World s first ZeroCO2 certified building opens on Sweden’s island of Gotland

Grocery store chain Lidl has opened a store in Visby that will have net zero emissions of carbon dioxide over the building s entire lifetime. The building is the first of its kind in the world and Sweco has done the project planning for its frame. The store is a pilot project for the Sweden Green Building Council s ZeroCO2 (NollC02) certification.

Together with the construction industry, the Sweden Green Building Council (SGBC) has developed the ZeroCO₂ certification to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases from building construction and to promote a climate-neutral urban planning sector. The Lidl store in Visby is the very first building to receive the certification.

Sweco’s designers planned the building’s frame to be constructed in glued laminated timber with inner and outer walls in cross laminated timber. The roof is made of prefabricated timber components. They chose wood because it is renewable, ecological and the manufacturing process requires a relatively small amount of energy.

“From a technical perspective, the starting point was to design a structure that uses material efficiently and could also be transported efficiently. Optimising structures and the building using this holistic mindset played a decisive role in limiting the project’s carbon footprint,” said Federico Pinna, project manager at Sweco.

Besides using wood and building materials with a low climate impact, less energy was consumed during the construction process. Energy use is also optimised by taking advantage of waste heat. The enclosed space is limited and the design optimised by adapting the framework, facades, glass surfaces, insulation, sunshades and energy systems.

LINK Arkitektur worked with Sweco on the project.

Sweden Green Building Council

The SGBC is a nonprofit association that is open to all companies and organisations in the Swedish building and construction sector. Municipalities, county councils and other public sector actors are also welcome. The association was founded in June of 2009 by 13 Swedish companies and organisations: Akademiska hus, DTZ, Fastighetsägarna Sverige, Husvärden, IVL, NCC, Malmö Stad, SEB, Skanska, Stockholm Stad, Sweco, Vasakronan and White Arkitekter.

Contact

Federico Pinna, project manager, Sweco, federico.pinna@sweco.se, +46 (0)72-725 55 03

Sofie Sidoli, head of PR and press, Sweco Sweden, sofie.sidoli@sweco.se, +046 (0)10-484 50 20