The Edge, Amsterdam Case Study

Energy Conscious Architecture

PA303

Submitted by:
Priyanjita Adhikari (114AR0002)

Supervised by:
Prof. Tuhin Subhra Maparu

DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING AND ARCHITECTURE

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, ROURKELA
Acknowledgement

I would like to convey my gratitude towards Professor Tuhin Subhro Maparu for constantly guiding me in the
research process and writing methodology regarding the case study of the Edge situated in Amsterdam. I would
like to express my deepest appreciation to all those who provided me the possibility to complete this report.

A special gratitude I give to all my friends whose contribution in stimulating suggestions and encouragement,
helped me to coordinate the case study and finding necessary information and analysis. I convey my gratitude
towards all the online sources of information available which has helped me immensely.

Priyanjita Adhikari
Contents
Acknowledgement ................................................................................................................................................. 2
INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................ 4
SUSTAINABLE HIGHLIGHTS ......................................................................................................................... 5
1. Smart orientation ....................................................................................................................................... 5
2. High insulation from a glass façade .......................................................................................................... 5
3. Net Zero-Energy Building showcase ......................................................................................................... 5
4. Smart lighting ............................................................................................................................................ 5
5. PV production ............................................................................................................................................ 5
6. Optimised natural and mechanical ventilation .......................................................................................... 6
7. Aquifer thermal energy storage for heating and cooling........................................................................... 6
8. Rainwater harvesting................................................................................................................................. 7
9. Ecological corridor ................................................................................................................................... 7
10. Accessibility .......................................................................................................................................... 7
11. Sustainable materials ............................................................................................................................ 7
12. Long blue tubes ..................................................................................................................................... 7
CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................................................................... 7
REFERNCES ........................................................................................................................................................ 7
INTRODUCTION

The Edge is a multi-tenant office building in Amsterdam where the architect’s goal was to create an intuitive and
productive environment for employees, and to inspire sustainable design around the world. Opened in 2015, The
Edge received a 98,36% Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Methodology (BREEAM)
rating, the highest rating ever. A key aspect of the sustainable design is a connected lighting system from Philips
Lighting which enables employees to personalise the lighting and temperature at their workspaces via a
smartphone application. The system also provides data on activities in the workspace, which helps reduce the
CO2 footprint even further.

Fig. 1. The Edge, Amsterdam

A day at The Edge starts with a smartphone app developed with the building’s main tenant, the consulting firm
Deloitte. From the minute employees wake up, they are connected. The app checks their schedule, and the building
recognises their car when they arrive and directs them to a parking spot.

Once in The Edge, employees no longer have assigned desks. This allows them to work anywhere in the building
in varying levels of introspection or sociability: there are work-booths, focus rooms, concentration rooms, sitting
desks, standing desks, balcony desks, along with the many work-stations within the sun-filled atrium itself. The
building adapts to the users’ preferences for lighting and heating via a mobile app, which also allows users to
locate their colleagues and find free desks. The combination of app and architecture supports activity-based
working: employees actively choose the environment, mood and atmosphere they want to work in for different
tasks throughout the day.

This innovative building management system helps reduce energy costs and provides insight into how The Edge
is operating.
The Edge is orientated and shaped in such a way that the power of the sun is optimally utilised. The glass façade
ensures that daylight can be benefited from as long as possible, without the heat of the sun influencing the
temperature inside. The south side of the building is equipped with super-efficient solar panels, which keep the
heat out and the radiation absorbed when at its strongest. The result is more than enough energy for the
heating/cooling installation, all laptops and smartphones in the building and all the electric powered vehicles, used
by employees. The Edge is considered a net zero-energy building because it can generate all the energy that uses.

SUSTAINABLE HIGHLIGHTS

1. Smart orientation
The building’s form and orientation is
based on the path of the sun. The atrium
(glass façade on the north side of the
building) bathes the workspaces with
daylight, while the solar panels that are
placed on the southern façade shield the
workspaces from the sun.

The load bearing walls to the south, east and

west have smaller openings to provide
thermal mass and shading, and solid
openable panels for ventilation. Louvers on
the south façades are designed according
to sun angles and provide additional Fig. 2. Massing of the building
shading for the office spaces, reducing
solar heat gain.

2. High insulation from a glass façade

The building’s external glass façade measures 47 millimetres on average, which results in a soundproof value that
is 5 dB higher than is required by organisation Bouwbesluit. The North façades are highly transparent but use a
thicker glass to dampen noise from the motorway. The internal walls are designed to be soundproof as well.

