Growth
At the end of the twentieth century, the family business took over the Nedlin laundry company in Elsloo, covering less than a third of its current surface area. Over the years, the company continued to grow steadily, and extensions were added several times until the building reached the limits of its capacity. Whenever possible, several plots of land in close proximity to the building were strategically purchased. The company name Nedlin was used generically for all three segments from 2016. In 2018, the first ideas for a completely new healthcare laundry segment were developed. The existing building in Elsloo would focus entirely on hospitality.
A pitch with various architectural firms followed. To keep the lines short, all architects involved were local. And to make use of the broadest service possible, Nedlin opted for larger firms. Nedlin had high sustainability ambitions and asked the pitching architects for proven experience in the field of BREEAM sustainability projects. Ultimately, Architecten aan de Maas from Maastricht, won the project. They were also recommended by Nedlin customers for which they had designed hospitals, including several BREEAM projects.
Photography Gregor Ramaekers
and John Sondeyker Photography
Mosa Terra Tones tiles
in three shades of grey
Design brief
The new building accommodates an automated laundry facility, a logistics centre, storage and offices. The building serves the process. The process was a given and a box had to be designed around it. "In theory, this was an easy design brief," says architect Han Westelaken of Architecten aan de Maas. "We design complex hospitals where, for example, you have to deal with all kinds of logistical issues and you have to accommodate high-quality technical equipment. Compared to that, this is just a 'simple' building. However, there is also an inherent complexity; how do you deal with a design brief of such a large building where every square metre has to be used?"
"I generally don't feel happy driving through industrial estates, and suddenly I am asked to design such a box myself. I had a strong desire to turn it into something special. It was great to have a good relationship with the De Win brothers, who are also strongly culturally committed. It turned out that I had come to the right place." Due to the large size of the building, the site allocation had to be changed. The building is 144 metres long and 75 metres wide, which means that the permitted Floor Area Ratio of the plot was exceeded by 10 per cent. The required height of about 16 metres also deviated from the maximum 12 metres allowed by the zoning plan. During the first presentation to the municipality, the design was well received, and the cooperation with the Urban Planning department and the Aesthetic Committee to realise the plans was very constructive. "A current discussion is how we deal with industrial estates. For example, what are we doing to prevent 'boxification' in the Netherlands? This building shows that you can also deal with such a design brief in a different way."
Luuk de Win, director of Nedlin: "The inside and the outside have to be right, and there has to be a connection. The way this building was built, the timeless materials, and the use of colour and appearance; in 30 years, it will still stand out next to any average building on an industrial estate. I think that the realisation of a Gesamtkunstwerk has been more than successful here!"
For a successful design, an architect must thoroughly understand the client's brief. Conversely, the involvement of father and sons De Win and Director of Technical Affairs Björn Frijns in the design process was extensive, and their knowledge of the content was comprehensive as they thoroughly explored almost all details. This was a very constructive process because the architect was sitting at the table with people who spoke the same language. Every detail was discussed and elaborated upon in the weekly construction meetings.
The Terra Tones tiles used on the facade by Nedlin are also Cradle to Cradle Certified® Gold certified. This means that they excel on all the above criteria and strive for a more sustainable and circular approach in their production. In terms of contribution to the BREEAM building label, the Mosa tiles have a positive impact on the sustainability performance of the building and earned Nedlin additional points in the BREEAM categories related to sustainable material use and circular principle.
Flexible layout
The flexible layout of the space into a laundry facility was very important. The architect translated this into very heavy columns and high beams. Large spans of about 17 metres are hardly seen anywhere due to their high cost. This structure was devised to realise the enormous spans that the space required to accommodate the very complex machinery in a freely configurable manner. The height used was necessary because of the enormous laundry bags that roll on rails through the laundry facility and the warehouse, where no fewer than 33,000 trays of clean laundry are stored fully automatically before they are returned to the customer.
Facade tiles in three shades of grey
The architect paid a lot of attention to creating a high-quality shell around the building volume. And the 96 casted-in-one-piece concrete columns, each 16 metres tall and 1.1 metres wide, clearly adding to the grand scale of the building. The attention to the articulated facade at the front. The use of 6-metre-high glass panels, the largest possible available. The 'floating' concrete plinth along the entire building, which makes it appear to be lifted off the ground. The architect also spent a lot of time on the different widths of the tile strips, the colour distribution and certainly on the design of the fixation of the tiles to the exterior facade. The Terra Tone 206 colour tiles from Mosa produce attractive colour nuances, and the overall layout of panels makes a bold statement.
At one point, the Aesthetic Committee even compared the building in its entire appearance to a cathedral. Westelaken: "If you are going to design something big, you should create something impressive that fascinates and amazes people. And that's where the Mosa tile comes in; I designed each surface separately and placed each tile very consciously. It was a meditative process for me. And if I handled it as meditative, then the average passer-by will also experience it as such. If I may be so bold; that worked out well. The standard size of the tile is 60 x 120 centimetres. For each surface area, the tiles have been sawn into the correct strips according to the drawing."
In design processes, items are dropped and new ones are added, often for the better. The initial facade design consisted of loosely stacked bricks, an innovative product. When this was dropped because of constructional issues, we considered two alternatives as facade cladding. The Mosa tiles turned out to be a brilliant move. The architecturally elegant Terra Tones tile had already shown its worth and achieved the Cradle to Cradle Certified® Gold certification. The ceramic tiles are attached to a facade construction, are removable and therefore reusable. Westelaken: "And even more so, because we used these tiles, the building received the highest rating - Outstanding - in the final BREEAM score!"
Because of using the Cradle to Cradle Terra Tones tiles on the facade, the building received the highest rating - Outstanding - in the final BREEAM sustainability score.
