MFA Belaveld, low MPG score thanks to reuse 

In Tilburg-North, an old gym will be dismantled and replaced by a brand new multifunctional complex for sports, dance and theater. BINX Smartility has been commissioned by the municipality of Tilburg to design and build the multifunctional accommodation 'Belaveld'. It is a project with high sustainability ambitions, as evidenced by the environmental performance score. The EPB of MFA Belaveld remains below 0.5. This is due in part to the construction team's focus on reusing existing materials (including materials released from the demolition of the gymnasium) and using bio-based building products.

The design, by RoosRos Architects, features two large spaces and will be completed in 2025. One is an exercise box that the elementary school will also use for gym classes. The other space will house a development box. With an area of about 1,000 square meters, the building forms a link between the existing school and the sports and play elements in the park.

At its core, Belaveld consists of a skeleton of steel and wood on a concrete foundation and with a roof of steel and wood. Nevertheless, the 1-story complex achieves a very good EPB score (0.492), while the GPR building calculation indicates optimal reuse of materials and the loosenability index (LI) states a score of 49%. Belaveld's sustainability story begins with setting a high level of ambition at the development stage. But actually realizing the level of ambition is a second story.

Although building regulations do not currently include a requirement for environmental performance for this type of building, the municipality of Tilburg, in its capacity as client, set an ambition level with a strong emphasis on circular and bio-based construction and an EPB lower than 0.8. The municipality asked to design a structure based on the principles of the R-ladder and circular design strategies. Reuse of materials and products, likelihood of life extension based on detachability and use of renewable materials gave substance to the award criteria set by the municipality.

MFA Belaveld replaced an old gymnasium. First, the materials released during its dismantling were considered. An important part of the steel structure from the old building was given a new purpose. A lot of wood was also reused. Then, in cooperation with the “Stadsmijn Achterhoek,” the application possibilities of reusable materials were further explored.

“It was a sure search,” states Kim Stekelenburg, construction team leader at BINX Smartility. “But all members of the construction team collaborated on this. The result is worth it. The GPR building calculation rates the reuse of materials and products as optimal. More than 20% of the materials fall into the biobased and circular category.”

“When using biobased materials, it is often still a question whether the quality is maintained over time. The municipality of Tilburg is now enabling us to conduct research. The HSB elements of the exterior facade are insulated with Supafil blow-in wool except for two HSB elements that are blown in with sorghum. This insulation material is made from the stem of grain and is a residual product of food production. The insulation quality of these HSB elements with sorghum, one in the front facade and one in the rear facade, are monitored with sensors.”

Kim Stekelenburg believes that the method now followed to create a sustainable building can be very well replicated in other projects. “We spent a lot of time inventorying the harvestable material from the old building. Even the harvesting itself is intensive, like, for example, de-nailing the used wood. But you can take that into account. All in all, the project did not take much more energy and time than a traditional project.”

Other aspects of sustainability are also being addressed. Belaveld will be connected to a circular water system. This means that gray water will be collected to flush the toilets, for example, or that rainwater will be collected to water the greenery outside.
 

Explanation of foundation: Based on information from the market, the actual environmental impact of the concrete applied on the job was approximated. The starting point for the approximation was an EQI of 11.46 per cubic meter of concrete for the piers, foundation beams and concrete floor. To realistically include these concrete compositions in the calculation, the environmental impact of the concrete mix was converted to a product present in the NMD. To meet the above assumptions, BINX, together with Heidelberg Materials, applied ECOCRETE 20 C20/25 XC1 F4 CEM III/B 42.5N.