Grønland 55

Illustrations: A-Lab

Grønland 55

Grønland 55 is an office building from 2009. As its’ previous renters has relocated, the client wanted to give the building a facelift. Centrally placed in Drammen city center, it made sense to renovate it in such a way that gives something back the area. The proximity to Papirbredden and new developments nearby, opened up a chance to opt for an extroverted strategy that can complement the city center. Among the upgrades are activating the ground floor by adding an extroverted façade and transform the passage that was once anonymous into a social pathway. Grønland 55 is a great opportunity to test out new sustainable ways of renovating modern office buildings. The climate ambitions for this project are significant, and the hope is that it can inspire future renovations to be as resource minded. 

TYPE OF PROJECT: Office
LOCATION: Drammen
CLIENT: PKH
SIZE: 11 200 m2
TIMEFRAME: 202024-2026
PROJECT STATUS: under works

Holistic face-lift

The upgrade encompassed turning every stone. We looked at mobility – how to make the movements inside the building more intuitive and more accessible. Existing resources on site were catalogued. The refurbishing aimed at more use of timber and other low emission materials. The choices we have made has to be robust, yet flexible enough for future transformations, this pillar grounds all decisions. For ecology, this transformation will have a system for handling rainwater and plant local flora. The interior climate will be upgraded with better light conditions, both natural and indoor lights, thermal comfort, noise reduction measures and upgraded ventilation.  For the public, we want the project to contribute to liven up their surroundings by activating the ground floor and the passage for people to visit.

Procedures

The rehabilitation will consist of the following elements: designing and programing urban floor, upgrade the atrium and a cosmetic change of the façade. The operations are simple, yet effective measures to provide the building and its’ surrounding spaces a modern upgrade that will make it an attractive space, both for users and future renters.

Seeing the potentials in existing materials

As the building itself is not that old, it was important to get an overview of the materials and resources in the building to avoid unnecessary waste. What can be re-used to give project something extra? What state are they in? How is the quality? What else can we use this as? Can it be used in another project? We feel obligated to take our load of the responsibility to counter unnecessary waste in our industry. Thus, large effort was put into figuring out how to re-use the materials of a certain quality, and of course where it is compatible to do so.

The project has an aim of keeping about >90% of the building’s weight. In addition, we wanted a to use a significant amount of re-used material, the bar is set to 20%. In total, the goal is to achieve a CO2- reduction of 80-90% compared to a similar building.

Existing qualities and small adjustments

Aside from material and resources, we also mapped the building’s qualities. On the fifth floor is a roof terrace with a great view of Drammen, all it needs is some care and tending for. The existing atrium will be upgraded and become the focal point in the building. The main entrance will be moved to the east façade so that the first thing one see is this vertical room. The glass walls by the atrium can be opened up at the ground floors. The social zones are placed around the atrium, like the cantina on the first floor.  The glass walls will reveal the life inside. A carefully designed urban floor to draw people inside the building.

Offices

Previously this office building only had one tenant, the rehabilitation makes it possible to rent out to more. The upper floors are reserved and sectioned off for offices. These spaces will be upgraded accordingly in terms of function, need and materiality.  

Sustainability certified

The new office will be energy efficient. The aim is a CO2 reduction of >30%. This will be achieved by choosing the right material with criteria such as longevity, low emission, re-use and grade of flexibility. The aim is to get it certified as European Taxonomy Compliant. Breeam in Use will be continued and perhaps manage an upgrade from very good to excellent. Futurebuilt is also something that we consider.