Green Facades for New LC Packaging Headquarters with BREEAM Outstanding Certification
- Green walls
- Location: Waddinxveen
LC Packaging chose Mobilane’s WallPlanter system for the green facade of their new building. The system consists of sustainably developed planters with fully grown Hedera hedges, fixed to the facade via a supporting structure, creating a natural appearance for the building.
Sustainable head office: BREEAM Outstanding score
LC Packaging is a family business specialising in sustainable, flexible packaging solutions for dry bulk goods. The family business, active in the packaging industry for four generations, relocated last year to its new site: a new, sustainable, state-of-the-art head office and warehouse with a BREEAM Outstanding score. The production hall features a green facade. The green façade consists of three sections and contributes to the BREEAM Outstanding score recently awarded to LC Packaging. The building was designed by Quadrant4 architects, where sustainability and wellbeing are central. In total, 3,032 solar panels have been installed on the roof. For comparison: this is enough to supply 386 households with energy for a year. The collection of rainwater also contributes to the certification. This collected rainwater is used by nearby greenhouses to irrigate horticultural and agricultural activities. The building serves a warehouse and office function, but is above all designed as an inspiring meeting place where knowledge can be shared and everyone enjoys coming to work.
“We recognised the same way of thinking, and above all acting, in Mobilane. We are extremely satisfied with the end result!” — Lucas Lammers, CEO of LC Packaging
Green facades at LC Packaging with ground-rooted Hedera
For the LC Packaging project, three WallPlanter facades were installed, each 12.5 metres high and 6 metres wide. The green facade starts from the ground, with a planter positioned against the supporting structure every 2.7 metres. These planters are made from high-quality aluminium and are fitted on all sides with an insulation layer, with a drainage layer at the base.
This ground-rooted green facade is supplied with the correct quantity of water and nutrients via an advanced irrigation system. Sensors automatically measure the water level. A drainage system ensures that excess water supplies the lower hedges with water and nutrients, preventing water wastage. This drainage system also delivers oxygen to the plant roots. As a result, the hedges develop well, and the green facade looks spectacular year after year.
The Hedera helix ‘Woerner’ hedges used in the WallPlanter system are planted at the nursery and delivered fully grown. The plants are cultivated locally under “On the way to Planet Proof” certification at Darthuizer Productie. This production site operates a sheltered employment scheme, providing work for 200 people with a distance to the labour market.
Effective collaboration and swift installation
Main contractor De Vries en Verburg, together with Lucas Lammers, CEO and fourth generation of LC Packaging, chose a green facade from Mobilane. The installation of the green facades was carried out by Mobicare in collaboration with Zoontjens Boomprojecten. The installation went smoothly, with the green facades completed within three days. LC Packaging chose Mobilane’s WallPlanter after a visit to Bemmel convinced them that Mobilane was the right partner for LC Packaging. “We recognised the same way of thinking, and above all acting, in them.” LC Packaging is also highly positive about the collaboration: “The collaboration went very well. Installing the systems didn’t happen automatically; the contractor, structural engineer and architect all had their say. And of course, so did we! Amid all that commotion, Mobilane kept a cool head. Really great. We are extremely satisfied with the end result!”
Green facade at LC Packaging demonstrates cooling effect
The green facade at LC Packaging in Waddinxveen not only contributes to biodiversity and a green appearance but also to cooling, as clearly shown in thermal imaging of the building. On the green facade with the Mobilane WallPlanter system, a surface temperature of 28.5 °C was measured, while the adjacent unplanted facade reached as high as 62.0 °C a difference of no less than 33.5 °C. Even the light-coloured concrete plinth, measured at 37.9 °C, was considerably warmer than the greenery.
These measurements make the cooling effect of green facades tangible and demonstrate the role green facades can play in limiting heat stress on business parks. The Municipality of Waddinxveen also sees greening as part of a climate-resilient living environment. Patrick Droog, Living Environment Advisor at the Municipality of Waddinxveen, responded enthusiastically to the results: “It really works… green really does cool!” LC Packaging’s initiative shows how businesses can contribute to a greener, more climate-resilient working environment.
Thermal imaging measurement data
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- Green facade: 28.5 °C / 30.5 °C
- Light-coloured plinth: 37.9 °C
- Unplanted façade: 61.7 °C / 62.0 °C
- Greatest difference between measurement points shown: 33.5 °C
The temperatures quoted are surface temperatures at individual measurement points and do not represent air temperature measurements.
FAQs
Thermal images from LC Packaging’s headquarters in Waddinxveen show a clear difference in measured surface temperatures. One point on the green wall measured 28.5°C, while the adjacent unvegetated façade reached 62.0°C. That is a 33.5°C difference in surface temperature. These are surface-temperature measurements, not a 33.5°C difference in air temperature.
Yes. Vegetation can shade the building surface and cool through evapotranspiration, helping vegetated façades remain cooler under solar exposure than bare building surfaces. The thermal images at LC Packaging demonstrate this effect at façade level. A green wall should be considered as part of a wider passive cooling and heat-resilience strategy rather than as a substitute for building-level overheating assessment.
Commercial and industrial estates often contain large areas of buildings, hardstanding and other sealed surfaces that absorb and retain heat. Façade greening adds vegetation without taking up valuable ground space. It can support climate resilience, biodiversity and a more attractive working environment, making large external walls a useful part of a site-wide greening strategy.
LC Packaging uses the Mobilane WallPlanter system. The production building has three green façades, each approximately 12.5 metres high and 6 metres wide. Ground-rooted Hedera is combined with planters positioned at different heights on a supporting structure.
Alongside lower façade surface temperatures, green walls can support biodiversity, particulate capture and a greener working environment. The vegetation also shades the underlying façade and reduces its direct exposure to solar radiation and weather. This allows multiple environmental and building-related functions to be combined on the same vertical surface.
Yes. Green walls and other forms of urban greening can form part of a broader response to overheating, urban heat and biodiversity loss, particularly where space at ground level is limited. UK planning and design approaches increasingly consider green infrastructure, passive cooling and summer overheating. Requirements vary by nation and local planning authority. In London, for example, green walls can contribute to the Urban Greening Factor used for major developments. Project teams should always check the relevant local plan, building regulations, fire-safety requirements and maintenance strategy for the specific scheme.
Sustainability was a key part of the development of LC Packaging’s new headquarters and warehouse in Waddinxveen. The building achieved BREEAM Outstanding. The three Mobilane WallPlanter façades form part of the wider sustainability concept, alongside measures including solar panels and rainwater collection and reuse.
