NEINVER has completed the BREEAM certification process for FUTURA Park Kraków. This is Poland's first center to obtain a certificate with the 'Very Good' mark. FUTURA Park Kraków is also the country's first retail center to receive a BREEAM certificate at the design stage and then undergo a verification procedure after being developed.
In the two-stage certification process, NEINVER Poland's most recent investment was evaluated in 10 categories management, health, energy, transport, water, materials, waste, spatial development and ecology, pollution and innovativeness. The certificate proves that FUTURA Park Kraków has met BREEAM requirements in all the aforesaid categories at a very good level.
Meeting BREEAM sustainable development conditions, FUTURA Park Kraków became an example of pioneering ecological large-scale solutions in a newly-built retail complex. Thanks to intelligent building systems, it is highly eco-friendly. It features energy-saving elevators and escalators, heat exchangers allowing energy recovery from the air and daylight detectors.
"NEINVER's strategy consists in the development of new centers in line with sustainable construction standards. While running new investments, just as in case of FUTURA Park Kraków, we are going to implement innovative and energy-saving technologies that minimize the impact upon the environment," says Rafal Elzanowski, Investment Director at NEINVER Poland.
BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) is one of the most popular methods of evaluating eco-friendly solutions in the construction industry. In order to undergo the process and get the BREEAM certificate, it is necessary to meet numerous conditions related to the reduction of a negative impact upon the environment at the design phase, during the construction process and finally over the building's use period (through efficient management methods).
FUTURA Park Kraków's certification procedure saw the involvement of Tebodin Polska, a consulting/engineering company that oversees the whole investment.
"Each investment task is aimed at meeting current needs. In case of this investment, it was also important to retain the development potential of future generations, which is the main idea behind sustainable construction. Adequate technical and material solutions, respect for the environment and natural resources and friendly shaping of a workplace are as important as the awareness and promotion of eco-friendly activities.
"Undoubtedly, the expertise gained while working on this project and related to BREEAM good practices will be used for subsequent investments and offers a wider perspective on the investment process," says Adam Kaminski, BREEAM International Assessor.
FUTURA Park Kraków is NEINVER Poland's unique concept which combines a retail park and FACTORY outlet center under one roof. The modern retail complex features a space of 44,000 m² and 140 service or retail units run by Polish and international brands. It consists of two retail formats that complement one another an outlet center with a fashion zone and a convenient shopping section in the retail park.
The FUTURA Park Kraków building, opened in October 2011, was designed in a manner which makes use of the natural lay of the land. An accurate integration of the building and natural elevations made it possible to accommodate the two shopping concepts on separate floors. The building's structure enables a natural simultaneous access to both levels from the parking lot with 1,400 spaces.
Owing to its perfect location at Kraków's expressway ring-road, the outlet center and the retail park have a catchment area that covers not only the residents of Kraków and its surrounding area, but also the whole region with 3 million prospective customers. In its first two weeks of operation, the complex welcomed 260,000 visitors.
In 2012, FUTURA Park Kraków was awarded 'Retail Park of the Year' in a contest organized by CEE Retail Real Estate Awards.
Source: NEINVER
