VITO EARTH Lab

D+H’s BlueKit solution combines fire protection and energy efficiency in service shafts

With the EARTH building, the Belgian research organisation VITO has set a new benchmark for sustainable research infrastructure. As part of the VITO Sustainability Park in Mol, the building brings together modern laboratory spaces, research facilities and office areas under one roof, offering optimised conditions for the development of pioneering environmental and climate technologies.

As Flanders’ first climate-neutral laboratory building, EARTH achieves an exceptional energy performance rating and has been awarded the GRO ‘Excellent’ sustainability label, one of the highest ratings under the Belgian sustainability standard for construction projects.

The building’s extensive laboratory equipment requires correspondingly complex cabling – which is why the building features generously dimensioned service shafts. These are indispensable for the energy supply of many modern buildings, but present planners and operators with challenging requirements in the balancing act between fire protection and energy efficiency. Whilst service shafts must be sealed airtight during normal operation, building regulations require effective smoke exhaust in the event of a fire event. Conventional solutions usually rely on cost-intensive fire dampers that are complex to install.

BlueKit offers a pragmatic and cost-effective solution to this conflict of objectives. The certified locking elements remain fully closed during normal operation and open only in the event of a fire event. As soon as smoke is detected, service shafts are specifically ventilated, thereby preventing smoke from spreading into escape and rescue routes.

On this basis, D+H BeLux developed a bespoke smoke extraction concept for the building’s eight service shafts, which range in height from 8 to 24 metres. The legal requirements are particularly stringent: for service shafts, an opening area of around 10 per cent of the shaft cross-section is prescribed. By way of comparison: for lift shafts, this figure is only around 1 per cent. Achieving the required ventilation cross-sections whilst adhering to strict façade design customer specifications, a limited building height and restricted installation space presented a particular challenge.

In the end, over 20 façade vents and several aluminium roof hoods were used. As standard louvres did not provide the required air permeability, special external louvres with increased air flow were used. This made it possible to compensate for the loss of surface area caused by the louvre structure. The system is supplemented by smoke detectors, operation units and SHEV operation panels.

The intelligent BlueKit solution in the EARTH building reliably ventilates the service shafts in the fire event, whilst remaining in line with the building’s architectural customer specifications and high energy efficiency requirements. For this successful implementation, the Belgian-Luxembourg branch was awarded the ‘Special Mention BlueKit’ at the D+H Atmosphere Awards 2026.