You are here:      Home > Other examples > B&O, Struer
B&O's headquarters in Struer

B&O's headquarters in Struer was designed by KHR Architects and built in 1998. The building is one of the most distinctive and reputed Danish buildings with hybrid ventilation. When possible the building is ventilated by natural ventilation, which is supplemented mechanically with booster fans for situations when the natural driving pressure from the wind and the buoyancy are insufficient.

It is a 3-storey, 12 m tall building. The floors are divided into one open-plan office and offices for key executives, toilets, lift, etc. The south façade is made of bricks with rows of windows. The north façade of the building is made of glass. The idea was to build a high-quality building with a minimum of technical installations, which should, preferably, be hidden.

The building is ventilated by the displacement principle, where slightly undercooled air flows into the bottom of the room and displaces heat and pollution upwards where the air is exhausted or being removed at the ceiling. The air leaves the building via two stairwells through a set of large axial fans. The fans are stopped when the natural driving pressure is sufficient, and are otherwise regulated on the basis of the air quality in the building i.e. the CO2 level. The fans can also be used for night cooling during warm periods, whereby the heavy parts of the building are used actively to accumulate heat in the daytime and emit it again at night. The day temperature in warm summer periods is thereby reduced, and the use of mechanical cooling is avoided.

Aalborg University has participated in a number of measuring programmes to evaluate the performance of the B&O building. Furthermore, the building has been a "participant" in various Danish energy research programmes and in some international research projects.








































































































Bang & Olufsen's headquarters in Struer built in 1998.

The south façade is made of bricks with rows of windows. To the right, the north façade of the building is made of glass with three rows of centrally controlled window openings.


Drawing of the ventilation principle. The building is ventilated by natural ventilation with
booster fans for situations when the natural ventilation is not sufficient. (Visualization from Birch & Krogboe A/S).

The route of the airflow into the building. The airflow passes a ribbed heating pipe, thus being preheated if the outside air is too cold. The risk of draught can hereby be reduced.

The route of the airflow out of the building. The airflow leaves the building via two stairwells through a pair of axial fans. The fans are stopped when the natural driving pressure is sufficient, and start when the wind and the buoyancy are insufficient.

 
Go to Top of Page
Copyright © 2008 | Become an engineer within INDOOR ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING | studievejledning@byggeri.aau.dk