Snøhetta completes the world’s first north-most energy positive building

One might ask, what are the critical ingredients for producing energy positive building? In concept it’s pretty simple; the amount of clean energy produced by the facility is more significant than it consumes over its lifespan. This includes construction, demolition and the embodied energy of the materials used to construct the building.

Powerhouse Brattørkaia does precisely that. Located in Trondheim in central Norway, the location presents significant challenges in harvesting and storing solar energy due to variation in sunlight in different seasons.

Designed by Snøhetta, the building site is next to the harbour and connects to Trondheim Central Station via a pedestrian bridge on the building’s rear end. The building design utilizes many sustainable strategies starting with careful site selection which maximizes solar exposure throughout the day and seasons. The building features almost 3000 sqm of solar panels on its pentagonal roof and the upper part of its facade.

The building uses insulation as a critical strategy to reduce energy usage and maximize efficiency radically. Installing intelligent solutions for airflow to reduce heating, heat recovery, and using seawater for heating and cooling further improves the building’s energy efficiency.

 

The form of the building further improves the energy performance of the building. The Elliptical cutout in the centre of the building helps in bringing the daylight into the office spaces.

 

"The Elliptical courtyard act as a public garden and the perimeter skylights incorporated on the courtyard floor helps bring natural light to the canteen below." Explain Snøhetta.

"Apart from getting the natural light into every part of the building, the skewed courtyard allows open up the internal spaces to the city’s views. Large windows and open layout flood the offices with plenty of daylight, reducing the amount of artificial light needed."

The building employs the concept of “liquid light,” which controls the light intensity according to its activity and movement. This strategy has considerable effects on reducing energy usage due to artificial lighting.

 

The powerhouse prioritizes physical comfort and well-being by incorporating ventilation and heating technologies. The building’s structural system consists of low emission concrete exposed through strategic cutouts in the ceiling. The thermal mass absorbs and retains heat and cold and regulate building temperature without using electricity.

Further, the air supply is controlled throughout the building by letting out the air close to the floor at low speed, and centrally placed stair shafts help with air extraction to improve overall ventilation.

The powerhouse has been awarded BREEAM outstanding certification, which is the highest possible ranking for a buildings environmental, social and economic sustainability performance.

The building hosts various tenants and a visitor centre on the ground floor, open to the public and acts as an educational resource for the city. The visitor centre helps disseminate powerhouse efforts of being energy positive and supports public knowledge and discourse on sustainable development for the future.

 

---

ABOUT SNØHETTA

For more than 30 years, Snøhetta has designed some of the world’s most notable public and cultural projects. Snøhetta kick-started its career in 1989 with the competition-winning entry for the new library of Alexandria, Egypt. This was later followed by the commission for the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet in Oslo, and the National September 11 Memorial Museum Pavilion at the World Trade Center in New York City, among many others. 

Since its inception, the practice has maintained its original transdisciplinary approach and integrates architectural, landscape, interior, product, graphic, digital design and art across its projects. The collaborative nature between Snøhetta's different disciplines is an essential driving force of the practice.

The practice has a global presence, with offices spanning from Oslo, Paris, and Innsbruck, to New York, Hong Kong, Adelaide and San Francisco.

 

---

PROJECT DETAILS 

Architect: Snøhetta

Status: Completed

Location: Brattørkaia 17, Trondheim, Norway

Client: Entra

Collaborators: Entra, Skanska, ZERO, Snøhetta and Asplan Via

Gross Area: 17,800 sqm

Energy Performance: 458,457 KWh per year

Total Solar panel: 2,867 sqm

Certification: BREEM Outstanding

Image: Ivar Kvaal and Synlig.no