Havenhuis/Port House

Futuristic and future-proof

Sustainability was a key target for the Port of Antwerp’s striking new headquarters

Each year, 26 percent of Europe’s container shipping passes through Antwerp in Belgium, Europe’s second-largest port and a direct employer of over 60,000 people. When the port needed to expand its head office, its priority was to create a sustainable and future-proof workplace that reflected its values.

The remarkable new Zaha Hadid-designed building, perched atop a former fire station on the quayside, is a major architectural statement that also features a range of technologies designed to reduce its impact on the environment. An innovative borehole system for water heating and cooling, lighting controls and high-quality insulation have all contributed to the Port House’s “Very Good” BREEAM environmental rating.

ROCKWOOL stone wool was used primarily for its acoustic properties, protecting against noise from technical installations on the flat roof, and for fire protection, insulating steel construction in the new building. The ROCKWOOL Conlit Steelprotect board used in the building meets the highest A1 Fire Class rating. And with our “cut to fall” service, the roof insulation was precisely customshaped, so it could be installed quickly on the complicated boat-shaped surface while still ensuring the roof drained properly.

By protecting employees and contributing to the Port House’s longevity, ROCKWOOL stone wool insulation is helping ensure this radical new building lasts long into the future it symbolises.

“The excellent acoustic performance of ROCKWOOL stone wool is an important advantage, because the many technical installations on the roof can cause quite some noise”, says Engineer Architect Gert Biebauw, project leader at Bureau Bouwtechniek. “The cut-to-fall slabs made it possible for us to create the right angle for directing rain water away from the roof. The highly detailed cut-to-fall plan designed by ROCKWOOL helped us a great deal.”

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