SRON (Netherlands Institute for Space Research)

A Future-Proof Research Facility for Groundbreaking Space Instrumentation

SRON develops unique, never-before-made measuring instruments for NASA and ESA-ESTEC, among others. This specialist work required a special building in an optimal location. A new state-of-the-art facility was developed at the Leiden BioScience Park, near the Leiden and Delft faculties of Earth Sciences, Astronomy and Aerospace Engineering and partners such as ESA-ESTEC in Noordwijk.

Deerns Solutions

Because SRON is a research and development organisation, the required installation facilities will change in the future. Deerns has taken this into account by optimising flexibility, on the one hand by designing a responsive reserve capacity and on the other hand by designing the installations to be modularly expandable.

The total building area of more than 9,000 m² includes workshops, offices and meeting areas. An extensive inventory of SRON’s unique processes and equipment informed Deerns’ design of all technical facilities for this integrated facility including complex ISO 6 and 7 cleanrooms and cryolabs.

For the design phase, Deerns fulfilled the role of BREEAM expert and guided the achievement of the BREEAM Excellent Design certification. This sustainable approach included heating and cooling with heat pumps and energy supply from solar PV roof installations.

Deerns also drew up an integrated security plan. This formed the basis for the architectural preconditions and the design of the security installations. Following hand-over of the new headquarters Deerns prepared, designed and supervised the move-over of SRON’s process equipment into the new cleanrooms and laboratories.