The construction approach of this project corresponds to the concern to build buildings that are more environmentally friendly and more economical in terms of energy and non-renewable raw materials. In this context, we are carrying out an exemplary project to show that construction can have an influence on the environment. To do this we are using Cradle to Cradle and the circular economy: all the products used produce a minimum of waste and can be reused or recycled.
National
Luxembourg
Commune de Hesperange
It addresses urban-rural linkages
It refers to a physical transformation of the built environment (hard investment)
No
No
Yes
2022-09-15
As a representative of an organisation
Name of the organisation(s): XXA architecture Type of organisation: For-profit company First name of representative: Streber Last name of representative: Patricia Gender: Female Nationality: Luxembourg Function: CEO Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: rue d'Itzig n°20 Town: Hesperange Postal code: L-5852 Country: Luxembourg Direct Tel:+352 26 36 05 21 E-mail:archi@xxa.lu Website:http://xxa.lu/
The project is developed according to bio-climatic concepts in order to reduce its impact on the environment and its running costs: living area to the south, service area to the north. Natural light will be favored in the rooms via large glass openings coupled with sunshades to regulate glare.
The central open patio on two floors will also contribute to the thermal balance of the building, it will allow natural vertical ventilation at night, the hot air in the rooms will be cooled by air intake through the strips of windows placed above the changing rooms of each room and extracted in the roof via the zenithal glass roof of the patio. The building is designed so that it acts as an extract chimney and provides its own vertical ventilation by simple thermal draft.
The building will be designed according to green building principles. It will aim to promote the use of natural materials to minimize the energy impact of production but also to create a healthy atmosphere: exterior cork: thermal and acoustic insulation (rot-proof), interior cork: acoustic insulation and display support.
Particular care was taken with the interior spaces, harmoniously blending new technologies and ecological materials, guaranteeing not only comfort for the teaching staff but also a happy and healthy environment for the children:
The interior walls in lime and cork will create a naturally soothing and healthy atmosphere through their colors but also through their contribution to acoustic comfort.
The construction approach of this project corresponds to the concern to build a habitat that is more respectful of the environment, healthier and more economical in energy and non-renewable raw materials.
The building will take care to act at different levels of comfort:
- hydrothermal comfort (temperature, humidity, ventilation) ;
- Acoustic comfort
- visual comfort
- olfactory comfort
Green building
DGNB platinium certification (in progress)
Exemplary building and pilot project for ecological construction
cradle to cradle
first school built with local wood in luxembourg
The school project in Howald has been thought out in a sustainable, ecological and C2C way in order to demonstrate to the local authorities that it is possible to build a beautiful building with ecological materials such as local wood, recycled jeans, cork, but also to have a green roof in order to create an ecosystem by also installing an insect hotel so that the children can observe nature. This project receive a DGNB (Deutsches Gütesiegel für Nachhaltiges Bauen) Platinum certification. Thus, the architectural and ecological concepts have made it possible to create a building that is efficient in all respects, but also an educational setting that meets the expectations of the public authorities while promoting ecology and sustainable development.
The design offices worked on 3 main areas of development for the project: Materials, Techniques and Architecture
Materials :
- Structure in local wood, from the forests of the Commune of Hesperange : reduction of the carbon footprint by making short circuits
- Insulation and cork facade: 100% natural product with a good insulating value. Ideal for winter and summer and obviously recyclable.
- Recycled "Jeans" insulation: a bio-sourced insulation from recycling.
- Natural plasters for interior walls, limiting chemical exposure for children.
Technical :
- The ice heating system
- Natural cooling systems: Cooling by natural vertical ventilation through simple thermal draft.
- Combined photovoltaic and solar panel system make the school a energy self-sufficient
- Rainwater recovery tank to cover a major part of the water needs for the sanitary facilities.
- Water wall to humidify and purify the air
Architecture :
The project will be developed according to bioclimatic concepts in order to reduce its impact on the environment and its running costs: living area to the south, service area to the north. Natural light will be favored in the rooms via large glass opening
XXA architecture decided not only to make a functional building, with energy efficiency and exemplary sustainability as its main feature, but also a building with a positive image. In today's context, people have to be seduced into buying into the ecological concept. For a school this has to be even more the case.
The first characteristic of the building is its cork elevations. This significant aspect is an identity that underlines the ecology of the building. But this is not the only thing that should be noticed. The entire architecture of the building is geared towards ecology and sustainable construction. The colored louvres on the facades are oriented to follow the path of the sun and thus act as a sun screen for the south-facing windows. These two architectural features give a playful side to this school building. Indeed, we wanted to develop a building with a positive image, which makes children want to come.
