23 October 2024 | 4 min.
The retail fund has set its sights on achieving a carbon-neutral portfolio by 2045. No easy task, especially when it comes to high street retail. The many listed buildings in our city centres present added complications in this category: each building has its own unique character and therefore its own unique set of challenges as regards the measures that can and need to be taken. Technical asset manager Marten van Loo is the driving force behind our innovative approach in this field. Here’s his update on our latest projects.
“We want to make every one of our 350 properties more sustainable in the coming years,” Marten van Loo explains. “Phase one involves deploying a standardised method to get to grips with the existing situation. This covers everything from the architecture to installations and energy consumption. We then determine which structural and technical measures are needed to bring about a sufficient reduction in energy consumption. To do this, we enlist the expertise of consultants in three areas: an architect, a specialist in building engineering physics and a sustainability advisor. The result is a comprehensive vision of how to make a property more sustainable. As part of a pilot project, we have now analysed nine properties, learning many valuable lessons along the way. Most importantly, we discovered how to simplify the process. Constructive cooperation between landlord and tenant is the key to hitting our Paris-proof target. The landlord provides a sound outer shell, while the tenant takes responsibility for the installations and how they are used.”
On Grote Houtstraat and Koningstraat in Haarlem, five residential properties were delivered on schedule in October and December, in line with Paris-proof criteria. The project involved converting an outdated home and a former warehouse while retaining the entire outer shell, façade, roof and floors of the buildings. Using all-electric systems, a heat pump with energy recovery, underfloor heating and cooling, solar panels, new window frames and HR+++ glazing, these buildings have been made as sustainable as possible. HR++ secondary glazing was used in the façade of the listed building on Koningstraat. Meanwhile, a new magnesite floor provides additional soundproofing while acting as an effective insulator. Both properties are expected to receive at least an A++ energy label.
In October 2024, work began to improve the sustainability of the four-storey listed townhouse at Kalverstraat 126. The departure of the tenant offered a perfect opportunity to boost the property’s sustainability rating. The ground floor and 1st floor are being fitted out to serve as retail and storage space. The 2nd and 3rd floors will remain unused, as the lack of a private entrance precludes their redevelopment as residential units.
Façades and roofs are being insulated, with the thermal envelope incorporated into the 2nd-storey flooring. The existing climate-control system will be retained and the gas-fired installation removed, paving the way for heating and cooling powered entirely by electricity. The windows of the lightwell and the rear façade are to be replaced with HR++ glass. To shift the thermal envelope, an insulated partition is being fitted behind the front façade on the 1st floor, as the glass in the front façade is an original feature and cannot be made more sustainable.
The existing single-glazed entrance will be replaced by a completely new structure with HR++ glass, specially designed by an architect. The work will enhance the appearance of the entire property.
De Passage in The Hague is the oldest covered shopping arcade in the Netherlands. Over the next few years, a.s.r. real estate will begin work to make the shops of De Passage more sustainable. The first to undergo this treatment was Passage 52, a retail unit that was vacated last year, creating an opportunity to remodel without inconveniencing the tenant. A clearly defined remodelling plan was drawn up in collaboration with DGMR.
The improvements carried out included insulating the floor, façades and ceiling. The shop’s unique characteristics and status as a listed property posed additional challenges during the remodelling work. Several partition walls and floors had to be removed to give access to the actual shell construction. Every hole and every crack was then sealed to ensure an airtight finish. The other shops in De Passage are due for similar remodelling over the next few years. Wherever possible, the work will be done when circumstances allow, thereby minimising the inconvenience to tenants.
Haarlem, Grote Houtstraat
07 November 2023 | 3 min.
13 August 2021 | 3 min.
27 May 2021 | 4 min.