Aviko has achieved the highest possible BREAAM sustainability score for its cold store, yet to be built in Steenderen. Because of this, the company received the internationally recognised certificate ‘BREAAM Outstanding,’ the highest of five possible assessment qualifications. The design team consists of Aviko, Bessels architecten & ingenieurs, Sparkling Projects and VDR Bouwgroep.
BREAAM is an integral assessment method to decide the sustainability performance of buildings. For this they look at practically all aspects of the building, such as materials, energy, transport, waste, pollution, water and land use and ecology.
For Aviko, Steenderen is one of the locations considered to be a ‘Centre of Excellence,’ where production, storage and transport can be excellently combined. But the current storage capacity for frozen products is limited. That’s why, at present, frozen products produced in Steenderen are transported to various locations in the Netherlands. To improve efficiency and prevent unnecessary transport and the accompanying pollution, it has been decided to build a new cold store.
“The construction of this cold store is not nothing. Right from the very first sketch we wanted to limit the burden on both people and environment as much as possible. Focus on sustainability has been leading in practically every decision,” says Gert-Jan Janssen Reinen, who is Aviko’s representative responsible for the execution of this project. “As a company we exist from what nature provides. We should therefore take careful care of that.”
The new cold store will consist of 9,000 m2 of storage and 400 m2 of offices, and has a range of sustainable design measures. For example, the cold store will be low-energy because of high-rise, automation and economical equipment. Solar panels on the cold store will generate energy. Water-saving measures will be implemented for all of the toilets, taps and showers. Both warm and cold residual heat will be used for office air-conditioning, and there will naturally be LED lighting throughout the building. But measures will also be taken for sustainable joint use of the location on the newly constructed wadis by bats, birds and insects.