Two of the engineers from the district office in Moelv, Mikkel Oustad and Stian Kopstad, have been on a course to become certified BREEAM auditors, and they have instructed construction site management on implementation.
"In practice this means that we do much the same as we usually do on the environmental side, but now we need to document and photograph what we do," says project manager Alf Åge Svartvadet.
"But in terms of material choices and technical fields, we also do much which we would not otherwise have done. For example, the materials have to be eco-friendly and locally sourced. All types of hardwood are excluded. We are installing more meters than normal for district heating, ventilation and CO2. For example, BREEAM requires there should be at least 10 meters between the exhaust and intake vents for ventilation air, and it is not very easy to achieve this in an existing shopping centre which is being remodelled and expanded.
Another example of a BREEAM measure that provides points is the installation of TV screens that display public transport timetables.
"The project gets points when people use public transport. Several points in the BREEAM certification are also targeted at the client," says Svartvadet.
Exciting if we achieve our goals
"It's quite exciting work trying to satisfy all the points. There are a lot of them, and we do not know if we will get all the points necessary before the documentation has been looked at in the UK. This is where we get the final yes or no. We have received good help from the consulting firm Golder Associates in Lier, to whom we report the documentation. They have produced a certification manual in Norwegian. It contains 16 main points that cover health/wellness, energy, transport, materials, water, space and more," says Svartvadet.
"As the first project, there will be some extra work on the documentation, nothing off putting, but for our subcontractors and suppliers, it is all quite new. Any new projects will be able to learn from our experience and the documentation of this," he says. Svartvadet thinks it is good that Veidekke has initiated a BREEAM project.
"We have to keep up with the times, but the client must see the advantages. It is the client who must make the decision," he notes.
The client decides
It was the client who wanted Kremmertorget to be BREEAM certified. A different type of certification was reflected in the tender. When Veidekke got the job, it was decided to switch to the system that Norwegian legislation will eventually conform to. Because the project is in two parts, with renovations and extensions, it was decided to aim for the second highest certification level.
Costs
"BREEAM certification entails higher construction costs. Veidekke's contract covers additional costs of up to NOK 1 million. The rest is covered by the client. The system is new, and there is therefore no right answer regarding the costs for this project," says Svartvadet
Source: veidekke.com