Care for the Kennedy Tower in Eindhoven

Sustainability and circularity are important themes in the construction industry, especially in the face of resource scarcity and climate change. Companies are increasingly committed to sustainable and circular solutions, and the transformation of the Kennedy Tower in Eindhoven is a good example of this. In this project, the sustainable Kawneer RT 72 Reflex^CARE aluminum window system applied. Sustainability and innovation tend to focus on new construction, but at the same time there are also many opportunities in existing buildings. But how do you get all parties on board to tackle a revitalization, renovation or transformation sustainably?

At the same time that Wits Vastgoedbeheer was preparing plans to transform the 21st floor of the Kennedy Tower from storage space to an office penthouse, aluminum systems house Kawneer was in talks with facade builder Rollecate and smelter/extruder E-Max about a new development of aluminum window frames with very low CO₂-footprint. Reason for GevelBeheer Nederland to link the new development to the project. An ideal project to realize the sustainability ambitions of all parties.

CIRCULAR ALUMINUM WINDOW FRAMES
The project used window systems made of aluminum with recycled content of 80% and very low CO₂-footprint. The sustainable window system has been given the suffix "CARE" - which stands for carbon reduced and caring for the world. The percentage of recycled aluminum already indicates that this is a circular product, but to reinforce this, Kawneer commissioned a Life Cycle Analysis. This showed that the environmental performance of the RT 72 Reflex^CARE window system 35% is better than the industry average. In addition to the recycled content, other factors were also influential in lowering the environmental impact. These include reducing transportation, lower energy consumption and the specific properties of the remaining material.

NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL DATABASE CAT 1
The RT 72 Reflex^CARE window system has been added under category 1 to the National Environmental Database (NMD), a central database in the Netherlands that contains information on the environmental performance of building materials and products. The purpose of the database is to provide transparency on the environmental impact of building materials and thus encourage sustainable construction. The database contains data on CO₂-emissions, energy consumption, resource consumption and waste production of building materials. Thus, a CO₂-reduction for window production realized of 42% compared to the industry average.

The Category 1 product card indicates that the proprietary data has been tested by an independent, qualified third party according to the NMD. This good score puts the RT 72 Reflex^CARE window system is eligible for MIA (Environmental Investment Allowance) and the system can help achieve sustainability certifications such as BREEAM. The national environmental database is used by architects, engineers, contractors and clients when selecting building materials. By choosing building materials that have a low environmental impact, they can contribute to a sustainable construction industry and reduce CO₂-emissions.

SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
The Netherlands must become more sustainable and there is a major sustainability challenge in existing buildings. It is therefore natural that when replacing, revitalizing, renovating and transforming, the environmental impact resulting from the use of materials should also be considered. The Kennedytoren in Eindhoven is a good example that this is possible. Here, through good cooperation and consultation between chain partners, a circular renovation has been realized, using standard window frame profiles with a very low CO₂-footprint consisting of at least 80% of recycled aluminum. A joint contribution to a more sustainable future in construction.