Archive building Youston opts for openness, light, space and a healthy indoor environment

Youston, a leading specialist in long-term archive storage and archive management, has experienced continuous growth. To accommodate this growth, a new building was developed by PCp Architects in Genk in March 2023. The new building is almost four times larger and includes a new warehouse for the secure and confidential storage of paper documents, an associated office building, parking facilities and loading docks. DUCO was called in for the cladding of the new office building.

An endless, future-proof highway of paper

During the design phase of the entire new building, sustainable and energy-efficient systems were deliberately chosen to reduce the building's environmental impact and save energy. In addition, the company's growth was also proactively taken into account. For example, as many as 5 million stacked archive boxes, equivalent to an endless highway of paper, can currently be stored in the facility. But if more space is needed in the future, PCp Architects is ready with a solution.

Jochen Kerkhofs, CEO of PCp Architects, says: "If there is a need for additional storage space in the future, we can mirror the new volume in a possible next phase. In this way, we can respond quickly to any further growth of the company."

Floating upper volume as eye-catcher

For aesthetic reasons and for the sake of site organisation, the new building was placed on the Mondeolaan side. Aesthetics also played a crucial role in the choice of façade materials for the office building.

 

Promote positive working environment

The design of the new office building fulfils a functional as well as an aesthetic role. From the start, the focus was on openness, light, space. But also on promoting a positive working environment and the well-being of its employees. This was done by paying attention to shading and maximising natural light in the building. Jochen Kerkhofs explains, "The DucoSun Cubic louvre wall functions excellently as sun protection. This is especially important in the increasingly hot summers to ensure a comfortable and healthy working environment for office workers at all times of the day. At the same time, the louvre blades let in plenty of natural, diffused light. And this all ultimately benefits the office workers' work performance as well. So a win-win situation."

Shared bond of trust

The final result of the extension works is a modern, sustainable and pleasant environment for both employees and visitors. This could be achieved thanks to the optimal follow-up during the construction process, the excellent cooperation between the various parties and the choice of sustainable, functional and aesthetic materials.

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Architect and photography: PCp Architects

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