project: HEG GIDA Organic Production Campus
Architects: IGLO Architects
Site: Balikesir, Turkey
region: 1,399,308 SF
year: 2022
photos by: Fathi Ezan
The HEG Gıda Organic Campus was designed by Iglo Architects with an ecological approach to recycling, sustainability and reducing carbon emissions without any weakness in the hygiene chain.
HEG Gıda Campus for the Production of Organic Productswhose design process was carried out by the founders of CO Iglo ArchitectsAnd the Architect Esen Akyar Karoglu And the Zafer Karoglu, the manufacturing and management facility with a closed area of 130,000 square meters, built on a land of 85,000 square meters. The level difference of 36 meters between the two roads adjacent to the plot allows for the design of floors with entrances on their level. The ample maneuvering area includes administration, manufacturing and logistics units in clusters located on the elevations and the entrance plaza features technical structures, shop and main entrance.
Since food safety is a priority HEG Gıda Campus for the Production of Organic ProductsGuests first enter the access area limited by the square’s natural boundaries designed as a car park and then reach the reception area to use various elevators and staircases reserved for guests, blue collar and office workers. The reception area was designed with the café concept in mind, enhancing its informational function to allow fresh baked goods to be served daily to waiting guests and in meeting rooms. Connected to the manufacturing unit through a bridge, the clock tower acts as a distribution shaft for the building and is used to direct blue-collar employees.
People can enter the building only after passing through the changing room where they are wearing sterile and hygienic clothes to ensure that there is no weakness in the chain of hygiene. Once they enter that part of the building where they can use the manufacturing offices, dining areas and social spaces, they have to go through the same sterilization and dressing process to enter the manufacturing areas on the relevant floors. The joints of the ceiling, floor and walls are built using materials of high fire safety standards, suitable for washing and not allowing dust, dirt and bacteria. Intermediate floors were built on the manufacturing floors of all electrical, mechanical and process lines to create hygienic spaces, thus ensuring that no items such as cables and ducts in which dirt might accumulate are used in the main halls. The ventilation ducts that pass through the hall are made of special washable textile materials.
Except for the kiln hall on the last floor, all manufacturing areas are designed like giant refrigerators with air conditioning set at +4°C, -15°C, -25°C and -45°C. Products manufactured on the floors are prepared for shipment once they are sent to the storage system featuring 4.0 technology through conveyors.
The administration building has been designed to overlook the wide plain of Balikesir, the campus entrance and cargo areas and to ensure that every office unit is connected directly to the gardens on the floors.
Sustainability was one of the most important inputs in the planning. The entire operational process has been planned with solutions that will not cause loss and waste of energy. Organic waste from the operations was recycled through composting. The energy and heat generated during the cooling and heating of the system is reused with almost no loss.
The project is planned to include a technology-focused floor where research and development activities will be carried out along with universities to develop mechanical and technological tools that will increase the yield of crops of agricultural products used as raw materials. The project aims to develop developed tools for use in contracted areas to ensure organic safety, agricultural efficiency and product quality.
Different colors, materials and textures were used on the facades of the building that were shaped according to the principles of process, workflow, and ground elevations and characterized by an administrative structure, controlled squares and social areas in view of their dominance over the area. Green spaces created in areas where factories are only allowed under strict control for food safety purposes provided a softer atmosphere for the industrial environment.
It was important to build a campus that works in line with the company’s vision of organic manufacturing. Therefore, the structure was built in accordance with the requirements for obtaining the German DGNB green building certification.
The goal was to create a business model that has an environmental approach to recycling and sustainability and focuses on reducing carbon emissions, which will become a role model in Turkey and around the world.
Despite being a gigantic building with almost twice the enclosed area of its land, the architectural design process followed the principles of designing a building that has large empty spaces, not be too overwhelming from a human perspective, and be in harmony with its surroundings. . The project has been designed with special care to ensure efficient use of daylight and features balconies, terraces and gardens to allow people to take in the fresh air. Technical support areas for mechanical and electrical infrastructure and generator needs are located under the truck maneuvering area to allow direct intervention on the same floor. Located in the center of the shop and reception areas and featuring a linear façade of grids, these areas form the lower square structure.
Waste rooms with garbage containers that allow the facility to access the waste collection service without having to enter the facility, have been facilitated access through garbage ducts and tunnels to prevent the spread of insects and the formation of dirt in the area.
The roofs of industrial buildings are designed to be equipped with photovoltaic panels to generate electricity. Since the management of the Organized Industrial Zone where the building is located to invest in wind energy, clean energy has been purchased from them to meet the energy needs of the system.
The preferred systems in the process were those powered by environmentally friendly carbon dioxide and ammonia gases. Oil separators have been used to prevent environmental pollution. The use of natural gas for heating tap water and water treatment has been reduced by 80% due to the combination of heat from the steam furnace units and hot oil boilers.
The entire building is equipped with materials that provide a high level of insulation, each of which is specially coated with environmentally friendly paints produced by natural methods.
-Project description and photos provided by pRchitect
