Go green profitably in Luxembourg

It has again been a difficult year for banks, for businesses large and small, and for investors and consumers. However, as we approach the festive season and some well-earned time off, many of us can be thankful that a combination of wit, hard work, good relationships and some luck has enabled us to survive and to look forward to 2011.

In keeping with this attitude of looking forward and believing in progress, I want to highlight the very positive promise of cutting-edge green buildings in Luxembourg. We work in an often harsh and cut-throat world and we are continually assailed by bad news of financial disasters, global warming, and violent or corrupt destabilisation of government. Yet these buildings excite me and give me hope because they represent the best of mankind’s efforts in engineering, architecture, construction and interior design – the indomitable human spirit still working to make our world a better place. And when form and function combine well, these buildings’ aesthetic beauty inspires even those who do not have the good fortune to work inside them.

For instance, the Serenity project in Luxembourg City offers a great example of four interlinked, eco-friendly buildings that are efficient and yet take care of their occupants. This YouTube video provides a short introduction to the project: The Serenity Project.

Other companies, like Ikogest, have also taken the lead in creating buildings with unusually beautiful and yet completely functional design elements that work together to save energy while providing comfort and natural light for workers. They appear in harmony with their surroundings, whether their outer style is highly modern or very traditional. These photographs of their office buildings are a pleasure to browse through and we are glad to be involved with the Cubus complex in Howald.

The SolarWind Project is another innovative scheme which aims to illustrate and express the “4Ps – People, Planet, Profit and Pedagogy”, or in other words, to attend to occupants’ wellbeing, the protection of the planet, return on investment, and education, all worthy goals which developers are increasingly seeing as achievable without sacrificing one for another.

RealCorp Luxembourg currently has three of these green projects available for lease: Serenity, the Cubus complex and Stargate (for which we are sole agents).

We also offer specialist expertise in valuing green buildings and providing development appraisals for investors and developers wanting to enter this burgeoning market. We have the experience to estimate market value realistically, taking into account premiums on construction and savings on service charges compared with other stock. Look out for the January issue of our newsletter which will contain a more in-depth review of green projects in Luxembourg.

If you want to take a new approach and do something positive for your pocket and for the planet in the New Year, please contact us to talk about going green.