Smart workplace lowers building footprint

Flexible offices (co-working spaces) play an important role in reducing the carbon footprint of the entire commercial and office sector. After all, the same facilities (meeting rooms, lunch areas, printers) are used by more people, making the use of materials and energy much more sustainable. By also making these buildings smarter and more sustainable, the impact on CO2 reduction can be further increased. And the Dutch company Microlab and the Flemish “ Officenter ” in Hasselt know this better than anyone. In their CR2SE project, they are developing a modular Smart Sustainable Building system.

Smart Buildings or smart buildings can go a long way in reducing the_{carbon footprint} of buildings. A smart building 'thinks' with the user using data and automatically adjusts its building systems (heating, ventilation, lighting, etc.) and building services (think cleaning or maintenance) based on current usage. This makes for a very efficient building, so that 10 to 20%_{CO2 reduction} can be achieved compared to normal buildings.

A solution for existing real estate

The proportion of smart buildings is growing, but these are almost exclusively new construction or recently renovated buildings. They are fitted with high-tech, customized Smart Building concepts during their (re)construction. Many existing buildings have other, outdated building systems (different type of heating, older ventilation system, etc.), making new high-tech and smart building concepts unusable here. Consequently, the application of Smart Building technology in the built environment lags behind.

Modular and turnkey system accelerates transition

Microlab, based in Eindhoven, andOfficenter , based in Hasselt, are both major players in the flexible office leasing market and have extensive knowledge and experience in the office and commercial construction sectors. As building operators, they understand the challenges building owners face when it comes to sustainability. Together, they aim to develop a turnkey, modular Smart Sustainable Building system for retrofitting existing (office) buildings.

Microlab’s technical expertise in Internet of Things technologies is combined with the experience of the Officenter , Hasselt, regarding the diversity of buildings and systems. By combining these areas of expertise, a modular system can be developed that is easy to implement at other locations. This allows existing (office) real estate to be converted into “smart” real estate at an accelerated pace. All building systems and services will then be utilized very efficiently, which will make a significant contribution to making the built environment more sustainable.

Own buildings as testing grounds

The Microlab building is an example of an existing building with outdated systems and is therefore the ideal testing ground to begin experimenting. Luuk Visser (Microlab): “By equipping one floor here with an advanced IT infrastructure, we will use extensive data collection and analysis to identify efficient and cost-effective control solutions. These will then be implemented and tested through precise software development, after which the same control system will be replicated at Officenter Hasselt (a building similar to Microlab) and validated there.” In this way, the project partners will arrive at a modular, sustainable solution that can be easily rolled out to other buildings.

Objectives

Upon completion of the CR2SE project, the project partners intend to roll out the developed Smart Building concept to similar flexible buildings with shared facilities. It is expected that in the first 2 years after completion of the project, between 80,000 and 160,000 m2 of building area can be made more sustainable, associated with an annual CO2 reduction of 500 to 1,000 tons (between 66 and 133 households).