A cutting-edge new office building has officially opened in Amsterdam’s Zuidas. The Edge was named the world’s most sustainable office building by the Building Research Establishment (BRE), the world authority on building sustainability.

The title formerly belonged to One Embankment Place in London.

The Amsterdam building was developed by OVG Real Estate. The principle occupant of the 40.000 m2 building is global professional services provider Deloitte. Other notable companies leasing space in the building are AKD, Salesforce, Henkel, Sandvik and Edelman.

Making The Edge sustainable

The Edge is designed not only to be incredibly environmentally friendly, but also to foster the comfort and well-being of workers and the surrounding public.

Energy efficiency

The Edge collects and recycles rainwater and is energy-neutral - heated by a thermal aquifer and powered by solar energy. Its walls are heavily insulated to preserve heat, and it is oriented so as to maximise the amount of daylight that penetrates during working hours.

Via new technology from Philips which links LED lighting to Ethernet, workers can use a phone app to control the temperature and lighting in their own workspaces. This system not only reduces energy usage; it also helps the building managers monitor overall efficiency.

Part of an ecosystem

The Edge was inspired by the ideal that a building should contribute to the overall health of those in and around it.

Its parking lots are open to the public after working hours. The building also features an ecological corridor for use by local bat and bird populations.

Photo credits: Ronald Tilleman

Thanks to a partnership with grocery store Bilder & De Clercq, The Edge even offers workers the option to forgo after-work trips to the supermarket. Via a wall-mounted screen, employees can select an evening meal which will then be delivered, by bike, to the office before they leave.

Innovation through collaboration

Between 2007 and 2011, OVG Real Estate invested one billion euros in sustainable building development.

The developers of The Edge credit collaboration - with building experts, universities, technology firms and the building occupiers themselves - as the reason for the project’s success.

According to the CEO and founder of OVG, Coen van Oostrom, there is a need to focus on innovative, sensitive approaches to building projects: "The built environment currently accounts for 40 per cent of carbon emissions, so pushing the boundaries of what is possible by being brave and employing new technologies is critical."