RAU Architects and partners win 2020 Golden Frog

Fourth award in a row for circular office building Triodos Bank

During the Duurzaam Gebouwd Congres on February 6, 2020 in Assen, the Golden Frog (most sustainable project) was awarded to RAU Architects and partners for the remountable headquarters of the Triodos Bank. The new building project in Driebergen is groundbreaking because all aspects of circularity have been included. Think of material use, detachability, ecology, energy and climate resistance. The award is presented to projects that propagate circular thinking in innovative ways. The headquarters is the world's first large-scale 100% timber, remountable office building with materials passport and minimal carbon footprint.

Triodos Bank
Commissioned by Triodos Bank and developer EDGE, RAU Architects and Ex Interiors with partners Arcadis and J.P. van Eesteren designed the 100% wooden headquarters with maximum circular potential. Originating from Germany, the 2,623 cubic meters of wood grow back in 11.36 minutes and are screwed together with 165,312 screws. Only the basement still has a concrete structure due to water management. This has created a building with the lowest carbon footprint to date, which can ever be completely disassembled again without loss of value of materials, components and products. Architect Thomas Rau: "Circular construction requires a totally different way of thinking. Winning this award in Circular Economy Week is a wonderful distinction. It shows that circular thinking is gaining a foothold."

The Golden Frog
The jury praised, among other things, the way in which the use of 1,615 m3 of laminated wood, over 1008 m3 of cross-layer timber (CLT) and 5 original tree trunks put more CO2 into the building than was consumed during fabrication and construction. The Dutch Sustainable Building Awards is an initiative of the Sustainable Building Awards Foundation, in which abcnova, W/E advisors, FSC Netherlands and Duurzaam Gebouwd have joined forces, and aims to promote sustainability in the built environment.

Jury
The jury praised the integrated approach. This means that the design not only distinguishes itself with energy measures, but also pays attention to the environmental impact of applied building materials and health aspects. Moreover, the involvement of residents, users or other stakeholders in the project is an important focus of these awards. Wim Hazeu, Robert Koolen, Jos van Dalen and Lian Merkx will serve on this year's jury of the Dutch Sustainable Construction Awards 2020. Andy van den Dobbelsteen is jury chairman.

Global attention
The Triodos Bank design has attracted both national and international attention as a frontrunner for circular building. Previously, the office building was named 'Office Building of the Year' 2019 by Architectenweb, 'Most Sustainable Project 2019' by Cobouw and 'Nature Inclusive Building and Design 2019'. Internationally, the project is eligible for 'Building of the Year' by Archdaily, a global authority in the architectural world. The Guardian also recently published about Triodos Bank in an article about circular building.