City: Vienna, Austria

Cladding panel: AURiA-C

(c) Architect: pos architects, Vienna

(c) Photos: Herta Hurnaus

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Description:
The office complex has been built using a holistic approach to incorporate sustainability and energy efficiency, with the complex using 100% renewable energy and highest user comfort.
Energy efficiency:
Through the design, 80% energy saving was achieved compared to standard buildings of the same size. For the complex of totally 7,500 m” a sustainable building concept had been developed. The sustainability of the design was achieved through a compact building envelope, a consistent solar orientation, optimised window sizes, high thermal properties of all building components and the use of  resource-friendly  materials during the entire life cycle of the building.
Exterior walls in wooden stud construction:
All exterior walls and the attic were constructed using wooden stud construction, forming the basis for an Eternit ventilated façade. Because of a wall thickness of only 31 cm - according to the passive house standard ˆ precious floor space was gained. A unique and specific irregular joint pattern offered optimized panel yield, with 95% material utilisation of the cladding panels. Similar processes took place for the tiles in the wet rooms and for the floors.
Solar energy:
Due to the special architecture of the building complex, ENERGYBASE uses the energy of the sun four times ˆ two times active and two times passive. The active use is achieved by a 400 m” size photovoltaic system which delivers 37.000 kWh solar energy per year. This energy is used for heating and for cooling, depending on the season.
Plants provide a good room climate:
An absolute novelty in Austria is the use of galingale for humidification of the air during the winter months. 500 galingale plants in separate buffer rooms humidify the air before it is distributed to all parts of the complex.