CIENS fiction?
CIENS stands for Centre for Interdisciplinary Environmental and Social Research, and is a strategic research collaboration between independent research institutes and the University of Oslo. The office building where the centre is located is in itself a study in energy efficiency and environmental solutions.
A friendly environment. The CIENS research centre utilizes a mix of energy resources to cover their energy needs. (Photo: Niels Torp AS)
For the developer and the architects Niels Torp AS and MNAL, sustainable design has been a major factor. The office block have been designed to an energy consumption target of 120KWh/m² per year, half of that of an average office building in Norway.
Natural lighting
The facades have a 35% glazed area, with solar shading provided to the south and west facades to prevent over heating in the summer months. The windows are designed to maximise natural daylight penetration into the building, whilst the thermal mass of the concrete slabs is exposed to cool the internal air in the summer and warm internal air in the winter.
Heat pumps
An open heat pump system covers 65 % of heating needs as well as 90 % of cooling needs both for CIENS and the existing Oslo Innovation Centre. This generates savings of up to NOK 800,000 per year. The facility also has 120 m2 of solar panels on the roof.
Further reading:
Size:
14 700 m2/ca. 550 employees
Energy use:
120 kWh/m2/pr.year
Renewable energy sources:
Geo-energy
District heating
Bioenergy
Solar energy
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