The supermarket was awarded by the German Sustainable Building Council. In addition to the ecological balance, the assessors also looked, among other things, at the transport connections.
What do the Reichstag in Berlin and the Rewe building in Straelen have in common? Both have received awards for the way they were built. The supermarket in the flower town was awarded the DGNB certificate in Gold by the German Sustainable Building Council – the second-highest of three award levels (Silver, Gold, Platinum) in the DGNB system for new buildings. Hermann Tecklenburg, whose company ensured through comprehensive quality management – from the start of planning through the selection and processing of materials to realisation – that all specifications were met, handed over the gold quality seal on Wednesday to the proprietor, Rewe merchant Günther Gellen.
For the “Rewe Green Building”, not only ecological aspects were assessed, but the entire life cycle of the building. Socio-cultural and economic aspects were also considered. The fit-out includes heating, ventilation and lighting technology as well as refrigeration systems. 80 percent of the heating energy is covered by using the waste heat from the central commercial refrigeration and 20 percent by the use of heat pumps. On Wednesday, however, it was less about heat: the participants of the award ceremony stood pleasantly cool in the supermarket, because the air-conditioning technology also works well. According to the operator, the market is powered by electricity from renewable sources. The rainwater is also collected and used.
“I am very pleased to be able to run a supermarket […] in my home town of Straelen,” said Günther Gellen. Mayor Hans-Josef Linssen shared the joy of the award winners. When asked, he confirmed that not only the architecture itself, but also the supermarket – after some reservations before construction – has been very well received by the people of Straelen. And even the intensive discussion about parking facilities is now a thing of the past. “In Straelen you can always find a spot,” the head of administration was pleased to say.
The German Sustainable Building Council, a non-profit organisation based in Stuttgart, assesses sustainability for the quality seal on the basis of six different evaluation categories. In addition to the ecological balance, the assessors also look at the transport connections and how child-friendly the planning is. Source: RP (Dirk Möwius) Photo: Gottfried Evers
