Building water quality from an environmental quality office

It is not surprising that ground and hydraulic engineering company GMB is outgrowing its scope. With water quality and water safety becoming increasingly important, a growing number of drinking water companies, water boards, municipalities and provinces are knocking on the door of the family-owned company that designs, builds and maintains dikes, port sites, sewers, pumping stations, water purification plants and sludge treatment plants. To meet the growing demand, GMB now has several branches. With the headquarters in Opheusden in the Betuwe region becoming too small to work well together, plans have been developed for a new headquarters in Dodewaard.

"We work on sustainable solutions for water safety and water quality. For it makes sense to us that those solutions start with good cooperation at the drawing board of a sustainable office,’ reports Gerrit-Jan van de Pol, director of GMB. "When we decided to build a new head office, it was our intention from the outset to do so with great attention to CO₂ emissions, the environmental quality of the materials and their effects on people and nature in the surrounding area. Leaving your old place after 60 years, you only do that when it is good for the company as well as for our employees and the environment. "

Gerrit-Jan van de Pol says that the design came about thanks to good cooperation between the members of the construction team (see Project features). With such a high level of ambition, it is necessary to get all parties involved as early as possible. amen with GMB Civiel joined forces to create a unique design."

GMB's new building in Dodewaard comprises an office building, a yard with three outbuildings and plenty of parking and loading facilities, situated in a robust green setting. H t whole is situated in the extension plan of the Bonegraaf business park along the A15 motorway.

The process of developing a sustainable building took time and effort, says sustainability consultant Peter Stam of Merosch. The project started on the basis of a concrete-steel construction. GMB then asked Merosch to test the preliminary design against their sustainability ambitions.  

"First, we carried out a baseline measurement by calculating the preliminary design using BENG, MPG, Paris Proof and GPR building. This showed that the design did not meet GMB's sustainability ambitions. We then drew up improvement proposals based on timber construction and bio-based variants. For inspiration, we organised a bus tour of various timber construction projects. The bus tour played an important role in gaining support for building with wood. That tour inspired everyone and helped make it a success."
The core of the sustainability concept is that the building will be constructed largely from wood, the energy required will be generated from renewable sources, the building will be demountable and adaptable, and the site will be landscaped from nature-inclusive building guidelines.

The timber construction includes beams and girders, timber hollow-core slab floors, precast HSB façade elements fitted with timber frames with an aluminium top layer and the cladding. ‘Working with wood contributes to a low environmental impact, ensures the retention of biogenic CO₂ in the building, makes the foundation lighter, promotes a healthy indoor climate and, thanks to the beam and column structure, offers many possibilities for extensions and modifications,’ Peter Stam states. He is particularly enthusiastic about the wooden hollow-core slabs. Their cost is high, but according to Peter, the hollow-core slab floor has high added value. "No suspended ceiling is installed, thus avoiding costs and materials. The ventilation ducts are fitted between the hollow-core slabs, remain visible and are easily adjustable. For acoustics, the floor elements are perforated at the bottom."

Peter Stam regrets that Lignatur's hollow-core slab floor could not be included in the MPG calculation. "We had to designate a category-3 product because this floor does not have a category-1 declaration. That is a pity, otherwise the MPG score would have been even better. We will therefore work with the supplier to provide the floor with a category-1 statement." Peter Stam therefore also calls on the market to register as many building materials and installations as possible in the NMD. He also regrets that the calculation does not value the biogenic storage of CO₂ in wood products. "The calculation assumes that all biogenic CO₂ stored in the wooden construction is released again through combustion. Instead, the wooden construction lends itself to reuse and long-term storage of biogenic CO₂."

The building is fitted with a high-quality thermal building envelope and equipped with sustainable installations. Sustainable heat and cold comes from the ground. PV panels generate renewable energy for the buildings and for the electric commercial vehicles, while batteries provide energy storage. To keep out the heat from outside and reduce cooling demand, green vision screens, overhangs and automatic exterior blinds are installed.

Naturally for a hydraulic engineering company like GMB, attention is also paid to water. Rainwater is collected and reused for the toilets. Where possible, the site will be designed with semi-paving, infiltration facilities and wadis.

The plan now needs to be taken to the implementation phase, but so far GMB is enthusiastic about the plan. Project manager Henk Ruiterkamp says: ‘The design shows that we can work on our projects from our sustainable office in the near future. With in an MPG score of 0.685, good BENG scores and a GPR Gebouw score higher than 8.5 on all themes, we can be confident that, with our own input, we are ready for the future."