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Technical operation: how to manage it more clearly? The operation of a building constitutes a major cost item from its completion. Expenses are mainly replacement investments, optimizations around comfort, energy efficiency and compliance with environmental requirements, including a gradual transition to CO2 neutrality. Efficient investment and cost management requires all-round data-based technical management of operations.

Europe wants to be emission-free by 2050. Since the existing building stock is responsible for 36 percent of those emissions, that is where the key lies. Therefore, the EU mandates a smart building management system for medium- and large-scale buildings by 2025. Next steps may include SMART certificates and a Campus or Site Management System, where buildings exchange energy needs and surpluses.

In the "Carousel Agriculture" project, the laboratories and offices of the KU Leuven Agricultural Institute are being redesigned. This with a renewal of all techniques.

Like Ingenium, many of our customers are currently developing large-scale charging infrastructure for their current, as well as future, electric vehicle fleets.

To achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, the Green Deal wants Europe to emit 55 percent less net CO2 than in 1990 by 2030. Building heating plays an important role in this. A heat zoning map per municipality or area - now 'inspiration map' - is a first step in preparing for the transition. For concrete policy, however, a heat policy plan is needed. What are the focal points in this? What role does psychology play in this story? And what is the link with mobility?

With the partnership DEVI, 4 experienced West Flemish players in the construction sector are joining forces to be stronger in large industrial (refurbishment) construction projects of Belgian and foreign clients. "Our clients are technical people. So are we. So there is quick mutual understanding," Frederik Moortgat (Establis) and Bart Verplancke (Industrium) tell us.

COP 26 in Glasgow will hopefully bring the attention of world leaders back to the gigantic challenge posed by climate transition. As a European organization, with top engineering companies in each country, the FIRST Q network definitely wants to do its part in making the building stock more sustainable, responsible for 40% of global CO2 emissions.

The building with its imposing former dactylo hall is now a place where art academies can flourish. Together with WIT architects, we succeeded in integrating modern techniques in a subtle, invisible way, thus preserving the authenticity of the monument.

In all buildings where multiple people congregate - such as offices, schools, meeting and event spaces - healthy air quality is even higher on the agenda due to the corona pandemic. Are CO2 meters and air purifiers the solution to acute problems? And what about the long term?

TTAS theater construction has been part of the Ingenium Group for over two years now. High time to highlight an exciting project: the renewal of the flywall at the Ancienne Belgique in Brussels. Most theaters do everything they can to make their theatrical installations as invisible as possible to the public. That is why they are most often done in black. Ancienne Belgique, however, likes to put them - literally! - in paint. RAL3003 (ruby red) and RAL3017 (pale red) to be exact.

Ingenium is helping the city government of Mechelen develop a heat strategy. With this, the city wants to be one of the forerunners in Flanders to initiate the heat transition. With a clear vision and a concrete action plan, the Mechelen building patrimony must be heated and cooled fossil-free by 2050. Therefore, Ingenium is making a series of heat-related maps for the entire territory of the city. These include the current and future heat demand, the existing heat supply in the city and an estimate of the renovation potential. Using these policy maps as a basis, we draw up heat zoning plans: a road map in which we propose concrete solutions to make each specific subarea of the city fossil-free in steps. For example, we examine where the application of a heat network could be interesting and where not.

Ingenium is collaborating with VITO and Jorn Verbeeck (as expert team) and with the various departments involved of the City of Bruges in drawing up a 2030 climate plan for Bruges.

Cybersecurity has been high on the agenda in recent years, especially among companies and organizations. At the IT level, the leaks have usually already been plugged, but when it comes to OT infrastructure, the risks are still too often underestimated. However, the continuity of business processes and the protection of personal information are crucial. A cybersecurity audit can reveal the areas for improvement. Over the last 10 years, in the field of cybersecurity in buildings, much attention has been paid to the pure IT infrastructure such as computers and printers. However, OT - operational technology - is still too often treated as a stepmother. However, the use of cameras, access control, fire detection and building management systems for cooling and heating that are connected to the network, among others, has increased dramatically. This makes OT infrastructure vulnerable to misuse. A lot of building managers or users are unaware of the potential risks of poor OT protection. For example, access control software contains personal data subject to the GDPR. A poorly secured camera system allows hackers to look around your building. It not only violates the privacy of those who walk around in it, but can also lead to physical break-ins and theft. Hacking the cooling or heating systems can cause a production facility to shut down. And these are just a few examples. Action is taken not only at the technical level but also at the organizational level. This is done according to the principle of Organizational Physical Electronic Notification Measures (OFEM). That OFEM principle can be applied in both the physical and virtual world.

