An Advanced Eco-Building to Viikki

 

The design energy consumption of the building will be less than 80 percent of that prescribed by energy efficiency class A, while a conventional office building consumes more than twice of the new building’s design energy consumption.

 

Some of the key factors that contribute to the high energy efficiency will be efficient heat recovery from outgoing air, good insulation, and minimization of electricity consumption by all available means, including automated building technology that turns down energy consumption at night after the workers leave. Heat pumps placed in the bedrock at the site will produce geothermal cooling.

 

The five-storey building will have a double façade. The outer skin facing south will be equipped with solar panels, and additional panels will be placed on the roof. Solar panels will be placed so that they provide shading, which reduces cooling needs in summer. Natural light will be utilized as much as possible to reduce needs for electrical lighting.

 

The tenants of the new building will be the City of Helsinki Environment Centre and the Department of Environmental Sciences of the University of Helsinki. The building will house about 240 workers, meeting rooms, exhibition spaces and cafeterias.

 

Architectural design is by architect Kimmo Kuismanen, Ab CASE Consult Ltd. The consultant for heating, ventilation, air-conditioning, piping, plumbing and building automation is Climaconsult Finland Oy.

 

The Viikki district, centred around the Viikki Science Park, is known for ecological building practices. Inside the district, Eco-Viikki is a test area dedicated to ecological housing. Eco-Viikki has been built in compliance with a set of eco-criteria that regulate the building stock in terms of pollutants, use of natural resources, health, biodiversity and possibilities for food production. The main theme in Eco-Viikki has been passive and active utilization of solar energy.