Československá obchodní banka
Universal bank Československá obchodní banka a.s. wanted optimal indoor climate and efficiency for its new headquarters, the biggest office building in the Czech Republic.
IMI Hydronic Engineering’ know-how helped them achieve exactly that, and helped the building not only to become the first LEED-certified building in the Czech Republic, but was also awarded “Gold” for its sustainable construction and energy-efficient design features.
The Československá obchodní banka head- quarter covers an area of 83,000 m2. With 5 floors above ground and 3 below, the building accommodates the bank’s 2,600 employees and hundreds of customers who visit each day. The building has two restaurants, extensive conference facilities and three large atrium courts. It is a place where both comfort and money matter.
The Hydronic Challenge
Aiming for the highest standard of indoor cli- mate comfort and energy efficiency, the cus- tomer needed a reputable partner with proven technical knowhow to deliver a com- plete solution for efficiency-boosting pressuri- sation and water quality, balancing and con- trol and thermostatic control.
The customer knew that the sheer size of the building posed special efficiency challenges, and that a partner with wide-ranging exper- tise and experience with large structures was needed.
The Solution
IMI Hydronic Engineering already enjoyed a strong relationship with the HVAC system designer, built up through successfully completing several previous projects together. Because of this, the IMI Hydronic Engineering team was asked to get involved in the project from an early design stage – armed with a thorough understanding of the complex challenges involved in opti- mising indoor climates for so much floor space and so many people.
IMI Hydronic Engineering worked throughout the project to apply integrated hydronic expertise that would make sure the solution would deliver operational efficiency, minimise energy consumption and maintain an optimum indoor climate in the building.
The solution was designed to ensure the cor- rect pressure would be maintained through- out the system. IMI Hydronic Engineering provided the solution for optimising the system, and sup- plied technical support during installation and commissioning to make sure that the entire system was balanced according to the design.
For maximum comfort, each room was equipped with thermostatic devices.
The integrated solution now provides a com- fortable, reliable and controlled indoor cli- mate throughout the building, enabling both staff and the bank’s many customers to enjoy a pleasant indoor climate all year round. The solution’s energy efficiency even helped the building win an award. In July 2008, this building became the first in the Czech Republic to be ‘Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design’ (LEED) certified, and was awarded Gold in the final assessment for its sustainable construction and energy efficient design features.
The aim of this project was to design a reliable and efficient heating and cooling network that at the same time operates in an environmental friendly way. Based on our long-term and close cooperation and proven quality record, ICG was the obvious choice ensuring that we successfully reached project targets. - Jaromír Kačer, Engineer, ENVIROTECH, s.r.o.