A responsible urban property developer

2020/01/28

Innovation is the trademark of Wilhelm & Co group. From the first co-working space in the 1970s, to the first multi-functional urban identity project in Europe (L’esplanade in Louvain-la-Neuve), breaking codes and constraints is in our DNA. Today, we are revisiting environmental standards and, through La Strada in La Louvière, we become the first in Europe to carry out a development project whose ambitions are not limited to the Energy Performance of Buildings (EPB) but also to the Environmental Performance Index (EPI).

Indeed, our constructions are very efficient in environmental terms, but all new constructions are, simply because the standards require it.

Nowadays, taking the environment into account should not be limited to a theoretical evaluation of a building’s performance. On the contrary, at Wilhelm & Co we believe that respect for the environment requires a global reflection on all of our behaviours and on a new way of living as a society.

How does this ambition developed by Wilhelm & Co translate into reality?

Each apartment purchaser will receive an electric bicycle for going back and forth to the city centre. These bikes will be recharged using solar panels placed on the roofs. A sustainable but also economic solution: no electricity costs to pay.
All plants in green spaces and private gardens will be perennial or melliferous. Watering will be done through a rainwater recovery system.
As for household waste, it will be added to the compost bins, the product of which will be used in particular as fertilizer for the community vegetable gardens of La Strada.
The residual carbon emitted by the residents of La Strada homes, certified CO2 free, will be offset by the purchase of wood-fired ovens, which will be installed in villages in Ghana, in collaboration with the company CO2logic.

A new art of living

This project, developed by the Wilhelm & Co group in partnership with the City of La Louvière, will allow residents and visitors to La Strada to experience a new art of living, fully in line with their current expectations. It provides continuity to the existing city centre – today weakened by economic changes – giving it a new dimension, a renewed attractiveness and vitality.