e4 terrace houses in Belgium

Sustainable Compound

Sustainable living in the heart of the city

The Sustainable Compound is an e4 project to extend the living accommodation in Waregem, making use of existing open spaces, in which the efforts put into sustainability and affordability are spread over a cluster of seven individual houses.

With this pilot project, Wienerberger Belgium wants to demonstrate two claims.A sustainable living project meeting BREEAM Excellent sustainability criteria can be realised at optimal cost, taking into account not only the initial investment, but also the long-term maintenance costs and savings compared to a standard newly-built house.

The traditional Belgian building methods, with the established Wienerberger materials and traditional construction partners, are perfect for the realisation of affordable projects with a long life time without compromising on quality and aesthetics.

Sustainability criteria

Traditional Belgian building methods

Besides the energy aspect, the sustainability criteria relate to water management on the site and in the houses, the materials to be used, thermal and acoustic comfort, green management, etc. - always bearing in mind the affordability and the time needed to recover the costs of the chosen solutions.

With this broad approach the advantages of individual houses are retained. The efforts put into sustainability and affordability are spread over a cluster of seven individual houses.

Residents of the Duurzame Wijk Waregem - Family

Clever design choices

Collaboration with energy consultant 3E

Research, in collaboration with energy consultant 3E, also indicated that achieving optimal cost in constructing energy efficient buildings depends on a number of clever choices: a heavily insulated massive construction, airtightness to the best level achievable in practice, and robust solutions rather than expensive technology. In short, the energy efficient construction starts with a clever design.