When it comes to green energy and environmentally correct solutions, the UN City is a building in a class of its own. That was made clear by the European Commission at the annual prize-giving ceremony at Frankfurt yesterday, where especially energy-saving and innovative building projects are rewarded.
Says Jens Kramer Mikkelsen, Managing Director of CPH City & Port: “The UN City is an extremely ambitious and innovative building project, and it is of course a great pleasure when it attracts international attention. By now, City & Port and our contractors together have built up quite a lot of know-how concerning energy-effective building, and we have been able to put all that know-how into the UN City.”
The award, which is part of the Commission’s GreenBuilding Programme, has previously gone to Siemens’ office building in France, the airport in Athens, Greece, and the Port Authority Building in Ghent, Belgium.
The UN City has been built as a’ low-energy class 1 house’ - in accordance with Building Regulation #08, the designation of an energy-effective building using less than 50 kWh per m2 per year for heating, cooling, lighting, ventilation, etc. Inter alia, there will be a large solar cell system on the roof, cooling will be achieved by means of sea water, and the building is constructed on an islet tailor-made especially for the occasion. The building will house up to 1,750 jobs, and this large workforce is expected to move in at the beginning of 2013.
“The UN City will become a symbol of the close relations between Denmark and the UN. Its high standards regarding energy and environment will make the building a strong signal of Denmark’s leading position globally and high level of ambition within green technology,” promises Christian Friis Bach, Minister for Development.
CPH City & Port hires out the building’s almost 45,000 m2 plus 6,000 m2 basement facilities to the Danish State for the use of a number of UN organizations immediately after its completion.
The UN City was constructed by Orbicon, consulting engineers, and designed by 3XN Architects. E. Pihl & Søn was the overall contractors.
The UN City will be part of the coming development of Marmormolen (‘the marble quay) which will include additional buildings – business and residential – a park and two characteristic towers connected by a bridge for cyclists and pedestrians - 65 metres up in the air.
UN in Denmark consists of:
- The global office of UNOP - the UN’s project management unit
- The Nordic office of UNDP – the UN’s development organization
- The regional European office of WHO – the UN’s health organization
- The global supplies division of UNICEF – the UN’s children’s fund
- The Nordic office of UNFPA – the UN’s population fund
- The Nordic office of WFP – the UN’s world food programme
Add to those UNICEF’s Global Supply Centre, due to be re-located in new storage facilities not far from the UN City.
Press contact:
CPH City & Port
Carsten Arlund, Editor
Phone: +45 2075 1701
Email: ca@byoghavn.dk