The ECB building contributes to sustainability with its energy design

The headquarters of the Central European Bank (ECB), A building developed by the Viennese architecture studio COOP HIMMELB (L) AU and for which ArcelorMittal supplied plates for the composite floors, contributes to sustainability with its energy design measures.

“Overall energy consumption fell in 2020 by 16.9% and, although this was heavily influenced by the coronavirus pandemic and the rise in teleworking, energy consumption at the ECB headquarters had also decreased in previous years due to to additional measures, “a spokesman for the entity told EFE on Wednesday.

For example, energy consumption decreased in 2019 by 5.3% compared to 2018.

These measures include upgrading the cooling of the data center and main building, replacing lighting with LED lamps, and adapting more to daylight hours.

Building

The building, owned by the ECB on the recommendation of the European Court of Auditors to all European institutions that it is much cheaper in the long term to have your own headquarters than offices for rent, is part of the Grossmarkthalle, a wholesale market for fruit and vegetables. from Frankfurt am Main until June 2004.

It consists of three connected elements: the general market, the office tower, and an entrance building that connects the other two elements.

The 185-meter high office tower is integrated into the 120,000-square-meter site.

Two polygonal towers connected with a glass atrium form the office tower skyscraper to the south of the market building.

At 45 stories, the north tower is taller than the 43-story south tower.

The area of ​​the ECB headquarters is about 185,000 square meters.

Energetic design

The objective of the ECB was to achieve 30% more energy efficiency in its new headquarters than what is stipulated by the 2007 German directive on energy saving, but it is not classified with the “Passivhaus” standard, the spokesperson told EFE.

The new ECB headquarters is the first large-scale project in Germany to comply with the regulations in force as of October 1, 2007.

For this, measures have been applied such as the capture of rainwater, recycled heat, efficient insulation, natural ventilation of office spaces, efficient solar protection and low-consumption lighting and the use of geothermal energy in the systems of heating and cooling.

In the Grossmarkthalle building, which has a roof area of ​​approximately 10,000 square meters, a system has been installed to collect rainwater for watering the gardens when there is not enough rain and for the toilet cisterns.

The waste heat generated by the computer center is redirected to a ceiling heating system to heat the offices.

The roof and windows of the Grossmarkthalle have been insulated to create a thermal envelope between the indoor and outdoor areas, such as the employee restaurant and internal meeting rooms.

“These areas have their own microclimate, since they are integrated into the market as an independent ‘house within a house’ system,” explains the ECB in a report on the building.

The motorized ventilation elements integrated in the facades of the building allow direct natural ventilation of the offices.

“To prevent buildings from absorbing too much heat from the sun, solar filters and anti-glare screens have been integrated into the facades,” says the report.

The offices are equipped with daylight sensors so that the lights turn off automatically when there is enough natural light to save energy.

“To further reduce the energy costs of the building, geothermal circuits were integrated into the foundations of the trusses, reaching a depth of about 30 meters, down to the bedrock of Frankfurt,” the report adds.

These circuits can be connected to the hydraulic circuit and the heat pumps of the power plant to extract heat from the subsoil in winter and coolness in summer.

Certain areas, such as the atrium or the open spaces of the market, do not have air conditioning. These zones act as a climatic buffer and a transition space between the exterior and the interior.

Sustainability

Sustainability in construction also takes into account the reuse of materials and social aspects.

When the market outbuildings were dismantled, the bricks were removed by hand so that the original material could be used in the restoration of the main market building.

For the connecting platforms, balconies and walkways, more than 3,000 square meters of ArcelorMittal collaborative floor plates were used to ensure low weight and high strength.