Buildings or developments that are verified and certified as “net zero operational energy and/or carbon.” The building should demonstrate the highest levels of energy efficiency with the use of either renewables generated onsite or renewable energy procured offsite.
Alzey-Worms Volksbank needed to build a new branch office in Kirchheimbolanden. The 600 square-metre plot was used to erect a new service centre that would not only encompass a bank branch but also consultation rooms for customers and staff. Overall the building spans a total usable floor area of 1800 square metres. Transsolar used dynamic computer simulations and local climate records to design the building and select materials. The aim was to maintain comfortable room temperatures in the summer and the winter, deliver good air quality, provide sufficient lighting and control noise levels inside the building. Fundamental factors in providing a comfortable indoor environment include ensuring the building points in the right direction and coming up with the right design. Furthermore, a low-tech climate-control system was fitted in the building based on efficient energy. Combining this with local, renewable energy made it possible to achieve a positive net annual energy rating. Concrete core activation is used to heat and cool the building. In most parts of the building, ventilation is provided as naturally as possible by opening windows. As a result, the local Volksbank branch is an outstanding example of how to operate a building in an environmentally positive manner based on a low-tech climate-control concept.
“The local Volksbank branch is an outstanding example of how to operate a building in an environmentally positive manner based on a low-tech climate-control concept.”
