Most sustainable office in the world

In Munich, a newly erected office building, called the NuOffice, has been awarded an internationally recognised green design certification in platinum, called the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certificate.

Much effort has been put into its planning and construction to reach this high-level of sustainability, which makes it the most sustainable newly erected office building worldwide, according to LEEDS standards.

The ambitious project has been supported by the European funded research project DIRECTION. Thick insulated exterior walls and triple glazed windows provide a good thermal insulation. Scientists from the Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics (IBP) in Germany have been involved, too. Their aim was to optimise energy reduction as well as to adopt renewable energy resources. To do so, they used radiant heating and cooling systems, switchable glazing and innovative insulating material.

"At the end of the year we expect a primary energy consumption of about 30 kilowatt-hours per square meter and year," says Michael Krause, group manager Systems Engineering at the department for Energy Systems at IBP. "Conventional new office buildings which don't have any ambitions concerning energy savings range between 100 and 150 kilowatt-hours per square meter and year." Compared to older office buildings he expects an energy saving of up to 90%.

The tenants appreciate the low energy consumption of the building; especially, as local energy costs have been rising by more than 50% in the past ten years.