A ground-breaking vision
With the demonstration project Danish Management Group intends to prove that it is possible to run a modern office and cover all necessary energy consumption for appliances, lights and computers by the sole use of renewable energy sources.

The office building will be the first in Denmark to comply with both the international passive house standards and the Class 1 standard of the Danish building regulations. This will be accomplished because of the ground-breaking vision: Energy for heating, cooling and electricity will be 100% renewable - and all harnessed from the very site. Approximately 50% of the energy will derive from the sun and 50% from the ground.

Intelligent use of nature’s resources
The focus on harnessing energy from the site creates awareness of the neglected fact that only 3 hours of radiation on the globe provides enough energy to cover the worlds’ energy need - for a whole year! What is more, the building will create 110% of energy needed, meaning an actual energy surplus. This illustrates that the world in fact has abundant energy resources if only we learn to use them with caution and intelligence.

The latest energy solutions come together
The demonstration building is expected to use 70% less energy than the maximum allowed by the Danish building regulations.

The energy solution includes

• A solar wall that will pre-heat the air for ventilation

• Solar cells on the roof to cover all electricity for the building

• Free energy from the ground through deep, drilled vertical bore holes attached to heat pumps

• Solar panels for heating water

• An active sand storage below the building to cool in the summer and heat in the winter

• Special Phase Change Material (PCM) in the floors and walls, which melts at high temperatures to absorb the heat and gives off heat again once the temperature drops

State of the art energy and architecture combined
While setting a new standard for energy self-sufficient office buildings, the demonstration project will also illustrate that low-energy buildings aren’t necessarily dark inside or dull-looking outside. On the contrary, the building will be an architectural landmark for Aarhus and will be placed centrally along one of the busiest approaches to Aarhus.

An international showcase
The building is expected to be ready to welcome visitors at the same time world leaders meet in Copenhagen for the UN Climate Conference in December 2009. In fact, the building is planned to be part of Aarhus and Denmark’s contribution to the conference. Being Europe’s first self-sufficient office building of its kind, the building will be a showcase for Denmark, both in terms of energy and architecture.