Danone, Hoofddorp | Requirements for WELL and LEED certification go a long way

Thoughtful installation design leads to sustainable, healthy and comfortable work environment

Anyone who wants to attract talented employees to their company today must offer more than a good benefits package. After all, employees and candidate employees also take into account the appearance of the building, the layout as well as the comfort and indoor climate. With its elegant contours and fully transparent facades, Danone's new office building is a showcase of modern entrepreneurship and employment, in which sustainability and health are central. Deerns is responsible for the plant engineering design, smart building concept and WELL and LEED certification.

Founded in 1928, Deerns now has five hundred specialists spread across offices in the Netherlands, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom. "We bring ideas to life for technical infrastructures of buildings, infrastructure facilities and urban and industrial areas. We take into account increasingly stringent hygiene and safety regulations, concerns about climate change and CO₂-emissions and with the increasing need for comfortable and healthy living and working environments. We are involved in projects from the conceptual phase to detailed design, construction supervision, commissioning and aftercare," says consultant Rogier Crooijmans. "When project developer RED Company and architectural firm Powerhouse Company rolled out the plans for Danone's new office building, we were commissioned to work out the plant engineering design, which, among other things, should lead to a healthy and comfortable indoor climate. We are also responsible for the smart building concept in the building and for the LEED (sustainability) and WELL (health) certification processes, the latter in close cooperation with consulting firm Cushman & Wakefield."

The smart building concept, which Deerns developed, tunes the lighting, temperature and ventilation in each room to the needs of the moment, preventing energy waste.
(Image: Sebastian van Damme)

'Requirements of WELL and LEED go far'

Danone's policy is focused on sustainability, health and the well-being of people and communities: customers, patients and employees. The food company's concern for planet earth and its inhabitants are carried through one-to-one to the project ambitions and designs. By applying for WELL Gold certification for employee health and well-being and international LEED Gold certification for sustainability, the project team made its ambitions measurable. "We put a lot of pressure on our shoulders. When you see what all we had to do to achieve these certifications, you are really impressed. After all, it really goes a long way," says Cindy Gravemaker, project director at Danone for this new building office. "For example, we had to strictly ensure a healthy food offering in the restaurant and communicate the composition of the meals in great detail with allergies in mind, for example. Furthermore, many desks are height adjustable so that employees can work standing up. With secure parking facilities and attractive packages, staff are encouraged to come to work by bicycle or public transportation. And investments were also made in sports facilities and a gym so that people can exercise during breaks."

Thermal storage, solar panels and smart building

Optimal use of daylight, the insulating and light-proof qualities of the glazing, the underground thermal energy storage (CHP) source and the solar panels on the roof for renewable energy generation are crucial to the excellent LEED scores. The smart building concept developed by Deerns matches the lighting, temperature and ventilation in each room to the need of the moment, preventing energy waste. Furthermore, rainwater in the surrounding park is also recovered and reused. And where possible, sustainably produced materials were used, which can be recycled after their life cycle according to the Cradle-to-Cradle principle.

The independent engineering firm Deerns is responsible for the installation design, smart building concept and WELL and LEED certification.

Impartial advice makes an impression

Deerns' input was very important to the success of the project. "The specialists from Deerns thought along very well, came up with good ideas and proposals and often took the lead, including a list of points with which higher WELL and LEED scores could be achieved with extra cost and effort. Their independent advice was always in the best interest of the project, even if it was not always in the developer's interest," Gravemaker says. "Our employees were involved in the process from the beginning. As a result, they are enthusiastic about their new office, which is becoming an important weapon for our recruitment policy."