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As the climate conference kicks off in Copenhagen, Various Architects, with consultants from Ramboll UK and Pollen Architecture in Texas, have presented their design for a new low-energy zero-carbon office building that is suitable for the scandanavian climate.“We wanted to present the developer with an environmentally friendly alternative for their site that was bothinnovative and buildable. This design is site specific, but it contains many concepts that can be appliedelsewhere in the Nordic countries," said Jim Dodson, Partner at Various Architects.
The 3,500 sq m office building in Haugesund, Norway has been calculated to use 72 kWh/m2/yr which would make it the most energy effective commercial building in Norway.
A structure of pre-fabricated cross-laminated timber panels significantly reduces CO2 and project construction time. The wood clad building features a dynamic series of insulated shutters which can transform the facades from 60% window area for optimal daylighting down to 20% on cold nights in order to save energy. The shutters are also equipped with LED lighting to simulate daylight during the long winter nights. 4 vertical wind turbines provide 10% of the building's electricity needs, and seawater is used as an energy source for both heating and cooling of the building.