Clients
Bernard Heersche
Executive Director for Edge
With a target of net zero carbon emissions across all its projects by 2050, Dutch developer Edge is at the forefront of sustainability. In collaboration with Mace, Edge is embarking on its first UK venture – EDGE London Bridge – a green flagship project for the city.
This 28-storey development, both innovative in design and ambitious in scope, is set to establish a new standard for sustainable offices in London.
Bernard Heersche, Executive Development Director at Edge, highlights how EDGE London Bridge exemplifies our shared dedication to sustainable construction.
This 28-storey development, both innovative in design and ambitious in scope, is set to establish a new standard for sustainable offices in London.
Bernard Heersche, Executive Development Director at Edge, highlights how EDGE London Bridge exemplifies our shared dedication to sustainable construction.
- What is your vision for EDGE London Bridge? What are you aiming to achieve?
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EDGE London Bridge is our UK flagship project and we have big ambitions for it to become the most sustainable office tower in London.
As a company we have a long-standing track record in creating buildings that push the boundaries when it comes to sustainability, technology and occupier wellbeing. With each new project, we aim to innovate and further improve upon our high environmental and wellbeing standards. EDGE London Bridge will be the first office tower in London with a timber hybrid frame, with very low operational and embodied carbon, and targeting both Well Platinum and BREEAM Outstanding.
- What is your vision for the future? And particularly the UK market?
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Our ambition is to create the most sustainable, innovative and wellbeing-focused buildings in every city. And we’ve been doing this for over 25 years now. We believe every building we develop, retrofit and redevelop should be better than the one we delivered before, and should be a new step towards a zero-carbon future.
We think the UK market holds significant potential for us. Especially London; it’s a very sophisticated market with a strong demand for premium sustainable workplaces. And we believe what we are offering is a really good fit.
- How did you come to work with Mace and why did you choose Mace as the main contractor for EDGE London Bridge?
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I strongly believe that partnerships are key to success on every project, and we’ve put a lot of time and effort into selecting the right people to work with us. We invited the Mace team to the Netherlands to visit our projects so they could see our approach first hand and understand our philosophy. And we are really impressed with the ideas the team came up with to realise our vision.
Mace is one of the leading Tier 1 contractors in the market with a great reputation for pushing the boundaries. We share the same values, as well as deep routed commitments both to reducing carbon and delivering better buildings for our communities.
- What three qualities do you value most working with the Mace team?
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Collaboration, trust and a curious mindset are key to achieving our joint ambitions.
With Mace we’ve established a trusted partnership, where everyone works towards the same goals and takes pride in delivering a great job. From project managers, supply chain to design, the entire team is empowered by Mace’s leadership to proactively put ideas forward that benefit the project.
- How does Mace add value to your project?
- The strength of the team is what impressed me the most and the open, collaborative way of working. Together we are on a learning curve, challenging each other to continuously improve and find better ways to reduce carbon. For me, it’s all about taking the lessons we’ve learned to drive better outcomes in the future.
- How are you and Mace aligned?
- We both not only understand, but place huge importance in reducing the carbon footprint on our projects. And we know that this can only be achieved if we work together to continuously improve and are open to innovative ideas.
“The strength of the team is what impressed me the most and the open, collaborative way of working. Together we are on a learning curve, challenging each other to continuously improve…”
