Timmerhuis, a sustainable meeting point

February 21, 2017 | Vivian Zhou

Designed by the renowned Rem Koolhaas, Timmerhuis is an architectural giant that connects the old with the new in the City of Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Timmerhuis' beating heart for sustainability hasn't gone unnoticed. In fact, it's the first multi-use building in The Netherlands to receive the prestigious BREAAM Excellent certification.

But what made us fall in love with this piece of art even more, is how it understands the importance of electric mobility. We asked its developers to tell us about why they opened up 20 charging points for Timmerhuis' residents and visitors...

Timmerhuis is a "meeting point". Through an indoor passage, residents and visitors can move around freely from the city’s one area to the other. Most of all, it serves as a work place and apartment complex, as well as a social space to shop, eat and drink. Sustainability is undeniably key to Timmerhuis. Triple glass isolation, temperature regulators and storage, and energy efficient elevators are just a few features within its impressive portfolio. In addition, Timmerhuis regulates built-in installations based on a seasonal basis. This ensures an optimal and economical consumption of energy. With these measures, Timmerhuis has become the first multi-use building in the country to receive a BREEAM Excellent **** certification.

“Timmerhuis is actively helping the city improve its air quality. We understand very well that electric transport is crucial to this process.” Niels Kurver - Real Estate Developer, Timmerhuis / City of Rotterdam

Rotterdam profiles itself as a testing playground for innovations and pilots. For the past few years, the Municipality started stimulating the adoption of electric vehicles. After all, electric cars are clean and cost effective. To propel drivers onto the electric route, Rotterdam is now placing a network of 2,000 charging points. This number is set to increase in the near future, as Niels points out. It’s Timmerhuis’ ambition to help the city in this and many other sustainability projects. This is why its real estate developers have placed 20 EV-Box charging points at its spacious indoor parking lot.

"We opted for EV-Box as they are the supplier of charging facilities at "De Rotterdam". Just like Timmerhuis, De Rotterdam is new, sustainable project designed by Rem Koolhaas. We also got to learn about EV-Box from Rotterdam Elektrisch. This is an initiative led by the Municipality of Rotterdam in collaboration with energy supplier ENGIE and EV-Box, to expand the number of charging points in Rotterdam and its region. Since EV-Box is a trusted, established name, we knew we could rely on its service." Leon Wielaard - Real Estate Developer, Timmerhuis / City of Rotterdam

Timmerhuis’ charging stations are configured with EV-Box’ Smart Charging technology. Smart Charging defines a set of technical configurations that enable EV-Box charging stations to act on user behavior and the availability of power per location. At Timmerhuis, Smart Charging helps to distribute the electrical capacity proportionally over its 20 charging points. This should keep the power consumption within the building’s guidelines. In addition, it helps Timmerhuis to get the most out of its charging facilities, with significant savings in times of peak demand and high electricity rates. For a place like Timmerhuis that prioritizes energy efficiency, Smart Charging has become an indispensable tool.

Download the full case study here.

We’d like to thank Timmerhuis for its tremendous contributions to a greener, more sustainable future. Special thanks to Liane Fix, Niels Kurver and Leon Wielaard, who have helped us draft this case study.

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