The design of RAI Amtrium, Amsterdam RAI’s new conference, meeting and office building, has received a four-star New Construction Design Certificate (Excellent) from BREEAM-NL. BREEAM-NL is the assessment method of choice in the Netherlands for determining the sustainability of buildings. This is the first time that a conference centre in the Netherlands has been measured against this key benchmark. Early 2014 will see a start made with the foundations. RAI Amtrium will be fully operational on 1 May 2015.
“The initiative by Amsterdam RAI to achieve four BREEAM stars with the Amtrium indicates just how ambitious the company is in the field of sustainability,” explains Stefan Uffelen, director of the Dutch Green Building Council (DGBC) which administers the BREEAM sustainability label.
Hans Bakker, CEO of Amsterdam RAI is proud of the positive results: “RAI Amtrium will be the first conference building to comply with the BREEAM -NL Excellent criteria. This means we have a pioneering role and the unique opportunity to position the certificate on the market together with the Dutch Green Building Council. We started this process in order to define the framework for this type of building together. The next goal is to receive the BREEAM-NL Delivery Certificate upon completion of the building with our partners BAM Utiliteitsbouw Amsterdam and Kropman Installatietechniek.”
Urban farming
Perhaps the most extraordinary feature of the building is its vertical greenhouse for urban farming. This allows crops to be grown at the Amtrium for use in the RAI canteen as well as a quality restaurant outside the complex. In addition, the greenhouse also serves as an air filter in combination with the building’s ground source heat pump. The use of sustainable materials, the quality systems and the clustering of facilities make the Amtrium a role model for the next generation of conference centres.
Fulfilling ambitions
Bringing to life the ambition of this building requires more than just architectural insight. The outline plotted by the BREEAM-NL Excellent certification will be carefully fleshed out during the construction phase by BAM Utiliteitsbouw Amsterdam and Kropman Installatietechniek. BAM and Kropman have their own BREEAM-NL experts who coordinate this aspect of the work. A great deal of attention will be given to the site layout, the logistics system, the monitoring of energy, resource consumption and environmental management.
