The Powerhouse
Revolutionary energy-positive, carbon-free buildings, using traditional techniques to fight climate change for a sustainable future
By Synnøve Marie Kvam
Powerhouse Kjørbo looks ordinary. On the outside and inside it looks like your average modern office building. But Powerhouse is neither average nor ordinary.
It is a power-saving, power-creating, sustainable environment that sets the standard in the refurbishment of existing office buildings, as well as new constructions. Its principles are not complicated, yet they are brilliantly applied.
The Powerhouse concept uses known technology in innovative ways, and in doing so an existing ordinary office building, when refurbished according to the Powerhouse model, can produce more renewable energy than it consumes in its lifetime. The pilot for this project is Powerhouse Kjørbo, headquarters of Norwegian engineering consultancy company Asplan Viak, who are part of the Powerhouse alliance. Powerhouse is a collaboration of companies dedicated to creating energy positive buildings, and consists of the environmental NGO ZERO, real estate company Entra Eiendom, entrepreneurs Skanska, architects Snøhetta, the aluminum company Sapa, and Asplan Viak. Powerhouse Kjørbo has been operational since 2014, and since then several other Powerhouses have come into existence or are under construction.