Particular care was taken with the interior spaces, harmoniously blending new technologies and ecological materials, guaranteeing not only comfort for the teaching staff but also a happy and healthy environment for the children: The interior walls made of wood, cork and organic colors create a naturally soothing and healthy atmosphere through their colors but also through their contribution to acoustic comfort. Natural materials and soothing colors in the classrooms; natural plaster, acoustic ceilings and natural floor coverings give the whole building a pleasant feeling of well-being for its users.
Thus the architectural and ecological concepts have resulted in a building that is efficient in all respects, but also an educational setting that meets the expectations of the public authorities while promoting ecology and sustainable development.
The building is designed to be accessible not only to people with reduced mobility but also to visually impaired people. Visual architectural arrangements have been put in place for the visibility of the circulation and switches following the recommendations of the ADAPTH association.
The organisation of the school by theme of activity rather than by class allows for better inclusion because it is based on the mixing of individualities according to the personal interests of each person. Thus each room is not a classic classroom (with an assigned teacher) but a space dedicated to a particular activity (gym, crafts, theater, music). Access to these rooms is free throughout the children's stay. This allows a strong mix of children throughout the day, ensuring a social and multicultural mix. An educational kitchen in addition to the canteen allows activities based on exchange and cultural mix
An architecture that promotes well-being and a friendly atmosphere generates a quality of life and the desire to share and open up to others.
The project had a societal impact because we organised several visits to the building site for the future teachers who will occupy the building, but especially for the children and their parents who will be the future occupants of the school. The classes who visited the building site were able to benefit from the explanations of the project's architects to explain to them what positive things this building had for the planet and for the future of the next generations.
The primary target audience is therefore children and their families. By educating and raising the awareness of our children, we can reach their parents and relatives, as well as the teachers who are responsible for the education of our future generations. By showing them that there are sustainable building alternatives during several site visits and the involvement of educational staff throughout the development we influence their future sensitivity and behavior.
Not only the local authorities, but also the various public administrations, such as SNSFP, ITM, CGDIS, Ministry of the Environment, the wood cluster, the public procurement portal and the SuperDreckskëscht.
The construction of this building also had an indirect societal impact on the companies that participated in the construction, firstly through the awareness of the companies and their employees and workers. But also that these companies realized that sorting on site was not only ecological but also profitable for themselves.
The awareness of a sustainable ecological approach as the only constructive evidence goes through the education of the new generations. Building "energy-intensive" schools is therefore ethical nonsense at present. Positive educational frameworks must be created: school buildings must become teaching aids and illustrate an environmentally friendly way of living and thinking.
XXA architecture led this project, supported by the various engineering offices and, above all, by the municipal will to make this project a pilot project.
During the first presentation of the project, the environmental approach was discussed and explained to the aldermanic college and the mayor.
The objectives were therefore set to create an exemplary project within the municipality, taking into account all aspects, both from an environmental and educational point of view. The municipal administration was therefore included in the design process from the start.
The next actors were the design offices, developing the whole project in line with the set objectives.
The next step was to go to the competent authorities and explain the project and its objectives, trying to obtain the necessary derogation.
The control office played an important role in seeking with us possible solutions and alternatives in compliance with the regulations.
The environmental administration collaborated in order to allow the use of local wood for the construction of the building.
The different administrations and design offices collaborated to make this building the first school to obtain the DGNB platinum certification in Luxembourg.
In all, more than 10 consultancies and 20 companies, not counting their subcontractors, acted directly as partners in the realisation of the pilot project in Howald.
The municipal administration of Hesperange, as a client: the Mayor and the College of Aldermen and also the municipal council during the votes. But also the technical service, the site managers, the operators (educators and teachers).
All the companies that had to comply with the strict rules of waste sorting throughout the building site according to the SuperDreckskëscht, and with the choice of materials in accordance with the rules of the DGNB by respecting the choice of healthy materials.
The Platinium certification is the highest certification and will be the first for a school here in Luxembourg.
This DGNB certification has enabled the companies and ourselves to have a summary of the materials validated by the various design offices and also to make the point that everything that was finally installed on site can be done so without fear of harm. It is a meticulous job, but one that allows us to use a large part of the validated materials and thus to save time and efficiency on other sites.
The employees of the architectural office are also involved, as well as all the engineering offices, such as static engineers, external fittings, technical engineers, acousticians, energy consultants and, of course, E3 consult for the DGNB certification. All of them followed our approach and developed the project in a sustainable way throughout the study and the realisation.
A monitoring system is installed in the entrance of the building to illustrate the benefits and savings achieved by the building in real time (CO2 reduction, energy saving,...).
We used a revolutionary self-cleaning tile that is also antibacterial and antiviral (even covid). It also filters polution. As a result, much less water and detergent is needed to disinfect and clean the floors.
