In cooperation with DIEfabrik – Architekten und Jim Bögershausen, we have developed the eCO₂ tool, which can be used to compare the costs and CO₂ balances of alternative types of construction using building models in the early planning phases.

In order to meet climate targets and reduce energy costs, architectural projects must be planned in an increasingly sustainable manner. However, concrete characteristic value calculations for alternative types of construction or different materials can only be implemented in a later planning phase, when necessary changes are no longer possible or only possible at great expense. The tool brings together various existing software solutions and enables concrete comparisons of the characteristic values of alternative planning approaches from the competition to service phase 3, without these having to be concretely defined.

This provides the client with a quick and reliable basis for decision-making for further planning and minimises the risk of changes that may be required later. The tool enables a level of flexibility that was previously not possible and thus ensures significantly more effectiveness and transparency in construction. The result is an efficient planning process with an optimised relationship between costs and CO₂ balance.

In addition to an efficient and dismantlable construction method with timber hybrid elements, the design pursues a consistent low-tech approach.

The building is ventilated by solar chimneys and heated and cooled using a heat pump in conjunction with an ice storage unit. Compared to a standard office building, one third less energy costs are incurred during operation and CO₂ emissions are also reduced by one third.

Mauro Meuli, project manager at Störmer Murphy and Partners

The timber hybrid construction with renewable energy generation from solar radiation by means of an integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) façade and a PV system on the rooftop are components of an ecologically and economically sustainable approach.

Surplus electricity is partly converted into hydrogen by electrolysis for later use in a fuel cell. A salt battery system is planned as additional storage. All cooling and heating is provided by 100 % renewable energy sources using geothermal energy and a PV system. Heat is transferred to the rooms via individually controllable and immediate heating and cooling ceiling elements, which generate a comfortable radiant heat or coolness in the room due to the moderate flow temperatures. As an additional measure to optimise the primary energy demand in the utilisation phase, air heat exchangers in the form of earth ducts are planned. These can pre-heat the air for the entire basement without further energy input. The required parking spaces are compactly located on the site in a free-standing, dismountable multi-storey car park, which is surrounded by a green open shell and thus becomes an architectural part of the landscape.

The compact building shape without projections and thermal cantilevers has a favourable A/V ratio and contributes to the reduction of energy demand, transmission heat losses and thus to sustainability through its shape.

Non-load-bearing exterior walls are produced as modular elements in the factory and delivered for quick assembly with a high degree of fabrication. The design allows for a high degree of separable connections, enabling easy disassembly and the recyclability of the materials. All roof areas are extensively greened and thus serve as evaporation areas. A raised PV system is planned over large parts of the roof areas for the local generation of renewable energy. Compared to conventional construction methods, the design saves 43.5% CO₂ in the shell and 21.5% CO₂ in the building as a whole. High ecological standards are met by an efficiency-optimised energy cycle with heat pump and ice storage technology. The result is low operating costs combined with excellent comfort at the workplace.

Mauro Meuli, project manager at Störmer Murphy and Partners

The new building adjoining a listed former production and office building is designed as a timber frame structure with a stiffening reinforced concrete core.

The extensive glass façade of the hybrid building is restrained and features a calm grid along the adjacent Ostendstrasse to the north. To the southeast, however, the building opens up markedly and the structure gains dynamism through the alternating cantilevered wooden floor slabs. The resulting green open spaces and the intensively planted roof garden provide users with a special quality: a view over the neighbourhood and the Spree River bordering to the south. An important consideration in the choice of materials for the interior was to achieve the best possible CO₂ balance and good recyclability of building materials. Furthermore, to improve deconstruction, care was taken to reduce the amount of composite constructions. The targeted energy standard was designed to be eligible for BEG “Efficiency House Level 40” funding. In addition, the building was awarded the “platinum” certification within the framework of the DGNB sustainability assessment.

Approximately 5,500m³ of PEFC-certified construction timber from sustainably managed Austrian forests will be used to construct Roots.

Compared to a conventionally constructed building, this complex will save approx. 31% CO₂ (approx. 3,520t). In addition, the building is certified to the Platinum standard of the HafenCity Ecolabel. All parking spaces in the underground car park will be pre-equipped for e-charging stations. Around 25% of the parking spaces reserved for car sharing are equipped for e-mobility from the outset. Roof surfaces will be greened wherever possible. CO₂ footprint*: approx. 6.01 kg CO₂ e per square metre per year for the entire building.

The project is characterised by a high level of repetition.

The buildings are designed in resource-saving timber panel construction. Timber construction enables a very high degree of modularisation and prefabrication, so that the components can be produced in the factory and assembled on site, requiring only a short construction time. Only low-maintenance materials are used for the exterior and the façade (e.g. facing bricks). The high energy standard results in a reduction of energy consumption during operation, and the building services are rigorously reduced to a minimum. A timber-hybrid construction can save almost a quarter of kg CO₂-eqv. in the construction phase compared to reinforced concrete constructions. With optimal utilisation of all recycling potentials, the savings potential increases to up to 60% kg CO₂-eqv.