Middelfart Savings Bank by 3XN
3XN has design Middelfart Savings Bank’s new head office at Middelfart, Denmark. The idea behind the design is to let the building room an entire public space with a small square, shops, and a café. The building must ensure a perfect environment for the employees, while also positively stress demands for high architectural quality in the future development along the harbour front.
One large roof covers all functions in the building. The roof is a large elegant wooden structure with 83 prism like openings. The openings bring in abundant amounts of daylight and allow for direct view of the sea from all places in the building, up and down. In this way, the light and friendly atmosphere sought for by the bank is achieved.
At the heart of the building there is a large indoor ‘market place’, containing a bookshop, café real estate agent and the cash desk.
The rest of the bank’s area is spread at a series of terraces with open connections to the plaza and to each other. The terraces are connected by spacious staircases that provide good opportunities for the important informal meeting.
With its central position, the building will become a natural meeting point for clients, staff and visitors. In relation to the surrounding city, a delicate balance has been achieved a beautiful, contemporary and well functioning building that integrates respectfully in the overall picture.
Internationally renowned artist Olafur Eliasson has created an art installation for the plaza. Six ‘shooting star’ kaleidoscopes inspired by the triangular geometry of the building are lowered into the ground floor granite adding an extra dimension to the structure.
In addition to developing a comprehensive and holistic sustainable strategy for each project, the Research & Development department at 3XN scans the marketplace and actively implements latest technologies and sustainable innovations into the projects. Developed through the Danish Technical University, and now a part of the curriculum, the implementation of the latest technologies in energy efficient heating and cooling of buildings for the headquarters of Middelfart Savings Bank has been viewed as groundbreaking. The method utilizes the mass and ability of concrete to adjust the room temperature by absorbing and releasing heat. The method is based upon pre-fabricated concrete decks with embedded plastic pipes.
With these thermoactive concrete elements it is possible to reduce the energy consumption for heating by 30 percent and the energy consumption for cooling and mechanical ventilation by up to 85 percent; in total, an energy saving of 30-50 percent. This is due to the fact that the system allows for better use of alternative supply sources, i.e. the plant can operate as a low- temperature floor heating system during winter, based upon heat-driven heat pumps, and during summer, the cool night air, soil tubes, ground water or sea water can be used for cooling.
The system is partly self-regulating as water for heating and/or cooling is circulated with a temperature only a few degrees from the desired room temperature, and this is the key to the large energy savings. In addition to energy savings the capital costs were lower due to the reduced needs for cooling and heating.
