A4 Business Park, an A class office building which is being developed by Echo Investment in Katowice on Francuska Street, obtained two certificates: BREEAM Final for the first stage of the project and BREAM Interim for the second building.

Both buildings obtained a "very good" grade. The first stage of A4 Business Park, which was finished last year, had a score of 66.2 pct. The second office building which is part of the project had an equally as high score of 66.4 pct. “In 2013 the first building in A4 Business Park obtained certificates at the design stage. Such a certificate is a kind of commitment. In order to acquire the final certificate you need to fulfil requirements declared at the design (interim) stage – construct the project correctly, diligently fulfil the procedures using appropriate, ecological materials. With great satisfaction I can say that we spared no effort and confirmed the very good result in the final score. It is a source of joy for us especially taking into consideration the fact that the final certificate was obtained by us for the first time, and there are still few such certificates on the market. I am sure that things will be similar with the second stage. We are also applying for a high final score in this case,” says Igor Grabiwoda, director of the team of architects in Echo Investment"s Office and Hotel Department. The certification process of A4 Business Park is being carried out by Grontmij Polska. Echo Investment"s portfolio includes ten buildings which hold BREEAM certificates, they are: Q22, two Park Rozwoju buildings in Warsaw, Aquarius Business House in Wrocław, the first stage and the second stage of A4 Business Park in Katowice, Oxygen in Szczecin (2 BREEAM In-Use certificates: Building Management and Asset Rating) as well as Galeria Amber in Kalisz, Galaxy in Szczecin, Galeria Olimpia in Bełchatów and Galeria Echo in Kielce. 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). A4 Business Park is being developed on Francuska Street in Katowice, near an exit from A4 motorway. The facility is surrounded by excellent network of public transport – there are numerous bus stops and a railway station nearby. A4 Business Park consists of three buildings. The first building and a multi-storey car park offering 560 spaces were completed in Q1 2014. The 7-storey building offers an area of 9,000 sqm and it has been leased in its entirety by the IBM IT concern. The second stage of the project will involve the construction of a 10-storey building with an office area of app. 9,000 sqm. The design of A4 Business Park was created in a well-known Kraków-based architectural studio DDJM. www.a4businesspark.pl