Lothar Wijnand is Advisor and Co-owner at M3E, a sustainable building consulting firm in Rotterdam. He is a consultant who knows the market, while his partner at M3E focuses on installation-technical advice. But Lothar, as a trained structural engineer, focuses on all kinds of quality marks and applying for subsidies. "But we also give advice on how to get that subsidy at all, so how will you meet the conditions? We combine that."
What was M3E’s role at Prologis Park Waalwijk DC3?
"We know what works. We are able to interpret the stories and the quotations of contractors and inspectors. We keep the end goal in mind and monitor the process. We use a material passport: a list of ingredients of your entire building. A lot of buildings are just standing there. Building plans do exist, but they are somewhere in an archive or on a USB stick. That doesn't work anymore. In five years you may still be able to see exactly what everything is, but what about 50 years from now? What kind of panel is that? What's behind it? We map everything. It’s also convenient in terms of ordering additional materials, knowing the value of materials in the building are and when you want to separate waste in the right way. It is quite a task to gather all information in the passport, but we are accustomed to it.”
How did the collaboration start?
"It started when Prologis established a building in Venlo. That building already had the BREEAM quality mark and we were asked to apply for the subsidy on behalf of Prologis. They found us to help them make it feasible. Our contact became even more intensive after we sent a Christmas card with information about WELL-building that was invented in America. That idea also appealed to Prologis and it inspired them to adopt that way of working in their properties. Now we are working together on this Circular project -with DoepelStrijkers and their toolbox.”
How is the cooperation going?
"Very well. Everything about Prologis shows that they are intrinsically motivated to build good buildings for the long term. A big difference is that many other parties go purely for the sale. Prologis really wants to make steps in sustainability, just like we do. Prologis is also very future-oriented and they don't continue to do what they have always done, but they look further. How can we improve? Where are the opportunities?”
What is the integrated approach you work with?
"Actually M3E consists of a number of separate companies. So I am the owner of the subsidy advice department with which we also do quality marks. Additionally, we have the technical section anda division for construction costs. We are colleagues, each with our own mission, while at the same time everyone is able to carry their own weight. On the one hand we do WELL building and on the other we care about more aspects of sustainable building. For example, we focus on non-toxic materials andalso the reutilization and circular aspects of material use. Our strength is that we are able to combine disciplines to achieve better results.”
What does Prologis Park Waalwijk DC3 stand for?
"In terms of new construction, Prologis Park Waalwijk DC3 is a very good example of what is possible in the market and in circular. In terms of origin and cradle to cradle we are at 20 to 30 percent. That's better than in traditional construction. With Sander Griffioen, from Prologis, we often philosophize about the next steps. Now we use steel, but we could also use wooden beams as roof beams in the future. Or wooden insulation material with a biological origin instead of something made from petroleum.”