Address Grote Markt, Leuven
Surface 7.000m²
Project description
SuReal is responsible for the creation of a tailor-made sustainability meter and its follow-up during the entire course of the project. By means of the sustainability meter, the sustainable ambitions are quantified. The sustainability meter keeps the overview, helps to compare different possible options and guarantees an integral approach that involves all themes (economic, ecological and social). Next to that, dynamic simulations for visual comfort and thermal comfort were executed.
Tailor-made sustainability meter for city hall Leuven
Following a design competition, the design team aNNo – FELT – Arne Deruyter – Endeavour – 88888 was appointed for the renovation of the historic city hall in Leuven. The historic city hall will become an open house for Leuven residents, visitors, and tourists. The city of Leuven has the ambition to achieve an integral sustainable project. SuReal is assisting them as an advisor on the entire building process in order to make the right choices at the right time.
Because of the very specific project, it was decided to create a tailor-made sustainability meter. There are several reasons for this. First of all, the program is very specific. Most sustainability meters and certificates are tailored to clearly defined functions (residential, offices, schools, care, …) with mostly fixed users. Therefore, not all traditional points of interest are relevant. Moreover, everyone should feel welcome in the building and be able to use it comfortably. This requires extra attention to welfare aspects and social sustainability. In addition, the building is heritage. The historic city hall is the image of the city that everybody knows.
Next to this tailor-made sustainability meter, SuReal also performed dynamic simulations for visual comfort and thermal comfort.
In order to keep the sustainability meter as objective as possible, it was decided to follow the existing sustainability tool GRO as much as possible. The instrument was adapted to the specific project by adding, replacing, or clarifying certain chapters or sections. This will be done using a tailor-made sustainability meter. The result is an integrated document in which all sustainability aspects come together: circularity, integral accessibility, low environmental impact during construction and use, biodiversity, comfort, wellbeing, etc. SuReal is responsible for the follow-up of the sustainability meter over the entire project and advising the city and the design team to increase the score and realize the ambitions.
