Virgo Aalsmeer by Stellar Development
- Completed
Virgo Aalsmeer is the future of logistics real estate, a destination where people want to be.
Warehouse
19,723 m²
Office space
1,693 m²
Mezzanine area
1,515 m²
Roof garden
1,890 m²
Watch the Virgo Aalsmeer trailer
Virgo Aalsmeer by Stellar Development
Stellar Development introduces each destination with a captivating trailer that highlights its unique features. Each trailer is complimented by its own, custom sound theme, inspired by the season in which the destination is delivered. Press ‘play’ to experience Virgo Aalsmeer with the seasonal sounds of spring.
The completed destination.
Nature, Architecture, Technology and Functionality: these elements add up to a destination of ‘stellar’ quality.
Virgo Aalsmeer is special on account of its nature-inclusive character, which fits seamlessly with the ambitions of Schiphol Area Development Company and the City of Aalsmeer for the Green Park Aalsmeer business park. Thanks to our collaboration with ecologists and landscape architects, the building is blending in with the local flora and fauna, occupying a prominent and special place in the overall area.
Inspired by the Westeinderplassen heritage.
Roof garden Virgo Aalsmeer
We need to co-exist with nature.
Joost Emmerik
Garden Design and Research
As a Landscape Architect, it makes sense for me to think about the way our surroundings look. For Heembouw Architecten, it’s a given to design not only for people, but also to pay extra attention to the environment. Together, we’ve achieved an optimal nature-inclusive design. These days, it’s no longer possible to only think about human needs – nature is becoming increasingly important. You can already see this in the younger generation, they think about it a lot more. Not to be New Age about it, but there’s an innate bond that binds humanity to the Earth: we need to co-exist with nature.
The flora and fauna around the building is selected to flourish in the context of the location.
Co-designing the environment around distribution centers is a completely new and different assignment for me. These large sites, hardly visited by anyone, offer opportunities for flora and fauna to flourish. For example, the long pathways alongside Virgo Aalsmeer, where we created a flower-rich grassland. Together with ecologist Matthijs Bokje of De Groene Ruimte, we decided to focus on the animals and insects that already live in the vicinity, by using our nature-inclusive approach to provide food and habitat for them. This significantly lowers the threshold for it to actually be used, so we are really adding something here. It is really well thought through. When I heard about the roof garden in Virgo Aalsmeer‘s design, I loved it right away. It’s really special that the roof garden has such a prominent role in the design, and that it’s so big – almost 2,000 m²! Plus, it’s not just for people, but also for insects and animals, with large areas of vegetation. As you approach the center you can already see the roof garden. I hope that it will make people curious and prompt them to look at and experience it. For example, people can spot which insects live there, and how the dynamic planting looks different every season.
Joost Emmerik
Garden Design and Research
Virgo Aalsmeer by Stellar Development
Virgo Aalsmeer by Stellar Development
Flower and plant varieties
Integrated nesting boxes
Mature and young trees mixed planted
Equipped with 362 custom-built, integrated nesting boxes.
The integrated nesting boxes on the north-east and north-west façades are part of Heembouw Architecten’s nature-inclusive vision for Virgo Aalsmeer. It turns out this type of nesting boxes already exists for brick and concrete façades but not for sandwich panels, the cladding we had in mind for Virgo Aalsmeer. In order to translate the architect’s vision into reality, we decided at the planning stage to develop these nesting boxes ourselves.
Adil Laghmouchi
Planning Coordinator, Heembouw
Saving as much as possible on energy needs.
Our ambition was to make this destination as sustainable as possible. The starting point was to save as much as possible on energy needs. In addition, we are using sustainable materials to optimize the shell of the building. For example, we selected Kingspan Quadcore sandwich panels for the façade, as they are light and use 12% less material. We applied effective technology to control temperatures, and monitor and measure energy consumption, among other things. The basic construction of the building consists of a steel skeleton with optimized dimensions and a main wooden supporting structure for the roof. All wood used in the building is FSC-certified.
Composed of carefully selected materials and colors.
1,900 m² rooftop garden.
12 electric charging stations.
LED lighting in the aisles.
20,000 m² area of solar cells.
The LED lighting in the aisles is equipped with presence sensors. The 1,900 m² biodiverse roof garden forms a green oasis for birds and insects. To keep this roof garden green, a maintenance irrigation system has been integrated into the building. There are charging stations for electric vehicles in the passenger vehicle parking area. These charging points are fully supplied with sustainably generated energy. Both staff and visitors can use the charging stations. With a roof area of close to 20,000 m2, almost 1,000 households can, after the installation of PV panels, be supplied with solar electricity.
Highways
A2 – reachable within 20 min
A9 – reachable within 15 min
A4 – reachable within 5 min
N201 – reachable within 1 min
Minutes by car
Schiphol Airport – 10 min
Amsterdam – 15 min
Amsterdam harbor – 25 min
Rotterdam harbor – 45 min
Public transit
Hoofddorp station – 15 min by car
Schiphol station – 10 min by car
Separated parking and logistics areas.
Private road exit to the parking spaces.
Semi-paved path around the building.
Aisles accessible for narrow aisle trucks and reach trucks.
For the sake of safety, the entire plot will be furnished with separate parking and logistics areas. In addition, a single driving direction is applied across the site, and access to the plot on Hollandweg will be by a separate dedicated road exit. A semi-paved path will be constructed around the building for maintenance and escape routes. The column structure in the building has been intelligently chosen to allow the use of both a narrow aisle truck and reach truck aisle pattern.
A gateway to the world.
This sustainable, state-of-the-art distribution center is ideally located in the heart of the Metropolitan Region Amsterdam (MRA), between Schiphol and Royal Floraholland, the largest flower auction in the world. With the airport just 10 minutes away, this is a prime location for companies targeting the international market.
