WTO’s new building gets Minergie certification

The World Trade Organization’s new building in Geneva received Swiss certification as a very low energy use building 11 September. the organization points to the difficulties getting the certification posed – few office buildings in Switzerland have the Minergie-P certificate from the federal government.

“Following the stringent Minergie-P® standard in the construction of the new building with a huge double glass façade posed a real challenge for the architects, the builders and the WTO itself as the end user.

Low energy consumption was achieved through the installation of water-to-water heat pumps for heating and cooling the building through a network of pipes embedded in the concrete ceilings. The heat pumps’ source of energy is provided by the deep waters of Lake Geneva. The insulation of the glass walls has been thoroughly developed in order to protect the occupants from heat, cold, noise and air pollution and the façade design allows for the maximum use of daylight in the offices. A state-of-the-art ventilation system as well as LED and other low consumption lights also make an important contribution to the outstanding energy consumption score of the building.”