Østensjøveien 27 - Ø27

Well-being, efficiency and flexibility are the key principles for the Ø27 building, which meets the requirements for the modern workplace of the future. The floor plans comprise both open-plan and partitioned offices. The sustainable office building has been designed based on a holistic idea, taking into account, for example, daylight ratio spatiality, sustainable materials, and the location in the vicinity of public transport. The office has been designed with flexibility in mind, and it will be possible to turn the office building into housing, i.e. apartments, should this become an objective in the future. The open-plan layout part of the office supports this ambition of flexibility. The facade may be adjusted to residential use, additional elevator and piping shafts are already installed, and the roofed atrium can be transformed as well. In addition to the objectives set for the actual building, good siting was also an objective. Østensjøveien 27 is located centrally in Oslo, just a short distance from public transport hubs and close to the Ring 3 National Road. Bicycle access was also a priority when siting the building. Energy efficiency, combined with a focus on Passive House criteria in line with Norwegian standards, remained a main goal throughout the planning. In line with NCC’s certified environmental policy, all internally developed commercial buildings must, as a minimum, be certified as “Very Good”, as defined by the scale used in the BREEAM-NOR standard. The building was sited at Ø27, centrally located in Eastern Oslo, Norway, with due attention to convenient and appropriate access for both users and visitors. In line with the building’s key objectives - well-being, efficiency and flexibility - the floors comprise both open-plan offices and partitioned offices. The office floors are built around a central, open atrium, with meeting rooms "extending out" over the open space, lending a sense of excitement and activity to the atrium. The atrium also serves as a meeting point and seating area for the staff restaurant. A well-equipped conference centre is located directly adjacent to the restaurant. The lobby houses a coffee bar open to the building's tenants and visitors. The project started with an architectural competition with focus on 1) energy efficiency, 2) pleasant indoor environment, and 3) good innovative office solutions. The accessibility of the location and good use of natural light were also identified as main aims. . The property contains a wide range of energy efficient solutions. The building is designed and built according to Passive House criteria. Building airtightness reaches a rate of 0.35 air changes per hour, and the insulated facades reduce challenges with cold bridges and air leakages. It should be noted that the superstructure is situated inside the facade. Ventilation, both near the outer core and further into the building, has been designed to take into account the outdoor air temperature. Many of the ventilation units have rotating heat exchanges, resulting in good heat recovery. Both ventilation and lighting levels can be adjusted with on-demand controls. The project planning included minimization of material use, selection of products with a low greenhouse gas footprint, and selecting the site so that it is accessible through a range of transport modes. In terms of architectural solutions, this has meant a compact building form and an indoor geometry that presents a continuous office landscape, with no corridors. Due attention has also been given to the materials used for the facade solutions. The office is located near an Oslo metro station, and has easy access by bicycle. As part of the minimisation of greenhouse gas emissions, a focus was also to ensure the building facilitates non-combustion based modes of transport, hence the building also houses electrical charging stations for cars and safe bicycle parks. Success Factors The key success factors for Østensjøveien 27 were embracing the intentionally set priorities of well-being, efficiency and flexibility, and the team that has been working to make these principles a reality. The office building has been positively noted in a number of international arenas, and it has, for example, been: 1) Awarded the BREEAM-NOR rating of “Excellent” 2) Being a Passive House according to the Norwegian Passive House standard 3) Nominated among the 100 best sustainable solutions by the global environmental organization Sustainia100 at the Rio 20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development in 2012, and 4) Nominated in the "Best Innovative Green Building" category in the MIPIM Awards at the MIPIM international property exhibition in Cannes in March 2014. Novelty The building´s environmental profile meets the Passive House standard; the property is also classified as Energy Class A by Norwegian standards. The central location and vicinity to the City of Oslo’s planned “green street” gives both user and visitors easy access with a wide range of means of transport. The building has good access to the city bicycle network and has facilitated cycling through 100 lockers and 120 bicycle parking places. Out of the property’s 72 parking places, 20 are equipped with electrical charging facilities. In addition to energy and access, building materials were selected based on greenhouse gas emission impact, and the architecture itself presents solutions that minimize overall material usage. Sustainability Impacts The building solutions included using low-carbon concrete and recycled steal for the load bearing structure. The facades were prefabricated in order to reduce waste and improve material use. The greenhouse gas emissions for the “as built” stage were reduced by 30% when compared to a reference building, and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from energy use is 61% percent and for material use 50%; the transport reduction amounts to 3% percent. An important climate initiative has been the compact building and simple building geometry. Natural light has been optimised in the office, and the facade solution has removed the need for cooling. The ventilation is regulated according to use. A circular economy feature includes utilising surplus heat energy from a neighbouring industrial plant as heating energy, which meets the building’s heating needs. By paying attention to the surrounding environments and aligning a single building with the ambitions and priorities of the city – in this case, Oslo – can create safer, peaceful environments for users and local inhabitants. Potential further developments may include using other building materials, for example wood, in office related construction, and to continue to anchor buildings better into the local environment and into the minds of local residents. Challenges and potential for further development The building serves as good example of novel thinking and cooperation between different actors. Contact person(s) for more information: Mr. Manne Aronsson manne.alexander.aronsson@ncc.no 47 (464) 33 374