A listed railway shed, sustainably transformed.

History

The oldest route between Utrecht and Amsterdam

The Daalsedijk is the oldest route between Utrecht and Amsterdam, built in the year 1200 alongside the old course of the Vecht.

The UCo building has an original sawtooth roof (a roof with a saw-tooth shape that gives the whole building even daylight), which had been fully closed off and was the first thing restored to its original state during the renovation. The building has been in use as a workshop since 1916, first for building railway carriages and steel structures.

From the 1950s, guest workers from Italy, Greece, Spain, Turkey and Morocco worked here, on what was then the main overland route to Amsterdam. The neighbourhood around UCo grew up to house these workers.

Renovation and fit-out

Non-toxic materials, reuse and energy-neutral

In the renovation and fit-out, every detail was chosen for non-toxic materials, natural light and healthy installations. Many interior materials come from demolished buildings; the phone booths, for example, are made from walls salvaged from other office buildings that would otherwise have been demolished. The acoustic panels are made of environmentally friendly wood with an inner layer of recycled cotton and a cover of organic, fair-trade textile.

The building is heated via an air-to-water heat pump with underfloor heating in an insulated concrete floor. Ventilation uses heat recovery, and in summer the building is cooled via adiabatic cooling, supplemented with PV cells and LED lighting.

Recognition

Finalist and nominated for sustainable renovation

In 2017, UCo was one of the ten finalists of the Healthy Urban Office Challenge, an initiative of Gemeente Utrecht, the Municipality of Amersfoort, the Province of Utrecht, Economic Board Utrecht and Stichting De Nieuwe Draai. In 2018, UCo was nominated for the Sustainability Award of the Province of Utrecht, for the restoration project with the best sustainability measures.

Founders

Conceived and founded by three sustainability professionals

UCo is an initiative of Except Integrated Sustainability, conceived and founded by Tom Bosschaert (Except), Michiel van der Vight (DeWarmteTransitieMakers) and Mirjam Schmull (TRANSFORMEER.com). Michiel van der Vight was responsible for the business case and financing; Mirjam Schmull was project lead for the transformation process and the realisation of the community.

Merel Stolker (TRANSFORMEER.com) was responsible for the fit-out of the shell and interior, from concept through to realisation. The founders remain committed to shaping the UCo community.