Preserving monuments
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In 2019, the Roadmap for Sustainable Monuments was created. The goal of the roadmap is to achieve a 60% CO2 reduction by 2040 as an average across the entire monument stock in the Netherlands. Monumentenbezit has also signed this. Now, 5 years later, we look at where we stand.
The roadmap was created to achieve the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. We do this together with various different organisations within the sector. When making our monuments more sustainable, the preservation of the cultural-historical value is always the starting point.
In 2023, we have drawn up a sustainability strategy. We have started with an inventory and zero measurement of our portfolio. Using a self-developed opportunity map, we assess which monuments we will make sustainable first.
Starting times
We have chosen four starting points as a natural moment to be able to make sustainable. That is at:
- Planned maintenance and/or restoration: the moment at which (multi)annual maintenance has already been planned;
- High energy consumption: there is a need to map and reduce the consumption of a monument;
- Operation: How the building is used determines whether and when it is suitable for sustainability. Special building characteristics can play a role and create opportunities for follow-up steps. For example, old existing water cellars, provided they are properly sealed or made, can be used to store rainwater ;
- External factors: in some cases regional or local subsidies are released for sustainability measures (of monuments). We then use that as a starting point for sustainability.
Baseline measurement
We have started with a zero measurement of our monuments. In doing so, we are recording all kinds of data; such as basic characteristics, function, energy consumption, environmental factors, the maintenance plan and available subsidies.
From the zero measurement we fill in our opportunity map. This map gives an image of the order and chance of success of the approach. For the implementation we give preference to parties that have sustainability high on the agenda.
The button shows you an empty template of the Opportunity Map.
The sustainability of the East Church
The large-scale sustainability of the Oostkerk in Middelburg clearly shows how we work with a unique top-100 monument. The challenge here was not only to align the techniques with the building, but also to apply them completely reversibly. So that the monumental values of the church were preserved. That is always the goal for Monumentenbezit when we start working on making heritage more sustainable.
What did we do in the East Church?
- A new underfloor heating system based on a heat pump has been installed.
- To ensure that only the church hall itself is heated and not the entire volume of the church, a horizontal "air curtain" was created. In the base of the dome, heated air is blown into the use zone inside the church. Inside the dome, the air is exhausted. This technique ensures that the heat does not dissipate in the dome, but rather is optimally utilized low down in the room.
- To prevent draughts, heated secondary glazing and wall heating have been installed, which is fed by the same heat pump as the underfloor heating.
The new sustainability techniques have been incorporated into the Oostkerk almost invisibly. This is only possible because the installations could be placed in the adjacent building, which Monumentenbezit purchased especially for this purpose. The heat enters the Oostkerk through pipes under the street.
Use buildings
Of course, sustainability is about more than making buildings more sustainable. We therefore also look at how you can operate and use buildings more sustainably. All of this is part of our sustainability strategy.
Would you also like to secure a building with us and have it made more sustainable? Read more about our approach here.
