TNT has commissioned the development of the most sustainable building in Europe: TNT GREEN Office. Architect Paul de Ruiter is responsible for the design of the Green Office. The design, characterized by sustainability, transparency and connectivity, is the very first step to challenging the highest aspirations for sustainable development.

Not only is the building completely CO2 neutral, the design also achieves more than 1000 points under the Dutch green building certification GreenCalc+ and has been awarded a US LEED Platinum design certificate. With these achievements, the building will be the most sustainable showcase in Europe.

To aid in their quest for green certification standards, the architects installed 1,456 RB500 Roller Shades by Hunter Douglas Contract. Roller Shades are a reliable choice to manage heat gain and light, and control glare, contributing to the energy efficiency of a building. The TNT building is 60% more energy-efficient compared to a traditional building.

Daring, adventurous and, above all, at the cutting edge of innovation. This is a fitting description for the design processes surrounding the realisation of the TNT Centre in Hoofddorp, the Netherlands. Thanks to the ambitious sustainability requirements that had been set for the building, designing the new TNT head office was one big adventure. The project is synonymous with ‘The New Way of Designing’. TNT’s motto is connectivity and this theme formed the guiding principle for this ambitious project: i.e. the human user is key. This translated into an open and transparent building that comprises a U-formed six-floor main volume around an atrium. This atrium is the heart of the building and serves as a single large meeting area. The TNT Centre is a transparent and inspiring building. The orientation and layout of the building have been determined by the site, the local urbanistic structure and the surrounding landscape. The building is anchored in its location: it ‘knows where it stands’ and as such is a connective structure. Connectivity in an urbanistic, logistics and social sense is the core concept of sustainability. After all, a building’s sustainability is not only determined by the choice of material, energy-efficient applications, the limiting of CO2 emissions and flexibility in its future utilisation. Sustainable also – and primarily – means: neither damaging one’s immediate surroundings nor the local natural environment and community. A building can inflict damage when it denies its connection with its surroundings. At the same time, a connective building influences social interaction: it brings people together and promotes professional and social contacts. In the TNT Centre this function has been given concrete form in the various locations the building offers its users to meet one another. A blueprint for sustainable architecture Thanks to its orientation within the volume, the design of the atrium allows ample daylight to penetrate the building. Furthermore, the atrium offers TNT employees a splendid view of their natural surroundings. The atrium and the entrance are clearly connected to one another, with the stepped terraces encouraging users to access the floors on foot and meet each other on the linking floors (reducing the use of the lifts). All the green electricity in the TNT Centre is supplied by the ‘Green Machine’. Periodic power surpluses are directed to the main network, while periodic shortages are met by taking (green) electricity from the network. The heat released in this process is used to heat the buildings in the immediate vicinity of the TNT Centre. The building’s in-house power supply ensures that the amount of energy required is kept to a minimum. The energy that is needed is generated sustainably by the building itself. This is done by means of heat and cold storage in aquifers in the soil. The bio-cogeneration plant required for this process runs on organic residual waste, among other things. The geothermal heat storage process supplies the heat and cold required for the building’s climate control system. The heat stored is used to heat the complex in winter and the cold to cool it in summer.

Mermet optimises the solar protection of Europe’s “greenest” building.

The new headquarters of the international group TNT (Hoofddorp, Netherlands), finalised in November 2011, undoubtedly represent the best in terms of ecologically responsible construction. The solar protection specialist, Mermet, contributed to this project by fitting the façades with over 3800 m² of Screen Nature and Screen Nature Metal, the most innovative solar protection fabrics. This sharing of knowledge was rewarded by the highest level of European and American certification (LEED Platinum) and makes the building one of the greenest in Europe at present.

Building towards sustainable architecture

With specific materials, the most efficient possible use of water, and optimisation of the interior and surroundings (close to public transport), everything about this building was designed with minimal energy consumption in mind. The TNT concept can accommodate up to 900 employees over 100,000 m² of office space, and yet it does not emit any CO2. The Mermet blinds make a large contribution to this innovative quality. Controlling solar energy is essential, so there are a total of 887 blinds with Mermet fabrics (the RB EOS 500 range by Hunter Douglas) installed in two strategic places (atrium and façade).

Screen Nature gives the atrium transparency and 0% fossil energy use

Right at the heart of this open construction, the atrium’s orientation allows daylight to penetrate the 6 storeys, which take the shape of a “U”. As such, real solar protection was indispensable to ensure the correct heat levels in the offices, at the same time as maintaining the transparency and view of the natural surroundings. For this reason, the architect chose Screen Nature 3% fabric, which lets natural light enter the atrium and also perfectly controls dazzling (visible transmission = 4%: light rays filtered up to 96%).

Screen Nature 3% fabric by Mermet also offers an array of environmental assets:

- 100% PVC-free, 100% polyester-free and 100% halogen-free, which:

- avoids any toxicity problems (less than 10% chemicals),

- minimises as much as possible the emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs),

- it meets the requirements of the HQE (High Quality Environmental) standard and guarantees minimal impact on the environment,

- its unique glass fibre structure makes it more fire-resistant than all other products, with very low smoke emissions. Its non-inflammability is thus far unequalled and proven by its achievement of Euroclass A2, s1, d0 (equivalent to M0 – non-combustible).

The only glass fibre fabric on the “green” market, Screen Nature 3% by Mermet is highly efficient for solar protection and nonetheless an elegant fabric that is highly decorative thanks to the fineness of its 3% open weave. Of the 9 currently available colours, B119 White was chosen for this project.

Metallic Screen Nature for the façade

The Screen Nature Metal 3% fabric is based on Screen Nature’s advanced techniques (and therefore retains all the same performance levels), but its metallic side allows it to offer an excellent compromise between thermal protection and visual comfort:

- the metallic side, which faces the glazing, reflects solar radiation to control heat: 75% (gtot = 0.25) of solar energy rejected (when the fabric is used with D-rated glazing according to the standard EN 14501, gv = 0.32 & U = 1.1W/m²K),

- the textile side, which is darker and faces the interior, offers unequalled transparency and controls the intake of natural light: 97% of light rays filtered (visible transmission=3%) and thereby limits dazzling (notably for computer screens).

Chosen for the south, east and west-facing exterior façades, the metallic side of the Screen Nature Metal 3% fabric is perfectly integrated with the building’s modern, steel architecture, while the choice of B119 White for the interior offers a wide range of possibility for the interior design.

Designed by the architect Paul de Ruiter, the “green” TNT building is 60% more energy-efficient than a traditional construction. This is a true concept building, characterised by sustainability, transparency and connectivity, in which Mermet’s innovation takes its rightful place. A privileged position in the world of highquality sustainable construction...

The EMU brand is present twice within this contract project with its collections Retrouvé and Aero. The colour white dominates, creating an elegant and harmonious style in the rooms of this building. The two dining areas have different features: the Aero line is characterised by simple and essential lines, whereas the Retrouvé line by harmonious and refined shapes.