'Installation-free construction is the future'

Installation-free building is the future. So say investor Boris van der Gijp, co-chairman of Achmea Real Estate, and Willem van Genugten, architect at GroupA, in the latest episode of the podcast Bureau Stoer. "Everyone knows that installations put enormous pressure on the material-related environmental performance of buildings."

Merely investing in offices and apartment buildings without installations may not yet be on the cards, the two know, but they have no doubt that things are moving in that direction soon. A new government should take this into account, they say.

"The construction industry is staring blindly at build, build, build. Much more should be about making it sustainable, sustainable, sustainable," Van der Gijp said. "In the existing built environment, but also in new construction projects."

Curious about the podcast? Listen here

With investors and developers, Achmea Real Estate recently introduced a CO2 standard for new construction. In it, they set a hard limit on emissions from building materials.

"Especially in the construction phase, there is still much to be gained from CO2 reduction," Van der Gijp states. He emphasizes the government must support the standard. "Otherwise we won't solve the CO2 problem."

Climate targets under pressure

Without firm standards set by the government, investments will stall, Van der Gijp warns. "The consequence is that we then only push the problem forward and in 2029 we then come to the conclusion that the Netherlands is not going to meet the climate goals. But it's a tough battle we're fighting."

Architect Van Genugten agrees. With GroupA, he puts his best foot forward. "We already build as much as possible within planetary limits. For each project, we map the CO2 storage per square meter of building. Whether that leads to other buildings? Definitely. Whether it is complicated? Maybe now, but within a few years this will be routine."

The diligent architect is co-designing a Parisproof project in Amsterdam. It consists of a hundred-meter-high tower composed mainly of wooden floors and recycled building materials, such as concrete. "The 12-story building next door is made almost entirely of wood," he says.

Construction sector task grows

"Whether you want to or not. CO2-neutral building is pure necessity," says Jan Willem van de Groep. On behalf of the government program Building Balance, he drives bio-based building in the Netherlands. Van de Groep states that the construction sector is facing a much larger CO2 challenge than was assumed until recently.

"Until now it was thought that construction accounted for 12 percent of total CO2 emissions, a new report shows that it is 33 percent, much higher."

The big difference, according to Van de Groep, lies in the fact that CO2 emissions released during the manufacture of construction machinery, such as cranes, were not included in previous calculations. He says that should have been done.

Van der Gijp of Achmea Real Estate is shocked by the new figures. "But apart from that, for us there has been no question for some time that we have to work extremely hard every day to reduce CO2 emissions. My driving force? That's my ten-year-old twins. I want to leave a better world for them."

Architect has no alibi

Van Genugten takes building with an eye for Mother Nature for granted. "As an architect, you no longer have an alibi for not building with CO2 in mind. The issue is so big that I take it personally. I have to take responsibility. It's real."

He recently spoke to a fellow architect who is otherwise in the game. What on earth are you doing, Van Genugten asked. The architect said he just wanted to make big windows. "That's his right," Van Genugten believes, "but I think that's an outdated goal in this day and age."

Curious about the entire podcast? Want to know how architect Van Genugten designs buildings within the limits of the planet? Or are you curious about the story of investor Van der Gijp? Then listen now to episode 2 of Bureau Stoer.

Episode 2: 'Installation-free building is the future'
With: Boris van der Gijp (co-chairman Achmea Real Estate), Willem van Genugten (architect GroupA) and Jan Willem van de Groep
Presentation: Thomas van Belzen
Editing: Kalynda Haaf (HaafVisual)

Listen to previous episodes here
Episode 1: 'The new Minister of Housing? Hans Vrijling'

About Bureau Stoer

Bureau Stoer is a weekly podcast about area development. Three future thinkers and a journalist bite into the questions of today and tomorrow together with ever-changing experts. From grid congestion to affordability, from nitrogen to climate goals and issues that listeners manage to bring to the attention of "the bureau.

Not tough, but smart

The acronym 'Stoer' stands for a built environment that is Smart, Future-oriented, Enterprising, Honest and Realistic. Bureau Stoer aims not only to address and analyze problems, but also to help solve them.

Bureau Stoer's core team consists of three experts in the field of housing, building and area development. They are Nicole Maarsen (housing acceleration table, digitalization, smart cities), Dick van Ginkel (TBI innovation manager, expert on regulations) and Jan Willem van de Groep (bio-based building, power accelerator, innovation). The presentation is in the hands of Thomas van Belzen. He is a journalist and editor-in-chief of Construction & Installation at the Jaarbeurs and wrote the book Sustainability War.

Tips or comments

Do you have tips for files that Bureau Stoer should get stuck into? Do you have a problem you want to bring to their attention or a solution? Then email 'chief commander' Thomas van Belzen at Bureaustoer@jaarbeurs.nl.