Edenya Pairi Daiza

An engineer’s dream becomes reality

Starting from the animals and plants that would live there and creating the ideal temperature and humidity conditions for them, rather than first building a greenhouse and then simply filling it with fauna and flora: that was the ambition behind Edenya, according to Olivier Boucquey, Project Manager at Pairi Daiza. Visitors should also be able to discover this natural wonder under the best possible conditions, ensuring an unforgettable experience. To reconcile these important objectives, Pairi Daiza chose installer Imtech, a leading player in its field, which worked together with Collignon (electrical engineering) for the project. This offered the major advantage that the coordination of all HVAC, sanitary and electrical installations was handled by a single integrated project team.

“Our mission was to deliver all HVAC and sanitary installations required to create the right temperature and humidity conditions in this extraordinary tropical world.” - Alexandre Christiaens, project Manager at Imtech

And to do so in an environmentally responsible way: the greenhouse and water basins are heated by six heat pumps with optimized heat recovery, a geothermal heat pump extracts maximum energy from the ground, and a weather station anticipates the opening of movable sections of the glazed exterior envelope. Energy efficiency is a constant focus throughout the project. In addition, rainwater is collected and reused for the automatic irrigation of the vegetation.

Marine Bergmans on Belgium's largest heat production based on air-to-water heat pumps, an extensive network of underground pipes and technical substations spread across the entire park. This project is a prime example of sustainable energy supply on a large scale.

Three Major Challenges

“This atypical project was a true engineer’s dream because of its scale, complexity and the performance expectations of the client,” Christiaens continues.

“I can identify three major challenges in particular. First, integrating the ventilation and heating systems into the three-dimensional roof structure, sometimes with centimetre-level precision.

The schedule formed a second major challenge: very early on, the client asked us to heat the greenhouse to 14°C so that tropical plants could already be installed.

The third challenge was the level of coordination required to work with a large number of different disciplines, some of which are rarely encountered on traditional construction sites.”

Kevin Challe with state-of-the-art control systems that operate and regulate the building's technical installations, including the management of the smoke and heat extraction vents in the façades and roofs.

A hotbed of technical innovation

Edenya also clearly distinguishes itself in terms of technical innovation. The project goes as far as recovering heat from the humid tropical air and reusing it to heat both the water basins and the greenhouse. As a result, Edenya is the project with the largest number of high-efficiency heat pumps in Belgium. Energy recovery is pushed to the extreme.

Frédéric Delfosse with the plumbing installations: central production of domestic hot water for each hotel and a wide range of high-end sanitary fittings, including natural stone bathtubs weighing as much as one ton each.

This project, combining large volumes with variable geometries, would undoubtedly not have been possible without the use of BIM. Every technical area was digitally brought to life before being physically constructed. The 3D model allowed potential clashes between systems to be identified and resolved in advance. With so many stakeholders involved, coordinating everything would have been far more difficult without the support of a shared digital model. Planning, costs and technical performance were all optimized through the BIM methodology.

Alexandre Michiels with the crucial role of BIM: given the project's complex geometry and technical configuration, detailed 3D BIM modeling was indispensable for accurately coordinating the installations and delivering the project within the set deadlines.

Shared trust

Mission accomplished. Alexandre Christiaens is delighted with the result: “I am extremely proud of this collective success achieved by a large and motivated team that worked together in a constructive atmosphere, despite unavoidable periods of high pressure. I am also pleased that we were able to build a relationship of trust with the client, once again proving that we are a reliable partner of choice for exceptional and inspiring engineering projects such as this one.”

Olivier Boucquey concludes: “There were indeed difficult moments at times, but the result was achieved thanks to exemplary cooperation between the various teams involved, all of whom approached both the technical and human challenges with great professionalism.”