An important milestone was reached today with the Topping Off ceremony for Danfoss House in the Town’s Harbour, Sønderborg.
Since the Groundbreaking ceremony in late 2021, construction workers have been hard at work building the foundations of a state-of-the-art sustainable house. This building is to house skilled young people and specialists from around the world working for Danfoss.
Danfoss House, located on the waterfront in Sønderborg, is being built to the highest sustainability standards. Financed by Bitten & Mads Clausen’s Foundation, it is an important part of realising the grand plan of how Sønderborg’s harbour will look in the future.
DGNB
The initials DGNB stand for Deutsche Gesellschaft für Nachhaltiges Bauen, the German Council for Sustainable Building. In Denmark, the Green Building Council is responsible for certifying sustainable construction and training consultants and auditors up to the DGNB certification standard. DGNB assessments look at buildings from every angle, with a focus on the initial plans. Platinum certification is the highest certification in the DGNB system.
"Sønderborg has been called the home of energy efficiency, and Danfoss House will be an excellent example of this. Today we celebrate the laying of the beams and the erection of the roof structure of Danfoss House."
Lars Tveen, CEO of Bitten & Mads Clausen’s Foundation
Danfoss House is scheduled to be completed in 2023 and will incorporate 14 apartments. The architect’s design is intended to promote inclusion. An example of this will be the house's communal roof terrace, overlooking Sønderborg Sound, where all residents can meet. The plan is that the residents will be Danfoss employees on secondment from all over the world working in Sønderborg on the ‘Green Transition’.
Lars Tveen, CEO of Bitten & Mads Clausen’s Foundation, in front of Danfoss House
"The Topping Off ceremony is a milestone not just for all the builders, consultants and contractors, Per Fischer, our architect, and all the technicians from Danfoss who have had an input, but also for the Foundation. Danfoss House will be one of the final pieces in the realisation of American architect Frank Gehry's vision for Sønderborg Harbour."
Lars Tveen, CEO of Bitten & Mads Clausen’s Foundation
The ambition is for Danfoss House to achieve DGNB Platinum certification, the highest sustainability certification within the globally recognised DGNB standard. In addition to the platinum certification, the building also aims to become diamond certified, which is an award the building can achieve for high architectural quality.
ProjectZero
ProjectZero is Sønderborg's vision to reduce the area's CO2 emissions to zero by 2029, while creating new skills and green jobs, by transforming the energy system. The starting point equated to almost 700,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions in 2007, equivalent to around 9.2 tonnes of CO2 per inhabitant.
An audit team consisting of three external architects from DGNB has already evaluated the building. In addition, Danfoss House also contributes to Sønderborg Municipality's climate project ProjectZero, which aims to reduce the Sønderborg area's CO2 emissions to zero by 2029.
"Buildings account for over a third of the world's energy consumption and it has never been more important to show the world how to build cost-effective and energy-efficient homes with the technology we already have. That's why we're going for the highest accolade in sustainability, a platinum certification. We believe this is possible after the initial DGNB assessment of the House."
Lars Tveen, CEO of Bitten & Mads Clausen’s Foundation
Topping Off Ceremony for Danfoss House
