When StatoilHydro wanted to build modern new offices on the outskirts at Fornebu outside Oslo, it turned to the architects at A-Lab for a unique, environmentally friendly design. What A-Lab came up with was a dramatic concept that featured five overlapping, three-storey buildings. Viewed from above, these 140 meter-long volumes seem scattered onto the parkland like a giant game of pick-up sticks. The daring design certainly fulfilled StatoilHydro’s requirements. In fact, A-Lab’s creative approach saw the Oslo HQ win a World Architecture Festival award before it was fully completed in 2012.

 

For such a large and complex building, energy efficiency and eco-friendliness was key. StatoilHydro’s initial requirements included low energy consumption, district heating and cooling, plus the construction of a park and gardens around the building. With 65,000 square meters of space spread across the five interconnecting office blocks, a well-insulated outer skin would be integral to minimize heat loss and maximize energy efficiency.

 

Elval Colour’s etalbond^® Aluminium Composite Panels was chosen to construct the building’s distinctive façade.The prefabricated panels that were used were folded to create 220mm deep cassettes. These gave the façade a deep stress relief and also enabled them to cope effectively with extreme wet weather. The prefabricated facade system was also employed inside the building, where the offices overlook a six-storey atrium. The only difference here was that the interior panels were finely perforated in order to deal with the acoustic challenges of the interior atrium space, helping to reduce noise.

 

The five buildings that make up the StatoilHydro HQ are covered with 20,000 square metres of coated etalbond^® in a special 3L PVDF Acropolis White coating.

They give the complex a unique and dynamic look, characterized by a pattern of geometric windows that make it seem like the whole building has “perforated walls”.

This striking effect was easy to achieve with etalbond^®, because the panels can be cut, curved and routed to construct formations and shapes that are just not possible when using more traditional building materials.