open climate ceiling that allows low-temperature heating and high-temperature cooling. Photovoltaic solar panels serve as a sustainable energy source. The metal braided curtains provide the required shade.

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Client(s)

  • Cofinimmo

Architect(s)

  • POLO Architects

Certificate(s)

  • BREEAM Excellent

Location

Brussels, Belgium

Timeline

2014

2020

Expertise Team(s)

  • Acoustical Engineering

  • Digital Engineering

  • Façade Engineering

  • M&E Engineering

  • Structural Engineering

  • Sustainable Design

  • View more...

Design Solution(en)

  • Feasibility Study

  • Sustainability Assessment

  • Life Cycle Cost Analysis

  • Building Simulations

  • Sustainability Tracking

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The whole of materials, transport and processes necessary to construct (and deconstruct) the building, was analyzed from “cradle to grave”.

Eef Mestdagh

senior project engineer M&E, VK architects+engineers

The building on Avenue des Arts 19 in Brussels was replaced by a new building designed by POLO Architects. VK was responsible for all the engineering such as structural and M&E engineering, but also façade engineering, energy reporting, BREEAM, and acoustical engineering. The project was designed and realised with BIM.

Differentiated approach

As the two main façades of the building border on two different streets, they are also addressed differently. The south-facing façade on the Joseph II street uses horizontal fins as sun blinds. At the same time, the façade becomes more introvert. On the other side, the façade opens itself along the small ring around Brussels. Metal braided curtains provide the necessary shading. A nice challenge for our façade engineering department.

nZEB & BREEAM Excellent

The new building is a passive office building that complies with the nZEB performance criteria and achieves a BREEAM Excellent rating. VK carried out a design stage assessment that resulted in a BREEAM Excellent certificate. To limit energy demand, the design of the building included many passive measures and the offices are equipped with open climate ceilings that allow for low-temperature heating and high-temperature cooling. In combination with night ventilation, the mass of the building is also integrated into the energy concept. To provide a sustainable energy source, photovoltaic solar panels are implemented in the project.

The energy consumption and thereby the environmental impact of new buildings has strongly decreased over the last decade. For this project, the whole of materials, transport and processes necessary to construct (and deconstruct) a building, was analyzed from “cradle to grave”.

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