An efficient naturally ventilated office building (Rijkswaterstaat building in The Netherlands)
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Highlighted Case
January 2010
Acronym | AdVent 15
Posting Date | 14 January 2010
Country | Netherlands
Geographic Coverage | International
Theme | Air conditioning, cooling, ventilation, air infiltration, Building envelope (walls, windows,...), Controls, energy management systems, Energy efficiency technologies and materials, General, Heating, domestic hot water, Lighting, On-site renewable energy sources
Target Group | Building professionals
Abstract | The design objectives of this 1750 m² office building were to develop a sustainable and ecological building, integrated with its surroundings and providing a high level of individual control and comfort for occupants.
Sustainable materials, principally wood, were used in the construction and a high level of insulation was provided. In the absence of a supply of natural gas to the site, the adjacent canal water is used as the source for a heat pump which supplies a low temperature wall and under-floor heating system. The layout of the building is designed to make best use of natural lighting and, in winter, solar gain for passive heating. In summer, heat gain is reduced by the use of external shading and its effects reduced by the provision of thermal mass in the walls and ceilings in conjunction with night ventilation. The building is naturally ventilated, using a system with electronically-controlled inlet openings. Domestic hot water is supplied by a solar collector and 54 m² of photovoltaic cells contribute to satisfying the electrical load.
Illustrations | 
Web URL(s) of the case | http://www.buildingadvent.com
Lessons learnt | The occupants perceive the building and the indoor climate as pleasant and have substantially
fewer complaints than those in other buildings with a similar use. Although the building performs well, with an annual primary energy consumption of 57% of the reference building, energy saving is less than the
46% predicted by simulation at the design stage. This may be result from differences between the
building as constructed and the design assumptions or the way that the building is used by occupants.
However, despite the time elapsed since its design this building retains the highest ‘Greencalc’ sustainability
score in the Netherlands. Providing enough daylight on the working surfaces may not be sufficient to avoid artificial lighting as many occupants will switch on lights if they perceive a dark area within the space.
Difficulties were experienced in sourcing sustainable materials (wool, loam plaster, wood) of a
sufficiently high quality.
Award labels | January
Additional documents |
Case Languages | English
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