Setting the Foundations for a Paris-Proof Office: Vastint and Next Sense at TreeCity’s “The Hill”

For real estate owners and operators, the journey toward Paris-Proof buildings starts with one essential step: understanding how buildings actually perform in operation. While modern office buildings are designed with sustainability in mind, achieving long-term carbon reduction targets requires continuous monitoring, operational insight, and close collaboration between asset managers, technical teams, and building performance experts.

That is why Vastint has partnered with Next Sense to monitor and optimize the performance of The Hill, one of the flagship buildings at TreeCity in Amsterdam Southeast. Together, the teams are laying a data-driven foundation to advance The Hill's sustainability ambitions and accelerate its path to Paris-Proof performance.

The Hill at TreeCity: a campus designed for wellbeing and sustainability

Located in Amsterdam Southeast, The Hill forms the beating heart of the TreeCity campus – a green office environment designed to make the workday feel closer to nature. Set around a vibrant courtyard filled with greenery and flowers, the building offers more than just office space. It features a central reception, a lively restaurant with terrace, and shared meeting facilities that foster interaction between tenants and visitors.

With 8,760 m² across six floors, The Hill combines modern workplace design with sustainability and comfort. The building holds an A++ energy label and BREEAM In-Use Excellent certification, reflecting its strong sustainability credentials.

Behind the scenes, the building is supported by a modern technical ecosystem that includes air-source heat pumps, boilers, multiple air-handling units, and a comprehensive network of energy meters and sensors monitoring temperature, CO₂, and energy flows throughout the building. This infrastructure provides the perfect foundation for advanced building performance monitoring.

Building the roadmap: defining success with Vastint

When Vastint partnered with Next Sense, the first priority was not immediately optimization – but alignment. Together with Vastint and operational stakeholders, the teams defined the key success criteria for the collaboration. These KPIs will guide the building’s optimization roadmap over the coming years.

The main objectives include:

• Progress toward Paris-Proof performance by 2030 at portfolio level
• Calculating Paris-Proof performance using the WEII methodology
• Reducing energy consumption, CO₂ emissions, and operational costs
• Understanding where energy is consumed within the building at floor and system level
• Maintaining a healthy balance between energy efficiency and tenant comfort

Through the Next Sense monitoring platform, Vastint receives monthly performance reports and ongoing insights, supported by quarterly collaboration sessions where opportunities for improvement are discussed and prioritized.

The ultimate goal is to identify actionable Energy Conservation Measures (ECMs) that can reduce energy consumption and associated CO₂emissions by approximately 10%, while maintaining high levels of comfort for building occupants.

Early insights: understanding how the building operates

Although the collaboration is still in its early stages, monitoring has already begun to reveal valuable insights into how The Hill performs in practice.

Initial analysis shows that the building maintains strong indoor environmental quality, with thermal comfort conditions maintained in Category A for around 91% of occupied time, indicating consistently comfortable indoor temperatures for tenants. Air quality measurements also show strong performance, with CO₂ levels remaining within optimal comfort categories during the monitored period, supporting a healthy working environment.

Looking ahead: optimizing performance together

With the monitoring infrastructure now in place and KPIs clearly defined, Vastint and Next Sense are entering the next phase of the collaboration: turning insights into action.

In the coming months, the teams will work closely with operational stakeholders to:

• further validate building performance data
• identify and prioritize energy conservation measures
• support implementation of improvements
• continuously track the impact of optimization measures

By combining operational expertise with data-driven insights, the partnership aims to ensure that The Hill continues to deliver both high-quality indoor environments and strong energy performance.

About Next Sense

Next Sense helps real estate owners and operators unlock the full performance potential of their buildings.

By combining advanced data analytics, AI-driven monitoring, and the expertise of building performance specialists, Next Sense translates building data into clear, actionable measures that reduce energy consumption, improve comfort, and lower operational costs.

Curious how your buildings are really performing?
Get in touch with Next Sense to discover how data-driven building optimization can support your sustainability goals.

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