Voor het woonproject Hoost in Knokke-Heist staat Ingenium in voor het ontwerp van de technieken. Het gebouw zal fossielloos zijn, alle verwarming en koeling wordt geproduceerd via een BEO-veld en warmtepompen. Het project, naar een globaal concept van de Franse architecten Jakob MacFarlane, wordt gerealiseerd samen met B2Ai architects en CAAAP –Artes Group.  Het wordt een ongeziene kleurrijke architecturale constructie in België, appartementen met terrassen worden gemixt met woningen met een tuin in de hoogte. Op de onderste verdiepingen vinden publieke delen (gemeentebestuur, politie, …) hun plaats.  © CAAAP

Our director innovation & sustainability Pedro Pattijn attended the IBPSA congress BS2021 in Bruges. There he gave a presentation on 'Heat mapping & district heating simulation tool'.

In the building of the future, smart handling of energy becomes of prime importance. Not only for economic and ecological reasons, but also for practical reasons. After all, the breakthrough of electric cars and smart grids brings with it enormous challenges. Especially in a world where calls for comfort and efficiency are becoming louder and louder. Yet building managers and facility managers do not face an impossible task. With the intelligence that may be inherent in larger buildings by then, they have an important tool at their disposal to fight this battle.

The intuitive BIMvisible app that Ingenium developed together with Savaco and In The Pocket puts BIM models 'on' the real situation via Augmented Reality in actual size.

The Hortus Conclusus consortium won the contract for the design, construction, financing and maintenance of the new prison in Antwerp. Ingenium is responsible for the design together with Hootmans architecture bureau, ARCH & TECO and Bureau Bas Smets.

When we are too hot, we do not feel comfortable. We start to sweat, get thirsty and stressed, and we feel our energy drain. This causes us to be a lot less productive. This is precisely why reducing overheating is a must in a new construction, as well as in major renovations.

The popularity of electric vehicles has soared in the past year. The charging infrastructure urgently needs to keep up with this evolution. Therefore, the Flemish government imposes minimum standards for new construction projects and major renovations. Existing buildings must also have charging points by 2025. What do you need to consider when installing them now, and to be ready for stricter standards in the future?

In order to centralize its biobanks, UZ Leuven - KU Leuven is building a new facility. In research building O&N4 (KU Leuven) on the Gasthuisberg campus, an area of 2,500 m² is being provided for this purpose. The construction of a central biobank including cryotheque requires not only professional equipment but also a high-performance technical installation.

In March 2021, Koen Van Canneyt - our Expert Cleanrooms & Laboratories - was one of the key players at the Egnaton Forum on laboratories. He explained the Virtual Lab Tour in the newly built labs O&N1bis and O&N5 of the KU Leuven and participated in an international panel on energy reduction in lab buildings.

To generate heat in a sustainable way, Aquafin will soon be using sewage water as a source. It is the most striking element in the conversion of the labs and workshop of the sewage treatment plant (RWZI) in Aalst into a zero energy building.

Construction entrepreneur Joost Callens' Camino group of companies is building new offices for the rental market next to the Durabrik headquarters along the E40 in Drongen. Not only will The Yard be one of the most sustainable office buildings in Belgium, it will also focus on a healthy mind in a healthy body. Source photos: Olivier Salens Architecten

The intuitive BIMvisible app that Ingenium developed together with Savaco and In The Pocket puts full-size BIM models 'on' the real situation. By pointing your smartphone at a false ceiling, for example, you can 'see' which technical components are in that spot (without having to open up the ceiling). The information linked to each component - real-time info from sensors, the installer's contact information, etc. - is centralized in the app and can be easily consulted. The test case at Vandemoortele's Food Experience Center in Ghent was already a success. BIMvisible is now ready to solve comfort and technical problems quickly and efficiently in other buildings as well. The digital vault in turn makes the management of as-built files much easier. Plans, BIM models, technical sheets, contracts, inspections and other relevant information about the property are stored and organized on a central web platform. The advantage? Important information doesn't get lost (anymore) and can be consulted quickly and efficiently over and over again. The digital vault also makes the step to a BIM organization more obvious. For example, no additional licenses or training for BIM software are required. Via the online platform, the building manager can always consult the necessary information. Interested? Give us a call! Call us on 050 40 45 30 or at info@ingenium.be and ask for our expert Niels Vercaemst!