Photo: Hundven Clements Photography
Økern Portal - with a great focus put on sustainability, the building complex is set out to restore and recover biodiversity. Local crops, a green roof, a silhouette of a forest – everything from details to design and functions are all custom made to meet the requirements of the project. “We want to repay nature for what we take, this is what Økern Portal is about”, says Arne Reisegg Myklestad, CEO at DARK Arkitekter.
The origin of a material is one of the keys when creating a circular project. Økern Portal used Hydro CIRCAL facades developed by WICONA, which is a range of prime quality aluminum made with a minimum of 75% recycled aluminum (post-consumer scrap). The material is recycled from facades, windows etc. that has been dismounted from buildings. This version of urban mining does not only save energy, it also reduces our carbon emissions six times compared to production of primary aluminum.1
Økern Portal is signed by DARK Arkitekter, and we can clearly see their vision. The building’s facades resemble the forest, and the design details catches the light in the most vivid way.
The project was designed in close collaboration with Zinc Interior Architects and LARK landscape architects, which has been key success-factor for the integration of organic elements and future oriented working conditions.
Offices, hotels, apartments, lounges and restaurants – with the 84 000 square meter floor surface, Økern Portal is now one of the leading commercial districts in the country.
“The vision was to create a place for well-being in an urban environment, where people will integrate and meet at the same time as we take care of the nature and what we got. It was important to not fill up the whole ground with the building, therefore a portal that allows the entire park to flow through it was designed.”, says Arne Reisegg Myklestad.
And the sustainable concept of the building was very clear from scratch, from all parts that have been involved within the project.
Tor-Christian continues to describe the importance of a sustainable and circular thinking, at least when working in the building- and construction industry.
"We work in an industry that emits a large carbon footprint, and we wanted Økern Portal to become sustainable through all aspects, both ecologically and socially. The roof top and the park surrounding the building includes social areas where people can meet, exercise and spend time together. The restaurants that are in the building are using herbs and vegetables from the garden on the roof top, which puts the local thinking in the spotlight as well”.
During the planning and building phase of the project, the development team targeted meeting the highest energy efficiency standards. Energy consumption, emissions and the supply of materials were audited to ensure sustainable construction and an extended life cycle while complying with the standards needed to achieve BREEAM Excellent classification.
“Økern Portal has become a place where business meets the local environment. And a focus on sustainable value across a range of categories like energy, land use, well-being and materials has been a priority number one to follow. It’s also important to consider ecology and pollution as important parts”, says Arne Reisegg Myklestad.
The WICONA aluminum façade made of Hydro CIRCAL was produced by Staticus and reducing the carbon footprint was one of the main targets during construction.
“Staticus endeavors to reduce, re-use and recycle wherever possible. The use of recycled aluminium in Økern Portal largely contributes to 45% of embodied carbon savings in the building envelope, reducing embodied carbon to less than 130 kgCO2/m2 of the façade in the product stage. I believe we have only seen the start of sustainability in the building and construction sector,” says CEO Aušra Vankevičiūtė in the Staticus Group.
Architect: DARK Arkitekter
Interior: Zinc interiør
Landscape: Lark landskap
Metal builder (WICONA facades): Staticus
WICONA Solutions: WICTEC Facades (Hydro CIRCAL alloy)
Photo: Hundven Clements Photography
1. Compared to Global Primary Industry Average
