Okhta Tower to be Europe's Tallest Green Building

Sustainable buildings in Europe will have a new height to scale with the creation of the Gazprom Tower, officially known as the Okhta Tower. The plan has recently been given the green signal to begin construction; it will be designed by UK-based architectural firm RMJM. Upon completion, this building will be the tallest in Europe and one among the world’s most energy-efficient.

St. Petersburg in Russia will be the home to Okhta Tower, which through its 77 storeys will cross 400 metres in height. This tower will primarily serve as headquarters to Gazprom’s oil unit, OAO Gazprom Neft, and will also be home to a concert hall, a museum, a hotel and a business centre. In the name of sustainability, this tower will incorporate multiple elements for energy-efficiency during construction.

Glass Skin

The building will be insulated by an exoskeleton, dubbed as a low-energy ‘fur coat’, and will consist of two layers of glazed glass ‘skin’ with an atrium between the inner and outer walls. This buffer zone will supply the building with natural ventilation, sunlight for interior lighting and at the same time will act as a thermal insulation by keeping the structure warm during fierce minus 30 degrees Russian winters. Trees and plants will be sandwiched between the double glass walls, which will be responsible for providing warmth in winter and lower temperatures in summer.

The outer wall will comprise of temperature-colour-changing glass panels. This tower will change colour up to 10 times a day depending on the position of the sun, and creating a dazzling scene of a 300m-tall twisting glass tower across 75 floors.

Inspired by the pentagonal plan of an ancient Scandinavian fort believed to have once occupied the site, the tower consists of a central concrete core ringed by five square interlocking floorplates. The floorplates spin on their axes as they ascend, giving the building its twisted effect. A 'cog mechanism' - whereby the five floorplates interlock - ensures the tower's stability.

Sustainability

The pentagram design of the tower maximises access to daylight and allows for spectacular views for the offices without losing heat due to exposed surface area in comparison to other structures.

Specialized water, heating and ventilation systems have also been incorporated to reduce the energy consumption levels of the building. There will be a public viewing gallery on the 70th floor.

The office floor plans will also feature a large number of social spaces and green zones that will let the workers to access leisure areas without wasting energy by using elevators for vertical transportation.

The cost of construction is estimated at to $2.4bn. This cost will be borne jointly by Gazprom's subsidiary Gazprom Neft ($1.4 billion) and the St Petersburg City Administration ($1 billion).

Wise Green Glass Facade For Unilever's Northern Europe Headquarters

Unilever, the world’s second largest Fast Moving Consumer Goods Company after Procter & Gamble recently acquired for itself, a new headquarters for its Northern Europe faction. Located at HafenCity, Hamburg, on the banks of the Elbe River in Germany, the edifice is designed by Behnisch Architects and combines modern architecture with sustainability and energy-efficiency.

Dual Exterior: Inner Glass “Skin” & Outer Plastic “Cocoon”

Inner Glass Skin

Rather wisely, the building combines climate conservation and transparency through its exterior glass facade. This façade comprises solar control glass from Interpane, which allows optimum levels of daylight transmission. On the ground floor, the generous glazing in a pillar-beam design serves the same purpose. This brings down the operating costs for indoor artificial lighting.

Moreover, the façade also prevents the interiors from heating up excessively during summer, thereby reducing the need for air conditioning. Conversely, the insulation value of 1.1 W/m2K (as per EN 673) retains requisite warmth inside the building.

In some parts of the building, a cold sound-insulation facade, using laminated sheet glass provides protection from increased noise levels.

Outer Plastic Cocoon

The glass facade is protected from the rough sea air by a single-layer, fully transparent plastic cover called a “plastic cocoon”. This outer skin helps reduce heat gain and control wind effects. The space between the facades is ventilated and is able to supply draught-free fresh air through open windows.

Interiors

The interiors of the Unilever HQ are designed like a vertical village. Multiple levels connect with each other, lacing throughout the huge daylit atrium. The spa, stores, and café on the first floor are open to the public, extending the social context of the building to the city. The upper stories link private and public workspaces with large informal seating areas around the central atrium. The open floor plan uses an atrium to anchor satellite workspaces. The building is designed to provide space for 1,200 Unilever employees. The interior uses a cooling system controlled by a chilled concrete ceiling. The thermal mass effect facilitates effective cooling with significantly reduced energy requirement. The daylighting is controlled manually and with built-in glare-control measures. Acoustic control has been tailored to keep the atrium sound levels comfortable. A special hybrid ventilation system is implemented in the buildings.

LED

A system of SMD LED or surface mount LED lights was developed and installed to save nearly 70% of the energy of halogen lighting.

Awarded for Sustainability

This building received many prestigious awards like “The Golden Environment Award of the HafenCity Hamburg GmbH”, “The WAF (World Architecture Festival Award)”, and “The International Bex Award (Building Exchange Award). All these clearly exemplify the outstanding sustainability and modern architecture efforts of this Green corporate office.