Case studies: Fornebuporten, a modern and urban building designed with WICONA solutions

This impressive complex of buildings, designed by Dark Arkitekter in collaboration with Zinc interior architects, offers modern and functional office spaces for approximately 3,000 people. Fornebuporten is one of the residential and office centers that emerged in the last two decades on the land of what used to be the Oslo airport. With more than 50,400 square meters of offices, 3,000 square meters of stores and 30,000 square meters below ground, it is located at the entrance to the Fornebu peninsula. Two large volumes projected at different heights make up a public square, whose central element is a lowered atrium. Here there is a variety of programs available not only for the 3,000 people who work in Fornebuporten, but also for all the travelers who will use the future metro station.

The mass of the building surrounding the atrium connects the two buildings at the basement level. This is where you will find some of the common functions, such as the parking of cars and bicycles, changing rooms, kitchen and technical facilities.

The two identical buildings facing the central atrium from opposite sides are made up of five volumes with the same width but different heights on a glazed base. This gives the impression that the building is floating on the square, due to the contrast of the lightness of the base and the volume of the office. These volumes swing outward, alternately to the east and west, to optimize the daylight consumption. The fact of maximizing the areas of natural light allows to increase the density of construction. Each floor is planned to house between 250 and 300 permanent work spaces.

WICONA curtain walls to optimize light and connect with the environment

The building is designed to be cozy and transparent with optimized daylight. On the ground floor, the continuous facade from floor to ceiling creates a height of more than five meters. The unified curtain wall used for this building was the WICTEC 50EL solution with a patented WICONA unified board system, while the WICTEC 50 curtain wall, which has the Cradle to Cradle Standard Bronze Certificate, was placed in the area between buildings. . The C2C Product Certification presupposes a paradigm shift in thinking about how a product is designed, what is in it and where it goes after its use. It is a guidance system for designers and product manufacturers, which leads to the creation of products that redefine quality, aesthetics and innovation. To achieve one of the five levels of certification (from basic to platinum), a product must meet the minimum requirements of the relevant level in all five categories. These categories are: Life of the material, reuse of materials, renewable energy and carbon management, water management, social equity and biodiversity.

The volumes of the office seem to float above the restaurants and cafeterias on the ground floor. The lower part of the “suspended” volumes is a coating resulting from the folding of the facades of the building under the overhangs.

Fornebuporten is strategically located near the future Fornebu metro station. This encourages a greener way of traveling, a priority for the Norwegian political sphere and society in general. The opening to the public is also a fundamental aspect of the Fornebuporten complex. A large part of the project is open to the public sphere: the square full of sculptures, gardens and street furniture; the cozy cafes, bakeries and restaurants on the ground floor or the commercial spaces and the gym around the central atrium. This opening breaks with the traditional definition of an office building by creating a synergy between the city and the group of offices. Thus, contributing to the establishment of Fornebu as a district of the city, with new spaces and public facilities, improves the quality of life of its inhabitants and makes everyone who works there more and more integrated with the city.

Visit the Fornebuporten website
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