Nokian Tyres achieved LEED Platinum certification for the Visitor Center of the Spanish test centre
The main building of the Visitor Center of Nokian Tyres Spanish test center received LEED certification at the end of November 2021. The experts of the Raksystems Green Building Services division consulted in the guidance of the certificate and in the application process, so that the desired level of certification for the property could be achieved.
The center achieved the highest rating level
The 300-hectare test centre is located in Santa Cruz de la Zarza, near Madrid. The centre has 10 test tracks for tire testing. The main building achieved LEED v4 Platinum certification, which is the highest level of the classification system. With careful planning and high-quality construction, exceptionally high scores were achieved in the evaluation of the site’s environmental friendliness.
“The project was particularly interesting and challenging because of the property’s location. Getting the highest certification level is a great achievement when you consider that the site is located in the middle of the countryside, and there were not many points for good location or transport connections. The high scores were achieved with great scores from other categories,” says the project’s LEED project manager, Raksystems GBS energy services team manager Simo Skogberg about the project.
Innovative environmental and energy efficiency
The test centre focused especially on energy efficiency with innovative solutions. The entire test centre is served by a large solar panel system. This results in the main building operating cleanly and self-sufficiently with solar energy. There are many solar panels in the entire area of the test centre. 21% of the electricity the solar panels produce goes to the main building. In addition to this, the electricity purchased online is certified to be 100% produced from renewable sources.
“Platina is an excellent result in LEED v4 certification. The bar has been set high and we got good points, especially for very good energy efficiency and planning energy solutions”, says Juha Pirhonen, director of technology projects at Nokian Tyres.
The site has an advanced water management system. It collects rainwater and purified grey water and reuses it, for example as irrigation water and flushing water for sanitary facilities. The system significantly reduces the consumption of clean tap water, in addition to water-saving water fixtures. This was a particularly important theme in the project, as the local climate is very dry and tap water is not available in abundance.
The interiors and their functionality and healthiness were also implemented to a very high quality. The criteria for air quality were already high in the design from the beginning. Good air quality was also ensured after construction with the help of measurements. The architecture of the building is unique, reminiscent of the shape of a tire. In the Finnish way, there are birch trees and, of course, a log sauna.
The environment of the test centre is also taken care of
The effects of construction on nature were also compensated during the project. Biodiversity was promoted by planting plenty of trees and shrubs in the area of the test centre.
Nokian Tires also established a 25-hectare nature reserve near the test centre. In the nature reserve, there is a nesting house for hawks and owls, as well as various water features for birds.
