An installation-less office is going up in Amsterdam. Building experts cannot believe their eyes and ears, but spiritual father Oresti Sarafopoulos, architect and partner of OZ Architects, speaks of a dead-simple building. "This is common-sense-knowledge. We are not jokers."
"Installation-free buildings? We don't really believe in that," muttered Jan Willem van de Groep, Building Balance program manager, and Dick van Ginkel, innovation manager at TBI Woonlab in the Jaarbeurs's Speys restaurant shortly before the recording of the podcast Bureau Stoer. "It must be low installation." Not much later, their mouths fall open in amazement as Oresti Sarafopoulos, architect at OZ Architects explains the principle of the Ono (our new office) building.
In the preliminary interview, you mentioned that you prefer to go through rules with a chainsaw. What do you mean by that?
"In order to achieve our goal, we as architects, builders, consultants and developers are dodging rules on a daily basis."
Doesn't seem like much fun
"It's our business."
You are about to submit an application for a very special office to be built in Amsterdam. Is it low installation or installation-less?
"It is a building with no climate installations. It stores an immense amount of CO2 and is comparable in price to a conservative building."
How did this adventure begin?
"For that, we have to go back a few years. One of our own climate systems was severely disrupted. It was around 32 degrees that summer, but in the office it didn't get warmer than 16 degrees. That's where our search began. "
What problem does it solve?
"Installations are due for replacement after 10, 20 years, even though they weigh enormously on the cost of buildings. Sustainable on paper, in short, is not sustainable for our wallets. We want to do something about that. Not to mention the CO2 impact of buildings."
So it's not purely a money issue?
"No. The issue is that installations in a building are often used as a symptom control."
The building is called ONO. What does it look like?
"Dead wrong. The point is that we shifted the budget that normally goes to installations to architectural quality: space. We made the floors four meters high and radically reduced the percentage of glass while keeping the light penetration almost the same. How can the building be so light, many people ask me. They find it incomprehensible. But so it's because of our choice of high floors and high windows, which allows the light to fall deep inside."
And then you're done?
"Yes, that's the story in a nutshell. And then indeed you don't need a climate system. There is high-tech in the building, but that is completely biobased."
But is there no heating in it either?
"No. There is no need for that. We used the knowledge and accumulated innovation of an Austrian design method22 26. Or in other words, the temperature of the building always fluctuates between 22 and 26 degrees."
Does that mean huge thick walls where heat accumulates?
"Welcome to the new century."
And so an awful lot of material use?
"No. In terms of surface area, yes, but in terms of weight it is actually lighter than a 'normal' building. We use biobased materials, as I said. The building is made entirely of solid wood and insulated with lime hemp. The construction is also fireproof without us having to pull out all kinds of stuff: no drywall, no carpentry and even no sprinkler. Again, it's a dead simple building."
And it passes all the tests?
"Gloriously. We did this together with Aveco de bondt and had the design fully calculated twice. It may seem like rocket science, but it's not. We are not jokers. Our concept is based on science and previous experience, is common-sense-knowledge for short."
Installation-free building mocks many existing building codes. Are you expecting a lot of resistance?
"No. On the contrary, I'm counting on enthusiasm. There are immense innovations going on in construction, more and more designers want to reduce CO2 in buildings. We just do it."
When will construction start?
"Q3 is the plan. By the end of 2027 it should be completed."
Why is it pink anyway?
"Because there are too few pink buildings...Haha. We want to make a statement. The facade will be plastered, not smooth but a little rough. A bit after the example of the Mexican architect like Barragán. He referred with it to antiquity, we refer with it to old canal houses, old town halls, to thatched buildings and half-timbered houses."
This interview is based on a detailed interview with designer Oresti Sarafopoulos. Curious about the whole story of the installation-free office? Then listen to episode 16 of the Podcast Bureau Stoer.
