Wim Goethals
Technical Director
On the Campus Ardoyen in the Technology Park of Zwijnaarde, we are building a research building and a bio-accelerator for the non-profit organization Lo2cus (UGent and VIB) and Obelisc NV. The two buildings of six storeys each will be built on a semi-underground parking lot. The research building includes offices, a restaurant, various labs and research rooms, an animalium, plant growth rooms and a greenhouse of 550 m². The second building will be developed as an accelerator for lifescience and biotech companies.
"We got to know Ingenium 10 years ago on a previous project on this campus. They have a lot of experience in biotech and in the related hospital sector, and are large enough to handle such projects."
Since the collaboration went well then, it was logical to include them in the construction team now as well. Among other things, Ingenium did the complete study and design of HVAC, plumbing, electricity, elevators, pure water and medical gases. For certain premises, the bar was particularly high. For instance, the animalium and the labs require particular attention to airtightness, air purity and accessibility. Wastewater treatment is also done in a thorough manner. For the plant growth rooms and the greenhouse, on the other hand, special climatic conditions are required. The technical installations therefore play a crucial role in such a project."
Ingenium's added value began right at the start of the project, where they immediately converted the performance specifications from the design competition into detailed execution specifications. This made it easier for us to guide our subcontractors in preparing their bids and we got more comparable and also more correct prices.
"Working with Ingenium certainly offers benefits in the design phase as well. Energy-efficient thinking is ingrained in their DNA. We also play that off to our end customer. After all, the energy cost is very important for installations of this size."
Another important added value is that Ingenium works entirely in 3D, integrating the various design plans into a single BIM model. In this project, they even went a step further by including the subcontractors' execution plans in that model. Through clash checks, errors were detected in advance and failure costs and time lost on site were greatly reduced.
"Typical of Ingenium is the smooth way of working together. We have one contact there who handles the file, and is also reachable, which is very important for us."
Human contact also runs well. And if there is ever a problem, it is discussed and solved. A compromise is always sought that leaves everyone involved with a good feeling. That is also important to us.