The Powerhouse Alliance is creating the first office building in Norway that produces more energy than it uses. The Powerhouse is designed by Snøhetta and the result is a completely new architectural concept for what will be the world’s northernmost energy-positive building. Buildings account for 40 percent of the world’s energy consumption, and energy-positive construction is an important part of the solution to global warming. The development is a complex and challenging task that requires holistic approaches and thinking. The building is unique and shaped by its surrounding conditions.

Solar energy harvesting is the main design driver for this project. Solar cells, heat exchangers and heat pumps will produce electricity and heat for the building, and sea water will contribute to both the heating and cooling system. The building rises from the fjord towards the north creating a south-facing sloping roof, an optimal condition for solar energy production. The location of the solar cells and windows in the façade accounts for the sun’s intensity to optimize day lighting conditions and minimize energy consumption. In the areas most exposed the sun, the window openings are reduced to minimize the solar heating of the building, while the dense construction of the façade maximizes use of solar energy.

This new construction is designed with the intent that the excess energy produced during the building’s operational lifetime will exceed the energy used to create the building. Brattørkaia is located by the sea in downtown Trondheim and is the planned site of Norway’s first energy-positive office building. Read the rest of this entry »

The playful King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture by Snøhetta is expected to be completed in 2015. It is a bold new initiative on the part of the Saudi Aramco Oil Company to promote cultural development within the Kingdom. The powerful condition of the keystone arrangement is visible from a longitudinal section – the main stone is seen to be suspended within the public areas below ground while the remaining elements reinforce this event.

Located in Dhahran in the Eastern Province the Cultural Center will provide for a wide range of activities serving the local population and becoming a cultural landmark on both a regional, national and global horizon. When completed, the project will contain diverse cultural facilities, including an auditorium, cinema, library, exhibition hall, museum and archive. The auditorium will seat 930 visitors and will provide for a wide range of events ranging from opera, symphony concerts, musicals and lectures etc. Together with the smaller cinema, this will be a unique venue for the performing arts in the Kingdom.

The library will become a center of learning containing some 200,000 books on open access and catering for all ages and categories of users. The great exhibition hall will accommodate large scale travelling exhibitions, as well as providing the setting for social events, banquets and conferences. The museum and archive facilities connect the vibrant cultural life of the center to the past and to the very roots of the society from which this center is conceived.

The museum spaces are organized around the central light. This is both a source of daylight, penetrating deep into the space, but also a source of inspiration for the architecture and content of this building. Read the rest of this entry »