Most sustainable office in the world

The new head office of dryer and cooler manufacturer Geelen Counterflow is the most sustainable office in the world, receiving a 99,94% score in the BREEAM certification system.

Geelen Counterflow is a manufacturer of counterflow dryers and coolers for feed & food products. In 2015, the new head office was opened in Haelen, NL.

Challenge

Create an office with building materials which are “Cradle to Cradle” certified, which means that they do no harm to the environment and that they can be re-used at the end of their lifetime.

The building produces more energy than it consumes. The design is optimized for employee health and productivity through control of daylight infiltration, air quality and indoor lighting by using healthy building materials like: recyclable carpets, rubber flooring type norament^® 926 serra and noraplan^® sentica, tile work, ceilings and cradle to cradle glass.

BREEAM is the world’s leading sustainability assessment method for buildings and projects. Globally there are more than 540.700 BREEAM certified developments. In the Netherlands, the system is managed by the Dutch Green Building Council.