The competition called for "Europe's most energy efficient building". Consequently, the proposal envisages a zero-energy building that requires no external energy for operation and maintenance. In order to achieve this, renewable energy sources are needed - wind, geothermal and solar energy are available in Oslo. With wind turbines and photovoltaic cells the building produces its own electricity. Thermally activated floor slabs provide heat in the winter and cooling in the summer, using the temperature of the ground or sea water.

The building is composed of three office towers connected on the ground, first and second floors. Two vertical gardens between these towers serve as light sources and provide visual space for the adjacent buildings. Both the office towers and the atria between them will be covered with an aerodynamically designed glass roof, which collects the wind over the roofs of the buildings in front of them and directs it to an array of silent wind turbines installed between the top floor and the wind roof. The glass facade consists of alternating translucent and opaque glass strips with integrated photovoltaics.

The overall shape of this office building, as the detailing of the façade shows in particular, is derived from the performance generated by its individual components.

brief

  • zero energy building

client

  • OSU Oslo

data

  • gross floor area: 22.000 m²
  • competition: 2005, 3rd prize

project team

  • Philipp Baumhauer 
  • Claus Hendryk Nannen 
  • Ken Koch 
  • Yusuke Koshima 
  • Matthias Sauerbruch
  • Claudia Sieper 
  • Constantin von der Mülbe