Sweden’s first zero-carbon building is currently being developed through a pilot project for the Sweden Green Building Council. The new retail-store building is a collaboration between Lidl and LINK arkitektur.
Sweden Green Building Council has developed a certification for climate-neutral buildings. The certification imposes highly stringent demands and was created to enable Sweden to achieve its climate goals. As Lidl Sverige is establish-ing on Gotland, the store building will serve as a pilot project for the new certification standard.
The journey towards zero-carbon certification
The goal of the certification is to achieve net zero emissions in the course of the building’s life cycle. This necessi-tates a holistic long-term approach and close cooperation between the client, architect and construction company. Optimising the spaces and making well thought-out choices on aspects such as construction, materials and energy systems minimises the building’s environmental impact both during its construction and its maintenance.
The concept of the new store in Visby comprises several interactive solutions that help to achieve the certification requirements, such as the installation of energy-efficient lighting, solar panels and vegetation on the store’s rooftop. In addition, eco-zones for insects and birds will be created, as well as recharging stations for electric cars and e-bikes.
Although grocery stores require considerably high energy consumption, there is also great potential for recycling waste heat. By optimising the building’s volume, the usage of materials and energy consumption is reduced, which in turn reduces the building’s carbon footprint. This requires well-planned adaptations of the building as a whole – the facades, glass surfaces, insulation, sun screening and energy systems.