The 155-metre Q22 office building, which is being developed by Echo Investment in the centre of Warsaw, obtained a BREEAM Interim Excellent certificate with the highest result in this category in Poland.

The Q22 office building had a result of 79.1 pct in the certification process carried out by Buro Happold, which placed it first in a small group of office buildings that obtained BREEAM Excellent. “Q22 is a project which has been developed with the comfort of future users and a high standard in mind. Thanks to the fact that all the most important aspects of certification have been fulfilled, Q22 is an excellent example of what can be achieved through responsible and sustainable approach to design,” says Katarzyna Murdoch, BREEAM engineer, BREEAM International assessor at Echo Investment. So far only ten other office projects in the country obtained a BREEAM certificate at the excellent level (including Park Rozwoju – Echo Investment"s project in Warsaw). Its elements which have been appreciated include: energy efficiency, materials used, healthy working environment and waste management. “Such a high grade for Q22 is a source of great joy for us and at the same time it is confirmation of the top class of this office project. Only a few buildings in Poland have BREEAM certificates at the excellent level that is why  I am pleased that the Q22 office building has got the best score in this prestigious group,” says Igor Grabiwoda, director of the team of architects at Echo Investment"s Office and Hotel department. BREEAM is an evaluation method for buildings with regard to their eco-friendliness and comfort of future users. The buildings score points. The points acquired are converted into percentages which in turn are multiplied by the weight attributed to a given category. The points ultimately provide a score in a six-step scale: <30% - Unclassified, 30% - 44% - Pass, 45% - 54% - Good, 55% 69% - Very Good, 70% - 84% - Excellent, >85% - Outstanding. The most popular types of certificates are BREEAM Interim (the design stage of a project), BREEAM Final (confirmation of a design) and BREEAM In-Use (an existing building). Q22 is a 155-metre office building which offers an office area of over 50,000 sqm and it is being developed at the site of the dismantled Mercure hotel. All the materials acquired during the demolition of the building were recycled – in this way 1,500 tonnes of steel and 25,000 tonnes of concrete aggregate were obtained. The construction of the facility is on schedule. The construction of the underground section finished at the beginning of October this year. Modzelewski & Rodek is the contractor of the shell of Q22. The design of Q22 was created in the renowned Kuryłowicz & Associates architectural studio in cooperation with Buro Happold Polska. The completion of the construction of the office building is planned for Q1 2016. The project is valued at PLN 500 mln. www.q22.com.pl