Rubens Castle and its domain will play an important role in the story collection of the "Flemish Castles and Gardens Network". The site will be an example for similar sites in Flanders.

This project will also investigate how contemporary and potential problems and questions can be addressed in a historic building. The results of this research will inspire other projects in terms of energy, sustainability and integral accessibility.

Masterplan

Special Venues, a subsidiary of Tourism Flanders, wants to upgrade the Rubens castle and its grounds, open them up and prepare them for further exploitation.

To steer all this in the right direction, there was a need for a global vision for the site, a.k.a. a master plan in which the outlines of the site are laid down.

The studies that form part of the master plan will also form the basis for the spatial implementation plan. A quality manual was drawn up to anchor the qualities of the master plan.

We assisted Heritage & Vision, OMGEVING and Dott Achilles as sustainability and energy consultants.

A sustainable master plan

Sustainability is intertwined in all aspects of the development of the master plan for the site and at all levels from site to building element. We therefore do not see sustainability as a separate sub-study, but as an overall ambition and mindset of the team.

We took on the role of sustainability coordinator within the team throughout the master plan development process. In doing so, we provided input at every stage and identified both synergies and bottlenecks. We used the GRO sustainability meter as a guide, which allowed us to maintain an overview based on various criteria and set ambitions.

We carried out a GRO screening of the final master plan, in which several criteria were further elaborated and included in the quality manual.

An energy study was carried out for the Rubens Castle site based on the ‘energy audit of immovable heritage’. This involved investigating how energy can be saved, fossil-free heat generation realised and renewable energy generated.

In addition, a brief study was carried out on sustainable water management on the site, with a particular focus on rainwater, domestic wastewater and the sewage systems.

Sustainability meter

After selecting the sustainable efforts to be implemented, we follow up the works using the Flemish government's GRO sustainability meter, which has been the new guide for future-oriented building since 2016.

This tool makes the various sustainable aspects measurable and allows us to link them during the various life phases of a building - design, implementation and use.

We are convinced that this working method is the key to achieving a sustainable building.

Meet our sustainability expert

From Team Sustainability, Energy & Comfort (1)

ir. arch. Robbe Verelst

Energy and sustainability advisor
Building physics engineer

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Wondering what else we have up our sleeves when it comes to sustainability consulting?

Then be sure to check here