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Architects: MHM Architects
- Year: 2007
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Photographs:Herta Hurnaus
Text description provided by the architects. The STRABAG Headquarter in the Slovakian Capital City of Bratislava from year 2005is the first of three planned to develop this property at the edge of the historic city Centre. This building has a gross floor space of 12.500 m² and offers office room for 530 persons, as well as underground parking for 450 cars. The main topic in the planning process was the energy concept of the building:in this case the heating and cooling energy is mainly supplied by geothermal probes in form of groundwater wells connected to a water-water heating pump, at that time one of the most advanced technologies in renewables.Special is also the way the energy is distributed in the building. the concrete ceiling slab isactivate as the main heating and cooling device by inserting thebuilding equipment in it, so there is basically no need of additional devices in the offices. Only for temperatures below a certain level (around -15° C) there had to beplaced convector heaters in the floor area by the facade. Even though those heaters need additional energy, extrapolated on a whole year it is a very small amount, the biggest part comes from a depth of 120 metres below the ground, it is natural and therefore green energy.