3. Net Zero-Energy Building showcase

The Edge is considered an energy neutral building and the first project in the Netherlands that uses area-based
measurement for energy generation. The Edge is self-sufficient when it comes to energy supply and can produce
up to 102% of its own energy use.

4. Smart lighting
The lighting system is an Ethernet-powered LED lighting system called LoE (Light over Ethernet) developed in
cooperation with Philips that results in an energy consumption of 3.9 W/m2 for lighting instead of the conventional
8 W/m2. This connected lighting system has a range of around 30,000 sensors that register daylight, occupancy,
movement, humidity, temperature and CO2. The system also enables employees to use an application on their
smartphone or tablet to regulate the climate and light over their individual workspaces.

5. PV production
The Edge uses a total of more than 5,900 square metres of solar panels. The roofs over the University of
Amsterdam and the Hogeschool van Amsterdam spaces are laid out in solar panels totaling over 4,100 square
metres and of which are connected to the grid. Next to this, the south façade of The Edge contains 720 square
metres of solar panels and the roof is covered with an additional 1,086 square metres of solar panels.

The Edge uses a total of more than 5,900 square metres of solar panels. The on-site production is provided by 720
square metres of solar panels on the south façade of the Edge and another 1,086 square metres on the roof.
The solar panels that cover the roof provide electricity for the aquifer thermal energy storage which generates all
energy required for heating and cooling the building. Solar panels on the south façade provide enough sustainable
electricity to power all smartphones, laptops and electric cars. The off-site production is provided by 4,100 sqaure
metres of solar panels from the roofs over the University of Amsterdam and the Hogeschool van Amsterdam
spaces which are connected to the grid.

Fig. 2. Section showing glass façade and façade with solar

panels

6. Optimised natural and mechanical ventilation

The atrium acts as a buffer between the workspace and the external environment. Excess ventilation air from the
offices is used again to cool the atrium space. The air is then ventilated back out through the top of the atrium
where it passes through a heat exchanger to make use of any warmth.

7. Aquifer thermal energy storage for heating and cooling

An aquifer thermal energy storage system generates all energy required for heating and cooling the building. This
system is equipped with a new evaporator unit, with an innovative technology that has never been used before.
In theory, this particular unit is 15% more efficient than the other units. Two 129m deep wells reach down to an
aquifer, allowing thermal energy differentials to be stored deep underground.

Fig. 3 (a). Aquifer in Winter, (b) Aquifer in Summer

8. Rainwater harvesting
Rainwater is collected on the roof and used to flush toilets, and irrigate the green terraces in the atrium and other
garden areas surrounding the building.

9. Ecological corridor
The building is located in a low environmental impact site. The greenspace that separates the building from the
nearby motorway acts as an ecological corridor which allows animals and insects to safely cross the site.

10. Accessibility
Safety for pedestrians and bicyles is considered inside the buiding. Public transport (train, tram, bus) is nearby.
There is a charging point for electric cars, scooters and bicycles. The bicycle parking is large enough to provide
parking space for bicycles of employees. Even before and after office hours the parking facility is publicly
accessible, allowing people to park when visiting the neighboring hospital.

11. Sustainable materials

95% of the materials used have a responsible and demonstrable origin. All wood in The Edge is FSC(Forest
Stewardship Council)-certified.

12. Long blue tubes

The Edge is wired with a vast network of two different kinds of tubes: one that holds data
(ethernet cables) and another that holds water. Behind each ceiling tile is a massive coil
of thin blue piping that delivers water to and from the building’s subterranean water
storage for radiant heating and cooling.

Fig. 4 Long blue tubes of water

running above the ceiling
CONCLUSION

Fine tuning the shape and orientation of the Edge was the initial step in achieving the exceptional climatic and
energy performance of the headquarters. The arrangement of large floor plates organised around a grand 15-
storey north-facing atrium allows natural daylight to reach the vast majority of the office spaces, while the load-
bearing structure and smaller glazed openings of the south facing facades provide thermal mass and shade. The
atrium is the lung of the building, ventilating the office space while providing a buffer with the exterior in a way
which reduces energy use in both summer and winter. As well as its energy-neutral temperature control, energy
efficient design and green energy-generating technology, the Edge captures rainwater and stores it underground
for use flushing toilets and watering plants in the interior and exterior gardens.

REFERNCES

 The Edge / PLP Architecture. 22 Apr 2016. ArchDaily. Accessed 9 Apr 2018. Retrieved from
<https://www.archdaily.com/785967/the-edge-plp-architecture/> ISSN 0719-8884
 The Edge: Amsterdam office building with highest BREEAM score to date. (2017). Retrieved from
http://www.buildup.eu/en/practices/cases/edge-amsterdam-office-building-highest-breeam-score-date