Solarschiff Solarsiedlung Freiburg im Breisgau september 2014

''Sonnenschiff'' () is a large integrated office and retail building in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany. It was built in 2004 in the city's Vauban quarter as part of the Solar Settlement at Schlierberg. Sonnenschiff was designed by the architect

Rolf Disch Rolf Disch is a German architect, solar energy pioneer and environmental activist. Born in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany, Disch has dedicated particular focus to regional renewable and sustainable energy. As head of his own architecture firm, ...

(who also built the Heliotrope building) and generates four times more energy than it uses. As a whole this building produces more energy than it consumes per year and utilizes the most up-to-date building technology. Some aspects that make this building particular are its

vacuum A vacuum is a space devoid of matter. The word is derived from the Latin adjective ''vacuus'' for "vacant" or " void". An approximation to such vacuum is a region with a gaseous pressure much less than atmospheric pressure. Physicists often di ...

insulated walls,

ventilation Ventilation may refer to: * Ventilation (physiology), the movement of air between the environment and the lungs via inhalation and exhalation ** Mechanical ventilation, in medicine, using artificial methods to assist breathing *** Ventilator, a m ...

with 95% heat recovery, triple paned windows and its energy

façade A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loan word from the French (), which means ' frontage' or ' face'. In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important aspect ...

. It is the first positive energy office building worldwide. The office spaces are flanked on both the East and West sides entirely with windows, which maximizes natural lighting and employee views while it minimizes the energy used for artificial lighting. Sonnenschiff includes a supermarket, convenience store and bakery-café on the first floor, offices and work spaces on the 2-4 floors and 9 penthouses on its roof. In addition to the office and retail space, there are two conference rooms.

Design

This steel-framed construction is called the "Sun Ship" as its skyline resembles the silhouette of a ship. Its design allows it to naturally stay cool in the summer and to store heat in the winter. The ground floor is used for high-end retail and commercial space. The next three floors are used as office and commercial space, while nine penthouses on its rooftop offer residential space (112 to 300 sq. meters). This unique integration of retail, commercial and residential space, all with a carbon-free footprint and a positive energy balance distinguish this development.

Residents

Apart from the nine penthouses, Sonnenschiff houses several companies such as the high-end supermarket

Alnatura The Alnatura Produktions- und Handels GmbH is a chain of organic food supermarkets and producer of organic food headquartered in Darmstadt, Hesse in Germany. The company was founded in 1984 and distributes food and textiles, produced accordi ...

, a DM drug store and such institutions as Ökostrom and the non-profit

Öko-Institut The Öko-Institut (Institute for Applied Ecology) (sometimes spelled Oeko-Institut) is a non-profit, private-sector environmental research institute with its head office in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany Germany,, officially the Fed ...

PlusEnergy

PlusEnergy is a term coined by Rolf Disch that indicates a structure’s extreme

energy efficiency Energy efficiency may refer to: * Energy efficiency (physics), the ratio between the useful output and input of an energy conversion process ** Electrical efficiency, useful power output per electrical power consumed ** Mechanical efficiency, a ra ...

so that it holds a positive energy balance, actually producing more energy than it uses. With the completion of his private residence, the Heliotrope, in 1994, Disch had created the first PlusEnergy house. His next goal in its development was thus the mass application of the concept to residential, commercial and retail space. As the concept further developed and gained financial backing as well, Disch built several more projects with PlusEnergy certifications. “PlusEnergy is a fundamental environmental imperative,” Disch claimed. Disch believes that passive building is not enough because passive homes still emit CO₂ into the atmosphere.

Awards

*2008 German Sustainability Award *2007-08 Japanese PEN-Magazine Creativity Award *2006 Germany's most beautiful housing community *2005 Wuppertal Energy and Environment Prize *2003 Global Energy Award *2002 European Solar Prize

References

External links