Hogeschool Rotterdam Business School

Future-oriented education in a sustainable building

European Capital of Culture 2001, City of Architecture
2007, leading industrial and commercial city, one of the
cultural centres of the Netherlands – this is Rotterdam.
Modernisation is at the heart of the architectural city,
which is also reflected in educational institutions such as
the Hogeschool Rotterdam Business School (HRBS). As
a part of the Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences,
which is one of the largest universities in the Netherlands
with 30,000 students, HRBS is preparing for a career in
the international economy in state-of-the-art buildings with
advanced technology.

A milestone in the history of HRBS is certainly the
new educational building on the university campus of
Kralingse Zoom, which opened on 8 March 2017.
The challenge here was to visually combine the new
building with the existing building and to make both
parts of the building so sustainable that they meet the
requirements of the BREEAM-NL Excellent certificate.
In addition to measures for energy efficiency, this also
requires natural, environmentally friendly materials that
have a positive impact on the indoor climate. nora rubber
coverings fit perfectly into the picture – and so there
are more than 11,300 square metres of noraplan unita in HRBS, a plain-coloured flooring with embedded,
real granite chips.

A spectacular sight

Entering the atrium of the new building offers visitors
a spectacular sight, as they are welcomed by a huge
room with several floors. “This educational building is the
latest addition to HRBS,” says architect Paul de Ruiter.
“The idea was to create a flexible area that offers many
different places where you can stay alone or in small
groups,” adds de Ruiter. Based on this idea, an open
building ring with classrooms, lecture halls and offices
was created, the seven floors of which are connected by
a wide, imposing staircase. The staircase is considered
an important part of the concept, because it is intended
to ensure that people happen to be in touch and talk to
each other. “The interior is also important,” continues the
architect, “because it determines the appearance and
transports the atmosphere and mood. In contrast to the
large amount of light and wood, we wanted a dark floor
with a timeless look that is at the same time robust and
resistant. So the choice was made for noraplan unita,
because we know from experience that thanks to its
appearance and its characteristics, it will still look great
even in ten years and more. The dark grey of noraplan
unita underlines the clear, puristic design and the granite
chips introduced also create interesting lighting effects
on the ground,” de Ruiter praises. A further bonus: As is
possible with all nora rubber floors, noraplan unita has
also been seamlessly joined in the building, so that users
can experience the floor as a beautiful, large area.

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Sustainability is a top priority

“Rubber floors have long lost their old-fashioned image
and are now regarded as a modern and sustainable
flooring solution,” explains Marien Ippel, Account
Executive at nora systems GmbH. nora floors, including
noraplan unita, have low levels of emissions and are
very economical. The rubber floors owe this very
good cost-effectiveness to their dense, closed surface,
because they are easy to clean and do not require
a coating. This not only saves the initial coating
costs, but also future time-consuming and costly new
coatings.” “The great properties of our floors in terms
of sustainability have made a significant contribution
to the fact that the university building has received the
BREEAM-NL Excellent certificate, of which we are of
course very proud,” Ippel concludes.

A floor for good acoustics

“Once our floors are put into use, users will benefit
from a significantly reduced footfall sound,” the nora
employee added. “The excellent acoustic properties of
nora floors are a strong argument, especially in highly
frequented areas such as those in universities.” The
rubber material ensures a permanently elastic surface
that absorbs the impact sound and thus contributes to
very good interior acoustics.

The overall package fits

René van Gorp is Manager of Architectural Management
and Maintenance and says in conversation: ‘Since the
building has been finished it’s become a part of us and
I’m in charge of keeping it in good condition. Today,
after three years, it is still an impressive, energy-efficient
building, with many great features. It is not for nothing that
it has received an excellent award from BREAAM-NL. In
addition, the combination of bright walls, lots of glass and
a seamless-looking floor works very well and corresponds
to today’s trend. nora’s rubber floor also has a very easyto-
clean surface and maintenance costs are low.”
The HRBS educational building is future-proof and
designed to be flexible. In this way, it is possible to react
quickly to changes in education. Due to the modular
design, the walls can be easily moved so that the size and function of the rooms can be easily changed on request.