'You're close to the history, the future and the users here'

The Kloosterkwartier in Veghel was for many years the place where the Franciscan Sisters lived. Hundreds of homes will now be built here. The heating and cooling systems are provided by BRON|TECHNOLOGIE, which was involved from the beginning in finding creative solutions for the project.

Hessel Kok, director of BRON|TECHNOLOGY and Wellsius BV calls the history of the Monastery Quarter special. "The nuns who used to live there will soon live there again. You feel responsible for their modern comforts. You're close to history here, to the future and to the people who use it. That gives your work an extra dimension."

Different approach

BRON|TECHNOLOGY and Wellsius BV are often mentioned in the same breath. "We also work as one team on a project," says Kok. The organizations provide energy for a project in a sustainable way: from the soil. And they tackle that in innovative ways. Kok: "We saw 10 years ago that there is still a lot to be gained in quality when it comes to sustainability and soil energy. We can add more quality if we let go of traditional building lines. We therefore started to focus more on innovation and product development. From this, our sister company Wellsius was also born."

Since then, they have often been involved in projects in unique ways. For example, from developer Zenzo, who asked them to think along in the Kloosterkwartier. "We are not only builders and installers, but start with the development question. That's why we call ourselves 'inventors and builders of sustainable energy.'" Kok compliments developers like Zenzo: "They don't come with restrictive conditions in advance, but we pull together. By developing integrally, you get the most out of everyone's expertise."

Taking advantage of scale

The project in Veghel consists of a succession of buildings. "The specific phasing was important here. One is new construction, the second part consists of renovation of historic and characteristic buildings." The company finds a balance between what is best energetically, most sustainable and affordable. The solution was a neighborhood-oriented approach. "You can then take advantage of scale," he says.

The biggest challenge of this project? It is spread over an area designed as a park. "Ideally, you have heating and cooling at one central point. Transporting energy also costs energy. So we divided this project into three of those points."

The right ingredients

From sketch and calculations to plan, BRON|TECHNOLOGY also thought along with us here. Kok: "This project is exactly what we are good at: it is located in an inner-city area, is a combination of new construction and existing construction and therefore complex. With those ingredients, we feel in our element."