Plus Ultra Amsterdam: The best balance between flexibility and sustainability

At the Medical Business Park in Amsterdam, the construction of a new multi-tenant building for the Life Sciences & Health sector will start at the end of this year. With Plus Ultra Amsterdam, developer Kadans Science Partner not only offers an interesting mix of offices and laboratories, but also access to networks and talent. This makes the building a perfect ecosystem for medical advances. Deerns was involved at an early stage, as advisor and designing party for the building physics, fire safety, sustainability and installation engineering.

Kadans Science Partner focuses on the development of knowledge-intensive real estate. "The developing investor regularly realizes multi-tenant projects at Dutch Science Parks, which can house multiple tenants in Life Sciences & Health," says Arnoud Matser, Advisor at Deerns. "Plus Ultra Amsterdam is also a typical Kadans building. Using cepezed's aesthetic design as a foundation, we designed an all-electric building with empty floors, in which a variety of companies can establish themselves. A unique feature is that the lab and office functions can be fitted anywhere in the building. The ceiling heights on all floors and in all rooms are the same. In addition, there is sufficient space everywhere for the supply and extraction of large quantities of air and for ductwork with building technology. This allows us to offer future tenants maximum flexibility."

Per orientation the most optimal facade 

Deerns has been involved in the project since the tender phase. "Amsterdam UMC and the City of Amsterdam issued a tender for the development of the Medical Business Park in October 2019. Kadans Science Partner asked us to participate in the planning, in which sustainability played an important role," said Matser. "Because high EPC scores were rewarded, we created a design in which, in addition to building- and user-related energy consumption, energy for the EV infrastructure is generated by Plus Ultra itself. There will soon be a steel frame on the roof and over the air handling units, which will be completely covered with solar panels. And the building facade will also be fitted with large numbers of solar panels. In order to perfectly coordinate all requirements with regard to internal heat load, solar radiation, daylight penetration and solar energy generation, we simulated the facades in a digital model. This allowed us to design the most optimal facade for each orientation."

The most sustainable multi-tenant building in the Netherlands 

Like Kadans Science Partner's other projects, Plus Ultra Amsterdam will also be BREEAM-NL-certified, says Matser. "For this project, Kadans chose to set BREEAM-NL 'Outstanding' as its ambition. The high BREEAM-NL design score of 89.9% is the result of, among other things, excellent daylighting, a thermally insulated shell with HR++ glass, a WKO installation with heat pumps, LED lighting, efficient, demand-controlled climate control and a large amount of PV panels." Matser also mentions the design of a green-blue roof; a sedum roof with possibilities for water storage (retention) that relieves the municipal sewer system during heavy rainfall. "The sedum roofs also promote biodiversity, which is also true of the addition of bird and bat boxes."

Beautiful business card

During the execution phase, Deerns checks, among other things, the execution-ready design of the building contractor, W- and E-installers. "In addition, we coordinate the proofing and application for the BREEAM-NL 'Outstanding' completion certificate, including the commissioning and commissioning of all installation techniques," said Matser. "This brings together very nicely our full service, knowledge and expertise in complex projects." By the summer of 2023, Plus Ultra Amsterdam should be completed.