Sustainability is a vital aspect of Royal Mosa's mission and principles. Cradle to Cradle is an innovative, positive and integral approach to sustainability, which is not based on reduction but on unlimited reuse of raw materials: 'Waste = Food'. This suits Mosa very well, as it is convinced that in the future, there will only be room for sustainable products that are produced responsibly and can be used without health risks. This is a responsibility that Mosa shares with its customers. Mosa is the world's first ceramic tile company to gain full Cradle to Cradle certification for nearly its entire tile collection.
‘Because we used the Cradle to Cradle Terra Tones tiles on the facade, the building received the highest rating - Outstanding - in the final BREEAM sustainability score!’
BREEAM Outstanding
After grandfather Jeu and father Erik, brothers Stef and Luuk are the third generation of De Wins at the helm of the family business. It goes without saying that Nedlin continuously invests in the future and takes into account the challenges of our time. Years ago, they wrote a sustainability program examining all parts of the company. This led to the desire to go all out in the new construction and maximise the building's sustainability; in this context, the goal was to achieve BREEAM certification. BREEAM-NL & GPR expert & assessor Wilco Smits from Lois Adviesbureau advised Nedlin and Architecten aan de Maas before and during construction. This collaboration resulted in the BREEAM certificate in the highest category: BREEAM Outstanding. Nedlin scored 92.7 points; the building thus achieved the highest number of points in the industry sector.
A BREEAM certification consists of a design and an implementation certificate. In the former, credits are earned when the architect considers sustainability during the design process. In addition, the construction itself must also meet various requirements. At Nedlin, think of separated waste flows on the construction site, the use of recycled concrete in the foundation, solar panels on the roof and the sustainable Mosa tiles on the facade. But it goes further than that; a public transport timetable at the entrance, a bicycle shed and an entire ecological section on the surrounding plot: an insect hotel, nesting places for martens and hedgehogs, kestrel and bat boxes on the facades, wildflower meadows and a thorough soil infiltration system for rainwater that does not fall on the roof.
Sustainability ambitions
Strangely enough, BREEAM does not take the (laundry) process and the machinery into account. This does not mean that they were not included in Nedlin's sustainability ambitions. The family business stands for long-term vision, quality and innovation. It is quite obvious that sustainability and circularity are an integral part of this. The building is almost completely energy neutral. In the new building, various activities and internal logistics have been heavily automated, making the work lighter, safer and cleaner. In the process, Nedlin managed to reduce CO2 emissions by 45% compared to comparable companies. Nedlin Healthcare therefore has an extremely low footprint.
For example, the healthcare laundry facility does not use a single litre of fresh tap water. For years already, Nedlin has been aware that groundwater cannot be pumped up indefinitely. The grey water from the opposite hospitality laundry facility runs via an underground pipeline to the company's own advanced water treatment plant under the new building. Together with the collected rainwater, the wastewater from both locations is thoroughly cleaned and stored in the well-insulated 1.6 million litre clean water cellar with a residual heat of 40 degrees Celsius. This warm water is, in turn, further heated to 50 degrees Celsius using residual heat from the washing process. This way, only little energy is required to reach the required washing temperature. The next step is to use self-generated power from the 2,500 solar panels on the roof.
‘The indoor climate, such as light, sound and temperature, proves to be above average. It is not for nothing that we paid a lot of attention to climate control in the design process.’
B Corp
Nedlin is also B Corp certified. This is the most highly regarded international assessment of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). B Corp is the only certification where not a product or service, but the entire organisation is tested for sustainability. To achieve B Corp status, companies undergo a strict evaluation on the themes of management, employees, society, environment and customers. Nedlin's strength lies, among other things, in its transparent structure with a diverse team composition, a fair reward structure and a balanced gender distribution. In the assessment, they also score very well on transparency and the environment.
‘In 30 years, it will still stand out next to any average building on an industrial estate. The realisation of a Gesamtkunstwerk has been more than successful here!’
Transparency
The building is transparent as well; offering views from the inside out and vice versa. Passers-by can see exactly what is happening inside. However, the colour of laundry discolours due to exposure to UV light, so transparency has its limitations here. The architect aimed to create an unobstructed view of the machinery at three key points on both long sides of the building.
The doors are concealed in the abstractly designed building so as not to disrupt the facade's rhythm. Visitors and employees all enter through the same door. The architect was also instructed to create a design that would promote a connection and solidarity among all of Nedlin's employees, including floor staff, office employees, field operatives, and members of the executive team alike. That is why the offices, changing rooms and the lunchroom are all located together on the first floor. The cafeteria acts as a crossroads. At the level of the offices and the technical and storage spaces above, the facade is clad with cement fibre board with square windows in between.
Construction of the healthcare laundry facility started at the end of 2020. The first steps of completion were at the end of 2022. The outer shell with the Terra Tones tiles was only completed at the end of the third quarter of 2023. The official opening in September 2023 by King Willem Alexander is the cherry on the cake.
Since its founding on 1 October 1928, Architecten aan de Maas has been active in the sectors of healthcare, schools, non-residential construction in the broadest sense, residential construction, housing for the elderly, reuse of buildings (transformation), urban planning, housing plans and interior architecture. The firm has offices in the Dutch cities of Maastricht and Rotterdam. Sustainability is of paramount importance. In 2015, the firm realised the first BREEAM-certified hospital in the Netherlands in Maastricht. The 23,000 m2 building was awarded the BREEAM rating Very Good. Architecten aan de Maas has ISO 9001 quality management and ISO 14001 environmental management certifications.
Project details
| Project: | Nedlin |
| Architect: | Architecten aan de Maas |
| Location: | Elsloo (The Netherlands) |
| Completion: | 2023 |
| Mosa series: | Terra Tones |
Inspiration
More information
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