ING Head Office 'De Schoen'

In the ING House (or 'De Schoen' , 'The Shoe'), at the Amsterdam Southern Axis, is located the Head Quarters of the Dutch bank and insurance company 'ING Groep'. The building is built in a table shape, and rests on 16 steel oblique pillars. These pillars stand loosely on pins in large concrete blocks in the ground, a technique adapted from bridge construction. The application of a double skin and specially controlled installations, make the building energy efficient. The inner wall of this double skin has a thermal function, and makes the climate in the offices stay optimal. The space between the inner and outer wall (the cleft) is ventilated at the sunny sides by glass flaps in the glass outer wall. At a certain temperature in the cleft, these glass flaps are actuated by small motors.

The interior climate is protected from unwanted heating by the sun through heat prevention curtains. These heat preventors hang in the cleft between the thermal inner wall and the glass outer wall at the east and south side of the building. By means of the measured luminance of the sun in a nearby weather station, the heat prevention curtains are raised or lowered. The weather station provides also data about the angle of the sunrays, making it possible to control from which side the curtains have to be lowered or raised (east and/or south). By means of the height position of the sun, also measured at the weather station, the flaps are inclined in the optimal position. Heat prevention curtains that are hanging at the glass ceiling panels are closed in winter to keep the warmth inside and the cold outside. In this way, a lot of energy is saved: in summer there is less need for cooling because there is less heat load, and in winter, the cold is kept outside, with less need for additional heating.

By all means, an example of competence in technology... : it is not surprising the installation company, Kropman Installatietechniek, chose for the Belparts field components for this amazing, unique office building.

Here you can admire the ING House in 3D!

Project sheet