HUIS van Roosendaal offers visitors a welcome of vertical greenery

The ‘HUIS van Roosendaal’, the name of the official city office of Roosendaal, was completely renovated between 2018 and 2023. Parts of the building from the 1970s have been preserved. In addition parts have been renovated and the town hall has been made more sustainable. For instance, there are solar panels on the roof and heat pumps have been installed, making the building completely gas-free. A 300 m2 living wall, for the benefit of climate adaptation and biodiversity, gives the building a natural look and is fully in keeping with its sustainable character.

Project leader HUIS van Roosendaal, Peter Hereijgers: “The aim was to realize an Energy Neutral Building (ENG). This means that we want to achieve at least energy label A and use previously used materials. That is why we embrace circular construction and demolition. The renovation is BREEAM-NL certified. Sustainability is of importance to us, a principle that also extends to our building. That is why we had considerable sustainability ambitions for the building and we have realized that. The largest eye-catchers are the green facades on the outside of the building and the living inner wall in the atrium. The living green embodies the entire philosophy.”

Living walls HUIS van Roosendaal

In total, four MobiPanel green facades have been installed, over a total area of approximately 300 m2. The modular living wall design of MobiPanel features interchangeable plant cassettes in two different sizes. Corrosion-resistant omega profiles serve as the load-bearing structure for these plant cassettes, which are equipped with two spacious slots suitable for plants of various sizes. Pre-grown plants in the system extract water from the internal capillary microfiber cloth for water buffering. An automated irrigation and drainage system ensures a balanced water supply and efficient water use in the green facade.
“The 1970s building naturally has beautiful stone. We wanted to combine this stone with more greenery to demonstrate that we are the nature-friendly city that we aspire to be.”

A natural welcome

Inside the atrium, there is a LivePanel wall of 50 m2. Hereijgers said, “This is the heart of the building, and we wanted to give it the grandeur it deserves. The living wall is 7 meters wide and 3 stories high. As the atrium is a tall, open space, we wanted a wall that not only looks beautiful but also has acoustic properties and purifies the air. We have specially selected the plants for this purpose. Eight spotlights directed at the wall make the greenery even more prominent. We even halved plant cassettes for it; we were so eager to use the entire space to showcase the vibrant wall.”
Hereijgers continues; “We recently had an open day, and the walls were a popular topic of discussion. Everyone enjoys looking at them or engaging with them. If there’s a spot that stands out from the rest, colleagues immediately notice and call attention to it, for example after passing under it on their bikes.”

Collaboration with Mobilane

Hereijgers says about the collaboration: “We were advised by our consulting firm to work with Mobilane because it was known that they provide the right advice from the very beginning. The system needs to be integrated from the start of the renovation, due to water connections and irrigation cabinets. That’s why we included vertical greenery as part of the entire construction contract. The collaboration went, and continues to go, very smoothly. We also have a maintenance contract, so we don’t have to worry about anything, and the walls always look their best. The plants are in bloom from May to August, creating a beautiful burst of color, along with the greenery and the color of the building’s stones. The building now exactly reflects what the municipality stands for: openness, transparency, and hospitality. It’s more than just a town hall; everyone feels at home here.”