The customer

When the Netherlands decided to renovate its 60-year-old embassy building in Canberra, the costs ultimately proved to be too high and would not deliver the long-lasting sustainability benefits that come with a modern building. Working together with Australian architectural firm Philip Leeson Architects and engineering consultants from Royal Haskoning DHV, Dutch architect Rudy Uytenhaak designed a new, energy-neutral chancellery that succeeded working with the environment rather than against it.

The challenges

According to Royal HaskoningDHV, the new diplomatic post was designed “According to Dutch standards, placing great emphasis on insulation and energy-efficient systems such as a heat pump.” To withstand the high temperatures of Australian heatwaves, Uytenhaak’s plans called for materials that offered sufficient insulation, solar-reflective glass, sun blinds and a sloping roof covered in electricity-generating PV panels.
Source Royal HaskoningDHV

Our solution

The new embassy features an aluminium skin of interlocking panels behind a slatted timber mantle constructed by using 0.9mm orofe^® pre-painted aluminium sheets. These were treated with an innovative coating system that offers substantially more heat reflectivity than virtually any other standard roofing / panel material available, thus reducing the amount of heat that is transferred into the building. This not only helps to keep the embassy cool during Australia’s scorching summers, but it also proves to be an amazing energy saver solution.

The results