Plus Ultra II Wageningen

Context
“Plus Ultra” was put into use at the end of 2015 on Wageningen Campus. This building, developed and operated by Kadans Science Partner, offers space for starting, growing and established companies and organizations in the world of agro, food, biobased, healthy lifestyle and living environment. With a diverse range of offices, laboratories, pilothalls, meeting rooms and meeting places, Plus Ultra facilitates the formation of a strong community between all ‘residents’ of the building, centrally on Wageningen Campus.

Increasing demand
Companies and organizations want to become part of this community on Wageningen Campus. So much so that Plus Ultra is currently fully let out and with it the need for extra space for an even larger community has arisen. In addition, Wageningen University, StartLife and its partners have asked to create a permanent space for the student incubator (StartHub), early phase startups and Technostarters. Finally, the wish was expressed to host future student challenges in and around the Plus Ultra community.

Plus Ultra II
Kadans Science Partner would like to offer space to all these entrepreneurs and initiatives to further build on the strong community around the domains in which Wageningen University & Research is active.

Kadans has therefore taken the initiative to develop a new multi-company building “Plus Ultra II” in addition to (and connected to) the existing Plus Ultra. In this multi-storey business building with more than 11,000 m2 there is room for both starting, growing and established companies and organizations, where each party contributes and contributes to the community.

Plus Ultra II will bring together a large group of entrepreneurial companies, start-ups and student challenges around food, agriculture, sustainability and health. The place for this community will contribute to knowledge sharing, synergy and communication. Plus Ultra II gets a beating heart.

Answer the unknown question

Plus Ultra II is a flexible, multi-functional building with offices, laboratories, meeting rooms and a workshop. Achieving maximum flexibility starts with the creation of a universal grid based on a 3.60 m module. The volume develops based on this module over a length of approximately 80m x 40m. To allow daylight deep into all spaces, two large atria are made in this basic volume. These atria form the proverbial lungs of the building and enhance the quality of experience for all users and visitors of Plus Ultra II. The building will have access from the campus on the north side and access from a new parking building on the south side.

The fixed elements of Plus Ultra II such as lifts, flight staircases and technical shafts are positioned on the darkest parts of the floor plan so that they have a minimal disruptive effect. The common elements such as meeting rooms, open staircases and coffee facilities are positioned centrally in the building. This creates a beating heart as a connecting element between the two atria. Logistic access is provided around both atria, giving freely access to office and laboratory floors.

The flexibility in structure and installations of Plus Ultra II makes it possible to accommodate companies from the level of a single module to a half or full floor.

BREEAM Excellent
Plus Ultra II is developed extremely sustainably. To achieve the Excellent level, investments are being made in flexibility, floor height, robust materials, triple-glass and efficient installations. For example, a new thermal storage system is being installed to provide the necessary heating and cooling for the building and the entire roof is equipped with PV panels. Heat recovery, LED lighting and absence detection are of course self-evident.