Outstanding Sustainability
European Patent Office in Vienna receives BREEAM "Outstanding"
The revitalized branch office of the European Patent Office in Vienna is one of the most sustainable buildings in Europe. This is confirmed by the BREEAM certification "Outstanding": With a score of 98.47%, the building achieves the highest rating to date in the DACH region.
The office building of the European Patent Office (EPA) in Vienna was to be transformed into a state-of-the-art "Green Hub" with the highest standards of sustainability, resource efficiency, and energy efficiency as part of its revitalization. Instead of demolishing the existing building from 1972, the client made a future-oriented decision to preserve the original reinforced concrete structure of the building and carry out a comprehensive renovation.
For the project goals of CO2-neutrality as well as sustainability certification according to BREEAM with the highest rating level "Outstanding," the project by ATP sustain was accompanied during the early planning phase and throughout all planning and execution phases. Different HVAC and facade variants were investigated and evaluated using dynamic building simulations to optimize energy requirements and increase energy efficiency during operation, and forecast calculations were carried out. In addition to the energy and comfort-related variants, these were evaluated with regard to cost-effectiveness through life cycle cost calculations. Additional measures:
To achieve the highest possible recycling rate of materials and optimize the demolition and dismantling phase, a dismantling concept for selective dismantling was developed, allowing for the pure separation of materials.
As part of a commissioning management as a trade-specific interface, execution and commissioning processes of the technical systems were optimized to be coordinated with each other, thus avoiding potential sources of errors, and ensuring the best possible basis for the operational phase through the early involvement of facility management.
To ensure and optimize the planned building quality in the operational phase, the building continues to be supervised, monitored, and continuously supported by ATP sustain.
The combination of an ambitious client with high objectives, together with a planning and execution team highly willing and open to rethinking established processes, demonstrates the kind of results that can be achieved in the form of the currently most sustainable BREEAM building in the DACH region.
Katharina Thullner
ATP sustain, Project Management Certification
