Planning for the Future

Optim Project Management develops world top sustainable projects and – even if you don’t always realize it in your everyday work – we bring our own contribution to sustainability. Of course, we are proud of it and we know the feeling very well.

Here are also some facts regarding the key sustainable aspects of one of the ten most sustainable Industry 4.0 production facilities in the world (as the World Economic Forum designated it last week) – the Arctic Factory in Ulmi, Dambovita, for which Optim Project Management performed General Design, Permitting, Project Management for Tendering Phase and LEED Certification Services during 2017-2019 (Lead Architect: Gabriela Botez).

1. Sustainable Sites

• Arctic limits site activities in certain areas in order to protect existing biodiversity;
• the green area has more than 20% of the Arctic site area;
• the accumulated rainwater is used to irrigate the vegetated space conducting to a lowering of fresh water;
• the roof of the Arctic factory is painted white, thus lowering the cooling energy as the cool roof reflects more than 80% of the incident solar radiation;
• the roof mounted photovoltaic panels have a dual benefit: produce electrical and absorb the incident solar radiation, eliminating the need for mechanical cooling;
• the exterior luminaires are angled to limit the spill lights to sensitive areas, like office spaces.

2. Water Efficiency

• the water fixtures are low-flush and lower the fresh water consumption with at least 40%;
• native and adaptive plants which require less water were chosen. During the dry summer months, the plants are irrigated only from the rainwater tank, which reduces the potable water consumption with at least 50%;
• the site has a wastewater treatment station. The surplus wastewater is pumped in to the retention tank and used for irrigation.

3. Energy and Atmosphere

Arctic uses energy efficient technologies, to reduce operational energy and costs:

• Kingspan OPTIM-R insulated, that is up to five times better than commonly used insulation materials;
• daylight sensors that reduce the artificial lighting based on available natural light;
• highly efficient LED luminaires;
• solar cooling;
• Water Sourced Heat Pumps (WSHP) for comfort cooling and heating, one of the most energy efficient systems on the market;
• photovoltaic panels on the roof;
• energy efficient office equipment that requires less electricity to run.

4. Materials and Resources

• dedicated area for recycling;
• the waste from the construction process is diverted from the garbage dump in a proportion of at least 75%;
• the construction materials used for the Arctic factory have a high recyclable content. For example, the iron is 100% recycled and the concrete has as much as 7% recycling content;
• the majority of construction materials were sourced from an 800km radius from the Arctic site, thus lowering the carbon emissions from their transport;
• all permanent wood used for the Arctic factory was 100% ‘Legally harvested and Legally traded timber’ with a recognized certification scheme.

To meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs – this is how sustainability can be defined. And that’s what we do here, at Optim Project Management. Because We build with Passion!