Green Lighthouse at the University of Copenhagen

The house will be located at Tagensvej in Copenhagen and will balance the need for energy efficient building with architectonic quality, daylight and healthy indoor climate.

Today the Danish Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation, Helge Sander, announced the winner of the competition for the design and construction of the house. It will be Christensen & Co Arkitekter A/S, together with COWI and Hellerup Byg that will be in charge of the architecture, energy concept and construction of the new climate icon.

"New thinking, public-private cooperation and the will to find energy efficient and climate friendly solutions are closely connected in the Green Lighthouse, the winning project for the University's new building for the scientific faculty.

There will, of course, be innovation costs involved in the realization of the finalist projects when the target is CO2-neutral low-energy buildings for the universities. It is, therefore, our hope that the sustainable building solutions with their beautiful and light architecture as well as good indoor climate will also be of inspiration to others and an asset to the building industry's knowledge bank", said Helge Sander, Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation.

Natural Science will get the climate friendly house
Green Lighthouse will be the home of amongst others a faculty club, conference facilities and student services for the faculty of science. There are heavy demands on functionality combined with the climate friendly aspect. The building must inspire the surroundings at a time where the city and the university will be in the limelight of the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen.

"With Green Lighthouse we are taking the plunge from the drawing board to the construction site. Sustainable building is not about living in caves: With Green Lighthouse we are combining the climatic considerations with beautiful and usable building. This is totally in the spirit of the University of Copenhagen. We will let the employees, the students and the global climate benefit from the latest knowledge about buildings, climate and education", said Lykke Friis, Pro-rector of the University of Copenhagen and chairman of the steering group behind Green Lighthouse.

The steering group behind Green Lighthouse is made up of the University of Copenhagen, the Danish University and Property Agency, VELUX A/S and the Municipality of Copenhagen.

For more information please contact:
For more information about Green Lighthouse please see: http://greenlighthouse.ku.dk where you can also get pictures and drawings of the winning project, just as press photos from the public announcement will be available.

Or you may contact Head of the climate section, Charlotte Brix Andersen CHBA@adm.ku.dk, +45 35 32 41 04, +45 28 75 41 04.

About Green Lighthouse
The Green Lighthouse vision is to build a sustainable house, which by the lowest possible CO2 emission will be able to achieve a better classification than class 1 of the Building Regulations and at the same time hold architectonic quality and a healthy indoor climate.

The concept of the building is the sundial, a concept signalling light as a scientific theme. It is an original and strong architectural concept, which will stand out at Nørre Campus. The green facing will make the building a visible and attractive central point of the campus. Simultaneously, Green Lighthouse with its own clear identity will give identity to the whole Nørre Campus area. In this way the building will live up to its name as a conspicuous icon for the campus and the climate ambitions behind the project Green Lighthouse.

The energy consumption of Green Lighthouse will not alone live up to the strictest demands in the regulations today. The energy consumption will be lower than the demands expected to be valid for buildings in general in 2020. The energy consumption of the winning project for heating, ventilation, hot utility water and lighting has been calculated to 22 kWh/m2 per year. The building has been prepared for installation of solar cells, which would make the building energy neutral.

Green Lighthouse is focusing on daylight as the source of light for rooms that are pleasant to stay and work in. With open and well lit rooms, and a good indoor climate, Green Lighthouse will be a pleasant place to stay for students, employees and guests.

Facts

• Area: 950 m2 on three floors 
• Client: Danish University and Property Agency for the University of Copenhagen 
• Architect: Christensen & Co Arkitekter A/S 
• Contractor: Hellerup Byg 
• Engineer: COWI

After previous public prequalification, a competition was called for a turnkey contract on the project. Three projects were examined. The "Sundial" project was unanimously voted the winner by the jury.

About the winning consortium

Christensen & Co Arkitekter A/S (CCO) is a young, internationally oriented firm of architects with buildings for educational purposes and research, and sustainable architecture as their central fields of activity. They have won numerous prestigious international competitions, latest on a new university in Stockholm. The company is working with projects in several countries and has today more than 20 employees of seven different nationalities. www.cco.as  

COWI is a leading North European consultancy firm. COWI is working with engineering, environment and economics worldwide and is paying attention to both the environment and the society. COWI is leading in its field because the company's 4,500 employees are leading within each their own field. www.cowi.dk  

Hellerup Byg was founded in 1990 and has 80 employees within construction management, carpentry, joinery and plumbing. Hellerup Byg carries out all kinds of jobs for professional builders under turnkey, general and individual trade contracts. The company is amongst others working on dialogue-based building projects where the parties, in close cooperation and with mutual respect for each others' competences, are creating the most optimal solutions for the customers. www.hellerup-byg.dk  

Other consortiums:

Team: Solmøllen
Turnkey contractor: Elindco Byggefirma A/S
Architect: Henning Larsen Architects A/S
Engineer: Henrik Larsen Rådgivende Ingeniørfirma F.R.I A/S
Engineer: Anders Christensen Rådgivende Ingeniører ApS

Team: Ellipsen
Turnkey contractor: Jakon A/S
Architect: Rørbæk & Møller Arkitekter ApS
Engineer: EKJ Rådgivende Ingeniører A/S