Danone Innovation Centre

Bolidt News

Danone Innovation Centre

At the end of September, Danone launched its state-of-the-art Innovation Centre, Nutricia Research, located at Utrecht Science Park. The new facilities will employ 450 staff to identify opportunities for innovation in infant and medical nutrition. Quality and sustainability played a key role in both the design and the technical execution of the research and innovation centre.

The overall aim of the building design by architectural firm Cepezed was to create an open, dynamic and inspiring environment that would accommodate a variety of functions. The centre contains offices, storage facilities, laboratories, a pilot factory, an information and a conference centre, a coffee bar and a restaurant. Generous amounts of glass and natural light were used to achieve the desired sense of transparency, cleanliness and unity, which is supported and enhanced by the installation of light-coloured Bolidtop^® 525 flooring. Cepezed has been working with Bolidt for many years with great confidence.

The Danone Innovation Centre had to meet a number of sustainability criteria in order to attain a BREEAM-NL Excellent (four stars) rating.

The choice of suitable flooring is one of the categories, in which credits can be obtained for a BREAAM certificate. Bolidt meets the requirements that BREEAM has set for this project. The sustainability of the Bolidt floor finishes has contributed to the research centre being awarded a BREEAM-NL Excellent design certificate. The new centre fits in well with the ideal of Utrecht Science Park to bring sustainability, innovative knowledge, research and business together.

The sustainability of the flooring is reflected not just in its minimal maintenance requirements, but also in its life span. Right from the start, Bolidt has been developing flooring systems that retain their functionality, including their strength and colour fastness, for virtually their entire life.

The ultimate goal is for the systems to be so hard and smooth after application that the occurrence of wear is all but impossible. Over the years, continuous innovation has only further improved the strength of our systems. As a result, the life of Bolidt’s systems will easily exceed the life span of a building. This also applies to the Bolidtop^® 525 flooring in the Danone Innovation Centre, which will undoubtedly still be faithfully serving its purpose long after the researchers have developed a new generation of innovative foodstuffs.