Living facade against the dumbing down of industrial sites

Schiphol Trade Park is to become the most sustainable business park in Europe. The eye-catcher is a 23,000 m2 warehouse: VDG Warehouse Schiphol. The new building consists of two high-quality units at an A-location, close to the airport. The focus is on sustainable and innovative building, which makes it a unique project.

The first unit of more than 10,000 m2 has now been completed and leased. Unibouw began construction of the second unit in May 2021, which is scheduled for completion by the end of the year. This consists of a 7,796-square-meter warehouse, 1,615-square-meter office space, a mezzanine, eight loading docks and a roof garden. The new building should help against the dumbing down within the Netherlands. Like the other new buildings at Schiphol Trade Park, it must be unique and contribute to a more sustainable environment. Roof gardens, plantings and housing for birds, bats and insects will appear; something you don't normally see on an industrial estate.

A natural area in the industrial park

"To build a distribution center on this site, you have to meet high sustainability requirements. At least BREEAM 'Excellent' is required," says Richard van Kampen, project manager at Unibouw. The industrial hall will have no heating or cooling. The installation for the office area will of course be completely gas-free and use heat pumps, PV panels and WTW. Energy will also be saved with automatic sun blinds and LED lighting. However, this is not the most special aspect of the building, Van Kampen says. "The exterior and surroundings will be completely green. As an extra, for example, we applied Kingspan's Dri-Design facade system, which creates a kind of rock formation. The cassettes all incorporate insect hotels and nesting boxes for birds and bats. The facade will soon be a living entity."

In addition to animals, workers in the building will enjoy all that greenery. Roof gardens and walkways around the building will make the users' experience extra natural. Van Kampen: "They will soon have the idea that they are working in a nature reserve and not on an industrial estate."

Example of how to do it better

No cars should be parked in a nature reserve. That is why a parking deck has been built with room for 250 cars. On the surrounding roads hardly any cars will be seen, says Van Kampen. "A lot of people will be coming to work and they can all park their cars on the parking deck, which is concealed." He is very pleased with the progress of the project. "Everything is on schedule and on budget. It's definitely a great reference project for us. We are very proud to be able to realize it. It is more expensive than building a simple box, but something can certainly be done about the dumbing down of the Netherlands. Many distribution centers are straightforward and contribute little to the environment. This is a great example of how things can be done better."  

Construction Info

Area developer
SADC, Schiphol

Main contractor
Unibouw

Aluminum facade slats
Aldowa

Sprinkler system
Unica Fire Safety