Energy-efficient head office

Work is currently well underway on the new Decos head office. When designing the new premises, the architect Inbo took great care to reduce CO2 emissions as much as possible. For example, there is no gas supply to the building and all the electricity comes from green power sources. In addition, relatively few construction materials are being used.

Creating premises of this type means that relatively little surrounding surface area is required. Construction materials have also been used sparingly on the inside, as there are large open-plan working areas with flexible workstations. In traditional office premises, more walls, doors, desks and other office furnishings are generally required in order to create workstations.

The exterior spaces were also designed with the environment in mind. Rainwater is not led off to the sewer system, but instead is discharged into the surface water of the pond and the ditch. The fact that the site is not asphalted but consists of raw materials is also beneficial for the surface water level.

Air-conditioning system

The new Decos office premises has an energy-efficient, closed air-conditioning system. The system can be controlled very effectively as the windows of the building cannot be opened. This makes it difficult for hot or cold air to enter or leave the premises, enabling optimal heating and cooling of the large open spaces. As a result, the air-conditioning system is very reliable and highly controllable. In the air-conditioning unit, the heat released in the premises is also immediately recovered and used to heat new air. This means that no precious heat is lost.

In addition, a high cooling load is avoided as the premises has a relatively small window surface area. The heat given off by the large number of computers and servers in the building, together with the heat from people and the sun, needs less intensive cooling as relatively little solar heat can enter the building. As cooling a premises uses far more energy than heating it, this is already a great advantage.