The Edge is a 40,000m² Office building in the Zuidas business district in Amsterdam. The chief tenant of the building is the global financial firm Deloitte. It is an ambitious building which sets new standards for office design in multiple areas, including sustainability, technology, workplace design, and structural and façade engineering. The Edge offers various working, meeting, and breakout environments and sets a new benchmark for the built environment by prioritising the comfort and health of its users. The project targeted creating a ‘smart building’ to accelerate Deloitte’s transition into the digital age. With the world’s highest BREEAM rating awarded to an office building, it integrates numerous clever technologies to create adaptable and intelligent workspaces. The building demonstrates that the pursuit of a vibrant and collaborative working environment and the highest levels of sustainability are a successful combination.
The building is oriented based on the path of the sun. The atrium acts as a window between the world of work and the outside, along with providing a social heart for the building and serving as an environmental buffer to reduce energy use. The atrium bathes the entire structure in northern daylight while the solar panels on the southern facade shield the workspaces from the sun. The glass facade ensures maximum benefits from the sunlight as long as possible without affecting the temperature inside the building. It secures an ample amount of energy for the employees to use. 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 in energy supply and can produce up to 102% of its energy use. The building’s Ethernet-powered LED lighting system is integrated with 30,000 sensors to continuously measure occupancy, movement, lighting levels, humidity and temperature, thus automatically adjusting its energy use.
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. The green space that separates the building from the nearby motorway acts as an ecological corridor, allowing animals and insects to cross the site safely. An aquifer thermal energy storage system generates all energy required for heating and cooling the building. This system has a new evaporator unit with innovative technology never used before. People have the flexibility to work anywhere in the building. With the help of a mobile app, people can find each other, look for a tranquil empty desk and adjust the temperature and light levels to their preferences. The technology manages energy use by making users aware of how much energy they use wherever they work in the building. The basement has parking for 500 bicycles and electric charging units for cars.
The Edge is an ultra-sustainable and user-focused building which has proven successful in unleashing maximum human potential. It is an inspiring workspace that drives productivity and creativity. We need such green innovations now more than ever before. This is just the start to bringing invaluable transformations to the world.
Darshini Shah
