Krohnen

In 2019, GC Rieber Eiendom won the Bergen Business Council's sustainability award. The jury's justification stated that over the past 10 years the GC Rieber Eiendom has; "... developed several areas in Bergen in a sustainable manner, with well-designed solutions for buildings, urban spaces, and districts ...".

An important part this work has been the design, construction and operation of sustainable buildings, with low carbon footprints.

The autumn of 2020, “Skipet” was completed. This was our first building in solid wood. We learned a lot through the planning and building process, and this experience has given us a solid foundation for the construction of future buildings.

Our next large building project is named Krohnen. Like Skipet, Korhnen will be built in solid wood. The reason for choosing solid wood as a building material is to reduce CO2 emissions. Production of cement accounts for 5% of the world’s total greenhouse emissions. By using solid wood instead of concrete, we will reduce the building’s CO2 emissions by approximately 50%.

We also aim to re-use a substantial amount of materials from buildings previously located at the site. So far, windows have been used for the construction of a greenhouse. Going forwards, bricks are to be used to create a self-supporting wall inside the new building, wooden beams are to be used for interior cladding, and steel beams can potentially be used over doorways.

Last, but not least, we want Krohnen to become an energy producer, not an energy consumer. By using solar cells and sea water cooling, Krohnen will become highly energy effective. This is essential if we are to achieve a low climate footprint when the building is in use.

To document our commitment to sustainability, we are aiming for high-profile environmental certifications such as NollCO2, BREEAM Outstanding and Paris Proof. By committing to these high-reaching certifications, we wish to show our sustainability focus in both the construction, and operation phase of the building.