One office building, three building certificates
A bit about the building
The Ombu building opened in 2022 after a renovation and repurpose of the industrial warehouse and belonging annex built on the premises already in 1905. The remodeled building will in part house a modern office, designed with sustainability clear in mind. The office is then integrated with 10 000 square meters of a new-built urban landscape and a 12 400 square meters courtyard which offers an option to work outdoors.
The original load-bearing structure as well as the brick envelope was preserved during the renovation process. Also the historic roof was possible to keep above the lightweight wooden construction built inside the building.
All images photographed by: Nigel Young
Sustainability from recycling to energy saving
The carbon footprint and the project's impact on the environment have in all aspects of the development been carefully measured and controlled. From a perhaps more trivial perspective, but still worth to mention, are the 350 trees and 28 000 plants provided to the green courtyard. They are all of various local species and have low water requirements. From a more considerable angle, the Norman Foster Foundation collaborated with the Madrid-based Ortiz León Arquitectos on the project as a whole, and a goal was set to recycle 75% of the waste generated in the construction. It was also decided to use materials which could generate a 35-40% energy save.
See our RE:3 concept for how to tackle embodied carbon
More insights in our energy efficiency guideLEED, WELL and Net Zero Energy
World known building certifications such as BREEAM, LEED and WELL, are with separate approaches driving developments in energy efficiency and cost-savings, human health and well-being in relation to buildings and indoor environments. There are also a number of national, regional and local certification standards that can lead the way when a building project has set challenging targets in relation to sustainability and indoor climate.
The Ombu building has an energy rating which complies with the European Commission's Nearly Zero Energy Building standards and the project is pre-certified LEED Platinum. The building is fulfils the criteria to reach the WELL Gold level and it is registered to obtain the Net Zero Energy certificate awarded by the International Living Future Institute in the USA.
Swegon contributes to sustainability
One way to commit to the goal of high sustainability standards in a building is to select products and solutions which put a minimum pressure on the environment. As for many other companies and governmental bodies, at Swegon we have for long worked hard to develop products with significantly reduced operational carbon – meaning, minimising the energy requirement for ventilation, heating and cooling in buildings.
We are honored to be a key supplier in the Ombu project. The products we have provided are the Omicron Rev S4, an air sourced high efficiency multifunctional unit with a 4-pipe system, and two air-cooled modular chillers with reversible heat pumps and scroll compressors called Tetris 2 HP.
More about 4-pipe systems in our expert's blog
Explore further
Below are the products provided to this project as well as a link to further useful reading.
