Faculty
of Agriculture in Osijek
High
energy efficient building - 4eu / m2 / year energy cost
Faculty of Agriculture with its
usable area of 18.717 m2 stood 1.120 EU/m2 gross floor
area, and serves as an example of a good and mindful project. This project
achieved that the building of Faculty of Agriculture is certificated as an extreme
low-energy type of building (Class A (19 W/m2k) by energy spent for heating,
cooling, ventilation, lighting and hot water. Today it is the most successful
low-energy public building (faculty) in Croatian framework.
In addition to energy savings, there
is also comfort and sense of well-being in a place where there is no serious
temperature fluctuations, and the air is regularly changing.
Guiding principle for the new building
was the sustainability and low maintenance costs. The collaboration of
architect, designer, mechanical and electrical engineers was therefore
essential from the starting point. All this resulted in modern and smartly
sized heating and cooling system that uses ground water, using a heat pump that
heats and cools over 3,600 tons of concrete core (capillary action through a
reinforced concrete floor slabs and walls), which serves as a reservoir for
heating and cooling.
Mechanical
components of the system are mostly technological innovation: heat pumps, water
source system wells and wells water sinks, cooling the air in the air chambers,
thermally active concrete constructions - ceilings and walls, thermally active
surfaces for floor heating and cooling, passive cooling of the building using the
well water, the use of the atrium as the exhaust system volume ventilation, use
of glazed atrium roofs for solar contribution in winter mode. Smart lighting
and motion sensors that automatically switch on and off systems in areas where
there’s no one also help lower energy consumption.
Environmentally the building is
recognized in the form of solid single volume, predominantly glazed, with broad
public and covered pedestrian drive into the ground level. At the southern end
there is the entrance of large volumes accentuated by bold classrooms, whereas
the northern facade is characteristic for its congress hall with rounded glazed
surface.
The building is in an east-west direction split into two
parts, and in north-south direction in three parallel tracts, associated with
five transverse corridors so that six internal free spaces (atrium) arise above
the ground floors. On the ground floor is a central tract completely built on
reinforced concrete columns because of the important archaeological site. All atriums
are covered with glazed roof. The interior of the building is intertwined with
network of corridors that lead to classrooms, laboratories, research
laboratories, offices, library, deanery, deanery hall, administration, student
facilities, etc., all grouped by departments needed to educate students and
scientific research within the Faculty of Agriculture.
Rational and intelligent design, and
extremely economical construction has resulted in a very cost-effective
maintenance. The project has by its disposition and functionality met all these
requirements, while establishing a new, high standard of public faculty
buildings in architecture at the same time.