WILLEMSTAD - Curaçao Medical Center (CMC) is the first hospital in the Caribbean to achieve LEED Gold certification. LEED stands for "Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design." The LEED Green Building Rating System is the most widely used system worldwide for assessing buildings on sustainability criteria such as spatial development, water savings, energy efficiency, choice of materials and indoor climate. Ballast Nedam is responsible for both the design and realization of the new hospital.
Obtaining the LEED Gold certification is a wonderful milestone for the Curacao Medical Center, partly in relation to its pursuit of sustainable business operations, where international quality and safety standards are met.
In the design of the complex, the focus was on sustainability and energy saving, naturally considering the local climatic conditions. For example, solar collectors are used to generate hot water and condensation water - from the cooled water installation - is collected and used for irrigation of the roof gardens, among other things. The facades are designed in such a way that optimal use is made of daylight on the one hand, while direct sunlight is prevented on the other. Compared to similar international reference projects, the Curacao Medical Center is almost 30% more efficient with its energy. To protect our environment, CMC is in the process of finalizing a structural solution for the water purification process.
