Industry has always been an element of cities and should return to them in a sustainable manner. Urbanity is building its second industrial campus with this idea in mind, this time in Bruntál following in the footsteps of Tachov. Once again it will be a complex that will be accommodating not only to manufacturing companies and their employees, but also to the inhabitants of the city as a whole.
Urbanity, a developer of industrial complexes, has been winning one award for sustainability and community work after another. It will soon be adding another campus to its portfolio that will also aspire to such awards, following the revitalised and currently expanded campus in Tachov. At the beginning of May, Urbanity obtained a building permit for the reconstruction and completion of the industrial campus in Bruntál. The complex with four new buildings and a comprehensive infrastructure, including connections to the surrounding roads, will be going up between the exits to Opava and Krnov.

A manufacturing complex connected to the city and community
Urbanity thinks about its industrial sites in the context of the entire area in which they are located. In addition to an attractive location and services for tenants, the complex must form a living part of the city and the local community. This was a success in Tachov and it is also planned in Bruntál. For its first campus, Urbanity already received the international BREEAM Communities certificate, which evaluates how a particular urban unit works in relation to residents and the rest of the city. It should be added that industrial sites usually do not strive for this certification, but Urbanity approaches its premises unconventionally.

“Of course, we also want to have the production campus in Bruntál rated with a comprehensive certification. The subject is not only the individual buildings, but the whole location and the impacts of the project on the region are assessed. We are not taking the standard method, where we would certify the individual buildings separately, but we really are focusing on broader relationships. This approach is much more comprehensive and complicated, but it better reflects how well the campus really works,” explained Roland Hofman, the co-founder and CEO of Urbanity.

The developer and the local town hall work together to connect the campus and the city. “We are negotiating with Urbanity and supporting an important project to open up an industrial zone in Opavská Street, which will certainly contribute to an increase in employment in Bruntál. I hope that new jobs will be created not only in blue-collar professions, but also for qualified workers,” said Petr Rys, the Deputy Mayor of Bruntál.

Upon completion, the campus will become an integral part of the city. In addition, after the construction of a new access road to the complex, there will be less traffic in the adjacent residential area. A public transport stop will be built as part of the new transport solution for the campus. It will be located right at the entrance to the campus. This will further improve the already very good accessibility of the complex. 

Energy efficient buildings and a superhall for robotised production
The campus in Bruntál will not be built on a greenfield. As in Tachov, the developer will renovate the existing infrastructure and build four more buildings. The smallest of them will have an area of 3,500 m², two will have an area of about 5,000 and 10,000 m². Small regional companies will find a place for business in them. The fourth building will be exceptional, both in its size, because it will have an area of 35,000 m², but at the same time it will reach a net height of 20 meters, which allows the location of automated and robotised operations. This superhall will be ideal for a large industrial producer who would like to settle in a region with a skilled workforce close to the border with Poland. 

All the buildings will be classified as extremely energy efficient. “We use the robust know-how of our internal energy team in our approach to energy. We will maximise the inclusion of our own local renewable resources – all the roofs will be fitted with solar panels. From our experience in Tachov, we know that we could cover about 40 to 50 percent of the consumption of our production clients with this green electricity,” said Roland Hofman.  

The campus will also use local sources of drinking water through its own wells and thus can be 100% self-sufficient. The use of heat pumps will be considered for heat production, but it will depend on what types of production will eventually be implemented in the campus. In Tachov, for example, Urbanity has seen how the utilisation of waste heat from production processes is useful. 

Attractive architecture 
The architectural concept in the Bruntál campus will also differ from other industrial parks. Urbanity chose the architectural studio JA architekti to prepare it. “We are trying to connect, unite, create a coherent whole. We reflected Bruntál and the industrial character of this rough region through the use of the corten steel on the façades of the halls. These are complemented by glossy stainless steel plates,” explained architect Andrea Jašková. 

The use of mirrors on the façades visually de\materialises the large surfaces of the halls, the glossy surface reflects the sky and the surrounding landscape, so that the building seems to disappear on the horizon. Moreover, thanks to this effect, the façade changes with each season and change in the weather.  “The public spaces are deliberately, in contrast to the strict geometry of the halls, conceived in a free organic form. They are supposed to encourage rest, to feel relaxed,” added Andrea Jašková.

The construction of the campus infrastructure will begin this year. The new halls will be built next year. The developer will take about three years to complete the entire project. Urbanity will not be changing its philosophy in Bruntál. The buildings will be turnkey according to the precise requirements of the future tenants.