Helping the first shopping centre in Belgium to achieve BREEAM standards

URS helped achieve a 'Very Good' rating under the BREEAM standards for a shopping centre, the first retail development in Belgium to secure this.

Designed by trailblazing London-based architect Ron Arad and built on a former industrial wasteland, this futuristically-shaped building is one of the largest retail centres in Belgium, with a floor area of 160,000m².

Opened in 2009, Mediacité also became the first retail centre to be certified according to the BREEAM international standards.

BREEAM provides a holistic approach to sustainability for new and existing buildings, using a highly robust methodology to benchmark and improve the sustainability of the built environment.

Building performance is rewarded based on a number of environmental impacts including energy, health and wellbeing, transport, water, materials, land use, waste and ecology.

Green roofs, advanced cooling and ventilation technologies are all integrated into the shopping centre’s design, which boasts 126 stores offering a selection of commerce, leisure, culture, media and economic activities.

URS helped Mediacité's developer, Wilhelm & Co, identify all elements which could potentially be awarded BREEAM credits, while overseeing all aspects of the certification process and ensuring conditions were met in line with BREEAM requirements.

Sustainable building is a new and expanding market, with an increasing number of clients requiring building environmental certifications, which can help improve their marketability and corporate image. To date, URS has completed BREEAM assessments in France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Austria and the Czech Republic.