[ Christensen & Co ] Navitas Park

The winning team in the prestigious competition to build Navitas Park at the new waterfront in Aarhus has been announced; Contractor E. Pihl & Son A.S. Kjaer & Richter Architects Ltd, Christensen & Co Architects Ltd, Marianne Levinsen Landscape Ltd and advisory firm ALECTIA A / S are chosen to build the 35,000 m2 to accommodate the Aarhus School of Engineering, Aarhus School of Marine and Technical Engineering and INCUBA Science Park.

From 2014 more than 2,000 students, lecturers and professionals will occupy Navitas Park on the new waterfront in Aarhus. The building will house the Aarhus School of Engineering, Aarhus School of Marine and Technical Engineering and INCUBA Science Park and provide education, development and training with focus on energy. It will be Denmark's largest low-energy building and have a budget of approx. Dkr 700 million. As part of the project Aarhus Municipality will construct a public parking lot with approx. 450 parking spaces.

"The winning team has achieved the vision of Navitas Park with a competent and comprehensive understanding of the project. On a pragmatic basis a convincing project is established which meets the users' requirements for functionality, utilization and architecture as well as the city's aspirations towards future energy requirements. This beautiful, crystalline edifice is a very compelling and sensible project, everything seems to be at the right place and the project is in fine balance with the building program requirements, " the President of the jury, CEO of INCUBA Science Park Niels Christian Sidenius states and continues:

"Functionally the project stands out as the best in the competition. Aarhus will have a really beautiful and prominent building on the waterfront. The project adds a special profile to the site through the placement of the main entrance and in the architectural expression. The unique form of the crystal sits extremely well on the distinguished location on the island, the sculptural qualities enhances the impressive project, it was with no hesitation that we recommended it as the best in the competition. "

Outstanding knowledge centre and innovative environment

The three institutions, the Aarhus School of Engineering, Aarhus School of Marine and Technical Engineering and INCUBA Science Park, each have their own premises and facilities with shared facilities in the form of canteen, health club, meeting rooms etc. The goal of Navitas Park is to create an outstanding center, to be the leaders for knowledge in an innovative environment for energy, environment and construction education, the location, at the heart of Aarhus, establishes it as a first class environment for learning, innovation and entrepreneurship.

Navitas Park will be an open and energetic complex, where students, researchers, educators and the industry inspire each other to the benefit of all parties. The idea is to create an internationally competitive and attractive environment for students, researchers and businesses.

Focus on low-energy

Navitas Park has a very ambitious green profile, meaning that the building will use only a fraction of the energy normally consumed by a building of this type. It is an independent goal for the building to appear as an international beacon of energy conservation and use of energy technologies. "A range of specific energy measures are included in the proposal as a full scale laboratory where students and visitors can explore modern, innovative energy solutions," Niels Christian Sidenius explains.

With its impressive location, the building also represents a unique opportunity to demonstrate and highlight the development potential of sustainable state of the art energy technologies, supported by the architecture.

The project coincides with the building of another key project at Aarhus harbor, Aarhus Municipality’s upcoming multimedia house and new waterfront which also opens in 2014.

from  dagensdesign