About the Project

The 39,000 m2, five-storey office developed by EDGE and G&S Vastgoed consists of two interconnected buildings with two atria. Touches like these well-designed open areas, alongside 2.800 dedicated & flexible workspaces, make it a dynamic and innovative environment built to fulfil ING’s needs.

EDGE and G&S Vastgoed developed the new office for ING in Amsterdam­ Zuidoost in the very heart of society, close to its customers. The ING office is part of the immediate neighbourhood that has been given the name Cumulus Park and the project was given the name Cedar, reflecting the layered nature of the building’s design.

As the ING bank required a new premise not too far from their current location, the empty Frankemaheerd building offered itself as a great location to redevelop, having been vacant for years. Together with G&S, EDGE coordinated the demolition of the existing Frankemaheerd building at the location, recycling much of the waste and repurposing building materials. ING wanted its new head office and the surrounding area to be easily accessible. It needed to be a vibrant working environment, in a green setting, stimulating connectivity.

To realise ING’s ambition of connectivity, Benthem Crouwel Architects moved the main entrance of the building back from the street and co-created a public park in front of the office. From there, they designed a transparent glass façade and the layout of the ground floor is made as open and inviting as possible. Connectivity is further promoted inside the building by the creation of a prominent wooden structure of stairways and platforms. The lay-out of the building is very flexible and can easily be made suitable for multitenant purposes if needed by dividing each floor into 4 parts.

ING relocated to their new office end of 2019. The new office features a mix of workplace zones that vary in their need for interaction, collaboration and silence, the interior of the building is all about space. The ground floor is a vibrant space for coming together, with a foyer, event halls, a reception, coffee bar and food yard, most of it open to the public. The use of this sustainable building was the moment to adjust some of the services. ING banished all single-used plastics in the restaurants and coffee bars. And one of the two restaurants only serve healthy vegetarian and vegan meals.

About the BREEAM Assessment

This building located in the heart of Amsterdam Zuidoost is the starting point for more sustainable initiatives and a more sustainable environment. At this moment ING is cooperating with the municipality, the Hogeschool and the ROC Amsterdam to change the surroundings. The Cumulus Parc concept is meant to exchange ideas and create synergy between students and companies. The Bijlmerdreef in front of the building will be a green, sustainable street and nearby offices Maple and Laanderpoort are renovated of will be in the future and will have green surroundings. These places are meant to meet and will be an inspiring environment for employees, students and local inhabitants. The green surroundings helps to adapt to climate change (for example water buffering, less heat stress and a higher biodiversity).

The developers EDGE and G&S Vastgoed and the tenant ING had the ambition to realize a sustainable building and used BREEAM as a measurable target. The first ambition was an Excellent score however it became clear that, with some adjustments and close cooperation with ING, an Outstanding score would be possible.

At the entrance of the building is a large screen that broadcasts information about the building, like sustainability. All users and visitors can learn from this information. Because the ground floor is publicly accessible for everyone it has a wide and divers reach. The transparency and openness of the building invites people to connect and interact with the users and her surroundings, inform about sustainability and experience the building.

What changes were made to the development and its procurement/management as a result of using BREEAM. All categories were important and were of interest. From energy and construction site sustainability to heath and waste. Highlighting a couple:

Benefits of BREEAM

“The circular concrete structure, the energy efficiency and the green public landscaping contributed to the achieved BREEAM outstanding certification – everything about the new office supports ING’s mission and strategy to accelerate innovative brainpower in society. The smart, healthy workspaces encourage creative collaboration and are an inspiring example for future-proof office developments”.

– Thomas Ummels, CDO at EDGE

Lower energy costs because of the follow measurements:

Lower maintenance and operational costs are achieved by having supervision through validation of properly installed and adjusted installations. Moreover, these installations are designed in close cooperation with the end user, making it completely suitable – yet flexible – for the use. The building management identifies possible problems at an early stage.

BREEAM has an impact on the use of the building in the future, it can react to different trends in the future based on its flexibility.

“This new building embodies all we aspire to, it’s open and transparent, as nearly all walls are made of glass, and it creates an atmosphere that encourages collaboration. The building will play a central role within Cumulus Park, inspiring new ways to innovate. And, with Cedar we reduced the consumption of natural resources as much as possible.”

– Ralph Hamers, CEO of ING, during the opening of ING HQ