Orkla House – Outstanding energy consumption with solar cells WICONA facades
Orkla’s new head office stands as an innovative landmark on Skoyen. With integrated solar cells on both roofs and terrace rail systems it stands out as a modern and sustainable building with its own energy production. Orkla House also has highly insulated unitized façade elements allowing maximum interior daylight and offering optimal external view.
The Orkla House follows three themes – innovation, modernity and sustainability. Located in Skoyen, Olso’s 3rd largest public transportation station, the building offers an open atmosphere with a 16-storey office block and a 7-storey apartment building with a green roof and a ground floor commercial space offering pop-up shops and restaurants. Orkla’s concept was to simulate a miniature city, where tenants have everything gathered under one roof focused on modern and sustainable living.
Record low energy consumption
900 unitized façade elements (8,300m2) using WICONA systems have been used during construction. Window depths varies between 80-240cm increasing with the building’s height. The unitized elements are fitted with automated dynamic glass which increase or decrease in transparency according to external sunlight conditions. This results in lower energy consumption and more comfortable indoor lighting.
The solar cell integrated rail systems, unique to the Norwegian market, annually produce up to 12-14,000 kilowatts of electricity. This, in combination with the solar cells on the green roof, allow the building to produce its own energy and be more sustainable.
Orkla House’s heating and cooling needs have been noticeably reduced to a minimum. The well insulated faced and window systems allowed Orkla House to be certified with a BREEAM-Nor Excellent rating with an A Energy marking.
Fast construction and increased transparency
Orkla House has WICTEC EL SG facade system which is elegant with slim profiles; highly increasing transparency while reducing shadows. The utilization of unitized façade elements allowed for very high levels of health and safety and quality assurance standards as each façade element is produced and assembled under a controlled factory environment instead of exposed to unreliable weather conditions. In addition, approximately 2,000m2 of WICTEC50 slim glass facades were delivered and assembled for the ground floor. Construction for Orkla House started in January 2018 and was completed in April 2019.
Copyright: Adam Stirling
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A German brand founded in Ulm in 1948, WICONA has become a global benchmark for technologically advanced aluminium solutions for curtain walls, solar protection, doors and windows, including bullet and fireproof systems. It has introduced to the market the most advanced innovations that have been progressively adopted by all manufacturers, including the thermal breaks for aluminium frames.
WICONA continues to demonstrate its focus on efficiency and sustainability by using thermal insulation strips made from recycled polyamide, which helps to significantly reduce CO2 emissions. With sustainability being one of the brand’s key objectives, WICONA controls all the production phases to guarantee the optimal performance of its systems and, together with designers and façade developers, creates customised solutions constantly pushing the boundaries of energy efficient and sustainable buildings. WICONA belongs to the Norwegian company Hydro, a fully integrated aluminium company with 35,000 employees in 40 countries on all continents, combining local expertise, worldwide reach and unmatched capabilities in R&D.
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