The building is self-sufficient in energy but also produces more energy than it consumes. Positive energy building.
The whole building has been designed using only natural materials and as few chemicals as possible in order to minimise pollution and the presence of endocrine disruptors in the building (no formaldéhyde).
All materials used are either recycled (recycled denim insulation) or can be dismantled and recycled.
Our approach was innovative in the sense that we tried to think differently about several aspects of the building construction to bring a different vision and perspective to the building.
We integrated bioclimatic and traditional building techniques (passive ventilation, lime plaster, untreated wood) with very modern technologies (heating by ice accumulator), water walls to humify the ambient air, air cooling based on adiabatic cooling. This technique is also called "bioclimatisation". The cork facades use an old but renewable material, highlighting its biological qualities (thermal and acoustic insulation, rot-proof, recyclable and naturally renewable) and making it unnecessary to use polystyrene-type insulation (difficult to recycle and from the oil industry). For the floors, we used a high-tech tile that limits pollution, odours and is self-cleaning, but above all decomposes all viruses in contact with its surface (including the coronavirus). We also innovated by using an old technique for the structure of the building: using the wood that is closest to the place of construction: we used trees from the local forests to make the wood for the structure of the building (instead of bringing in wood from far away countries). This reduces the distance between the place of production and the place of use, reduces the grey energy of the construction and revalorises our forests.
We demonstrate that ecology and sustainable development in construction can be based on the use of natural techniques and materials combined with innovative technologies for an inspiring result for the future of construction.
The architecture of XXA is characterised by a balance between new building technologies and traditional construction methods in order to achieve sustainable development in construction. The XXA team combines the start-up spirit of a young, innovative office with the pragmatism of its experienced staff. The whole office is very conscious of the concerns of the environment and the architectural design at XXA Architecture is developed in perfect harmony with the principle of sustainable development. From the outset, these two aspects have been integrated into the development of the project in order to maximise their efficiency and minimise their impact on costs. The architectural office emphasises sustainable innovation in the development of projects with the use of natural materials and new techniques to improve the quality of life and environmental awareness.
Our architectural office likes to innovate by mixing natural materials and new technologies in order to guarantee a quality of life for the occupants of the projects while respecting the requirements of the clients. Our role will be to ensure that it remains human, the technical aspect must not take precedence over the comfort of the users. For example, the project for a school and a halfway house in Howald was thought out in a sustainable, ecological and C2C manner in order to demonstrate to the local authorities that it is possible to construct a beautiful building with ecological materials such as local wood, recycled jeans and cork, but also to have a green roof in order to create an ecosystem by installing an insect hotel so that the children can observe nature. The technique also makes it possible to have a quasi autonomous system by the combination of photovoltaic and solar energy, heating by ice and "Natural Cooling": Cooling by natural vertical ventilation by simple thermal draught.
The project in Howald allowed us to develop a logic in the choice of materials and to make the companies aware of the need to sort waste on site.
This DGNB certification has enabled the companies and ourselves to have a summary of the materials validated by the various design offices and also to make the point that everything that was finally installed on site can be done so without fear of harm. It is a meticulous job, but it allows us to use a large part of the validated materials and to save time and efficiency on other sites.
For the future, we continue to think about using quality materials with a reduced environmental impact. The processes we have put in place for this project should be used for future projects. The fact that we have completed this pilot project is an asset in convincing our future interlocutors (private or public clients) but also future construction companies to adhere to our construction philosophy and to continue to advocate an architecture based on sustainable development.
All the design processes of the project, even if some of them were difficult and very time-consuming, allowed our office to evolve in its environmental reflections but also allowed our employees to become aware of and participate in sustainable development. This is probably one of the most successful objectives for our organisation.
Even if it is necessary to find the administrative time to complete all the documentation for the DGNB criteria, it also allowed us to synthesize the choice of materials with the companies, to check that the products proposed and installed correspond to the ecological standards required. This is also beneficial for our company and those involved in the construction of this building.
The most interesting action from this point of view was the use of trees from the neighbouring forest to build the wooden structure of the building. We had to discuss with several national and local administrations to obtain the necessary derogations to realize this intention. As the building is located right next to the forests belonging to the local administration, we found it logical and interesting to use the trees that had to be cut down for the maintenance of the forest to build the wooden supporting structure of the building. So instead of importing wood from a distant country, we used local resources.
We also used some of these to make a sculpture on the front of the building in memory of the trees used. This is the first public school built with local wood in the GD of Luxembourg.
We also installed a rainwater recovery system for the building's sanitary facilities.
One of the insulating materials used for the walls is a recycled material: "isolant metisse" a French company uses old jeans to make insulation for the building. Here too, it is a question of short circuits and regional solutions.
