New Institute Building as Flagship Project - Energy Efficiency Center in Wuerzburg with OKAGEL from OKALUX
The Energy Efficiency Center in Wuerzburg is both a research and demonstration building: the location at which new materials for energy saving are researched and tested will also serve as a showroom in which possibilities for reducing the energy consumption in buildings will be demonstrated. The softly curved membrane roofscape plays a central role in the design. The white textile covering allows daylight to enter the building from above while at the same time serving as an adjustable climate zone to reduce heat loss or cooling loads. Translucent ceiling elements of glass and plastic optimize the natural illumination of the office rooms and halls.
Numerous ceiling elements in the foyer of the upper floor were carried out with the light diffusing glazing OKAGEL from OKALUX. The panels have extraordinary physical properties due to a filling of translucent silica aerogel in the cavity between the panes: they have extreme heat and noise insulating qualities and diffuse incidental daylight evenly in the room. The incidental light is rendered glare-free through the functional glass, bathing the rooms in a comfortable and inviting atmosphere.
Not only does the sophisticated coordination of the transmission properties of the membrane roof and ceiling elements result in a high degree of visual and thermal comfort, it also reduces the requirements of artificial light lowering costs for illumination. Further components geared at increasing the energy efficiency in the Energy Efficiency Center are heat absorbing blinds, light management systems, highly insulating window frame systems, climate heating and cooling ceilings as well as a special cooling circulation. In conjunction with the membrane roof and OKAGEL glazing, the building equipment significantly lowers energy consumption and gives the institute building role-model status.
