Ballast Nedam to Build Sustainable Municipal Office Building in Venlo

NIEUWEGEIN, The Netherlands, April 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Ballast Nedam has been chosen to build the new, highly sustainable municipal office building in the city of Venlo. The contract partner is LAUDY Construction & Development, Ballast Nedam's Limburg subsidiary. The work will be realized by Laudy and Ballast Nedam Building and Development Region South. The contract is for the construction work, including mechanical engineering, electrical and lift installations, and it will be completed by mid-2014. The contract price for this project totals almost €35 million.

The new municipal office building will be a true icon on the River Meuse. It will reflect the city's proud agri-logistics tradition. At the same time, it will put the city of Venlo firmly in the Cradle-to-Cradle design spotlight. The municipal office building has been designed according to these 'C2C' principles, resulting in a building that combines a comfortable and healthy working environment with sustainable innovation. The building will be tangible proof that the sustainable world of the future is here now.

Project scope

The site for the building is located between Eindhovenseweg, Veilingstraat, Molensingel and Professor Gelissensingel. It will have a gross floor area (GFA) of approximately 13,500 m². A public underground car park will be realised under the building with a capacity of 400 parking spaces spread over 3 layers. A portion of the required workstations (2,000 m² GLA) will be housed in the adjacent Nedinsco building.

Sustainable Design

Cradle-to-Cradle principles have been clearly incorporated into the building's design:

• The building will purify the air coming from the road and adjacent railway line through a big green wall.
• The underground car park will be used to pre-heat the air in the building in the winter and to cool it in the summer.
• A greenhouse on the roof will purify the air and provide heat for the entire building.
• Rainwater will be collected and used. It will then be purified by a plant filter and reused as rinsing water before it is discharged into the River Meuse.
• Daylight will be drawn into the building as far as possible, reducing the need for artificial light.
• The solar cells integrated in the façade and roof will be an important step towards an energy-generating building.
• Materials will be suited for reuse following the usable life of the building.
• The size and shape of the atriums will be designed to promote natural air flows, reducing the need for mechanical ventilation.

Ballast Nedam has a leading position in construction and infrastructure. The company operates mainly in the Netherlands on integrated and other projects for companies, public authorities and housing consumers, in the fields of mobility, housing, employment, leisure and energy. Ballast Nedam operates internationally in various areas of expertise. Ballast Nedam supplies project, process and contract management in the development, implementation and management phases. The company also provides specialized know-how and skills, and semi-finished and finished products. Ballast Nedam is listed on NYSE Euronext in Amsterdam. The share is included in the Amsterdam Small Cap Index.