CARBON BUILDER REDUCES DEVELOPMENT'S CARBON FOOTPRINT

Dutch architecture firm UNStudio has unveiled plans for the Kyklos building, a mixed-use office building in Belval, Luxembourg. Aiming to create a building with the 'smallest possible carbon footprint', the design implemented a hybrid construction approach of concrete and 100 percent recycled steel, using a sustainable-design framework developed by UNStudio to calculate and monitor the building's carbon impact.

This includes the 'carbon builder' – a tool that allows designers to study various construction options to reduce the carbon footprint at an early stage of the design process. Using the tool, the studio determined that a hybrid construction solution offered a better long-term carbon performance in comparison to other methods. According to UNStudio, the proposal has an embodied carbon footprint that is 8o percent smaller than a traditional office building in Luxembourg.

The 7,600-metre-square office building will host eight floors of office space along with a 2,250 metre square basement level. On the ground floor, a lobby will offer a reception and commercial functions that are accessible for both office users and the public. The floorplates of the building branch from a circular core, suspended by steel cables to eliminate the need for lard-bearing columns and free up the floor space for flexible interior layouts.

The Kyklos building will form the centrepiece of the Belval redevelopment project, transforming an old industrial site into an urban centre.

Images by Play-Time Barcelona