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Energy-plus nursery, Höhenkirchen-Siegertsbrunn
During the last few years, there has been an enormous increase in awareness about energy efficient buildings. Within the local community there was therefore a desire to set an example with the new nursery and to construct a building that would send out an important signal, whereby the focus was not just on energy efficiency but also on ecological and economic sustainability. As a consequence it was decided to have an energy-plus building designed and constructed that would as far as possible consist of natural and renewable materials.
How the judges assessed it:
“The compact nursery directly flanks the public urban realm in order to make optimum and diverse use of the available space and thus allow plenty of room for the children’s need for movement. The inner organisation is clear and concise. However the judges were not entirely convinced by the twisted floor plan and the physical appearance of the building, nor were they by the categorisation of the facade openings.
A carefully harmonised building and energy concept considerably undercuts the usable energy requirements stipulated in the competition. Thanks to the use of solar thermal and photovoltaic energy, the primary energy requirement is cut to less than half of the reference building. The integral design process has ensured an excellent harmonisation between the architecture, structural design and building services technology that enables users to engage with the building’s educational concept.”
Building concept
In addition to the desired flexibility, the main challenge facing the design was to construct a compact building on the narrow, north-south-oriented site that not only achieved the desired energy levels but also ensured a maximum southern orientation and sufficient incident daylight. This was further exacerbated by the building height restrictions stipulated by the urban development plan.
Furthermore, the choice of building components depended on their ecological sustainability and cost-effectiveness, whereby the sensible integration of new types of innovative building materials and system solutions was desired. It was also, of course, necessary to meet the general requirements made of child day care facilities such as providing sufficiently sized functional and differentiated areas within the building combined with external areas that would be safe, attractive and accessible for the children, teachers, parents and the fire brigade.
Energy concept
The concept of an energy-plus building is primarily based on radically reducing the energy requirement. The remaining energy requirements are met sustainably and effectively, whereby an overall positive primary energy balance is aimed for across the year.
It is planned to use a highly efficient building envelope to reduce the thermal energy requirements. The use of a hybrid ventilation system that enables passive cooling and ventilation of the building in summer will also make it possible to considerably reduce the energy requirements for heating, cooling and ventilation. The energy requirements will be reduced even further by using intelligent control and regulation technology. The need for electrical energy for the artificial lighting, which is particularly relevant in primary energy terms, can be considerably reduced by means of the planned innovative coupling of daylight and artificial lighting systems.