Belgian Construction Award for new Renson Outdoor site

On 8 December, Renson received the Climate Future Construction Project Award 2022 for the new ‘outdoor living site' next to the E17 speedway in Kruisem. The professional jury was impressed with the application of the “Creating Healthy Spaces” tagline in their own buildings. With the new home for their outdoor department – combined with the ‘NOA Outdoor Living’ experience centre – Renson enriched Kruisem with an innovative, sustainable, pleasant, appealing and healthy work environment and meeting place with a minimal ecological footprint. 

‘Creating Healthy Spaces’ comes to life.

“This newly constructed site is more than just an eye-catcher next to the E17 speedway”, according to Paul Renson (Renson Group CEO). “It is also the best possible reference for how our tagline ‘Creating Healthy Spaces’ can be put into practice: a sustainable and future-proof site with a minimal ecological impact without compromising on the comfort of those who work there. Fresh air, a pleasant indoor temperature, enough daylight, lots of greenery... it’s all there.”

Indoor climate
Renson opted for a C+ ventilation system for the office building at its new outdoor site, ensuring natural supply of fresh outside air combined with demand-controlled discharge of spent indoor air. All heating and cooling needs at the site are accommodated by a BTES system (120 boreholes, each 100 metres deep). This BTES system is connected to a concrete core activation (CCA) ceiling in the offices, underfloor heating on the first floor and an air handling unit for the auditoriums. Fan coil units are used to deal with brief periods of peak temperatures at the offices. Thanks to intense automated ventilation by night, the structure of the building (including the interior) is ‘rinsed’ with cooler nocturnal air in a natural and sustainable way during warm periods. Combined with outdoor sun protection fabric, this is a way for the enterprise to anticipate the risk of overheating inside while avoiding excessive power consumption for cooling.

Benefiting from the sun while anticipating overheating
2,000 m² of glass without sun-blocking coatings ensure optimal benefits from the sun during spring, fall and winter. This helps mitigate power consumption. Plus, high-performance outdoor sun protection helps avoid overheating in the summer. In addition to the windows, natural light enters the offices through a central skylight and patio as well, minimising the need for artificial light. This makes for a pleasant work atmosphere while once again limiting power consumption. 6,700 solar panels on the roof of the production site produce 2 megawatts of electricity. As a result, barely any power needs to be drawn from the mains. The smart building management system optimises power consumption and maximises comfort through lighting, sun protection, heating and ventilation. 

Joost De Frene (R&D Director – Group Innovation Manager): “This award is a great compliment for what we have achieved together with the entire construction team. The intense collaboration led to a building in symbiosis with nature”.

Reclaiming water
Water is yet another natural resource that Renson chose to maximise on. They built 2.2 million litre’s worth of storage capacity for rainwater collection. This allows them to limit the consumption of tap water to an absolute minimum. In addition, all process water is purified locally in a vacuum condenser and reused. 

Acoustics
With a façade spanning 380 metres just off the E17 speedway, a lot of attention was paid to acoustic measures. In order to guarantee maximum comfort inside the building, sound absorbing materials were integrated into floors, walls and ceilings in addition to paying special attention to the façade itself and the roof. And since outdoor life is a central theme of this site, the outdoor space was not forgotten. The entire site was acoustically mapped by Ghent University and converted into an oasis of peace and quiet by a landscape architect. 

Greenery to stimulate the senses
The ecologically responsible nature of the building is also expressed in the green colour accents. Nature was brought into the offices with countless plants, upgrading the spaces with their air-purifying and moisture-regulating properties. Plus, you get to enjoy a view of the green surroundings from anywhere in the building. Well-considered colour compositions and strategically placed windows infuse the indoor environment with an even stronger sense of nature.

About the Belgian Construction Awards
The Belgian Construction Awards aim to highlight and award the craftsmanship of the construction sector. The award offers a stage to promising, creative and innovative individuals, projects and companies. The 2022 Belgian Construction Awards Ceremony was the third edition.

About Renson
‘Creating Healthy Spaces’ is Renson’s tagline and mission. As a trendsetter in ventilation, sun protection, and ‘outdoor living’, this dynamic and fast-growing family business swears by natural elements such as light and air which – when cleverly used – form the basis of a healthy living and working environment for everyone. Renson anticipates the future by significantly investing in innovation, communication, and internationalisation, while continuously focusing on a healthy, comfortable indoor climate and enjoyable outdoor living in homes, apartments, offices, schools and healthcare institutions. Its emphasis is on sustainable and aesthetically integrated overall concepts that set high energy efficiency, acoustics, and design standards. Despite its strong local roots, Renson’s vision is growing increasingly international, as demonstrated by the strong distribution network that meanwhile reaches as far as the USA, the Middle East, Asia, and even Australia. With this, Renson is strengthening its ambitions to grow from a Belgian company into a world player in ventilation, sun protection, and outdoor living. Renson has 1,600 employees worldwide and a revenue of EUR 280 million.