A building for the modern age

In the early 2000s, the renowned German engineering company Siemens decided to modernise their Head Office in Ballerup, outside Copenhagen, Denmark. An overhaul of the existing office building was quickly deemed too expensive, so plans for an entirely new building came into play.

The new Siemens Head Office was inaugurated in 2014 and utilised all the latest Siemens technology. But the centrepiece of the new building is the awe-inspiring atrium. The large atrium ridgelight solution consists of six rows of VELUX Modular Skylights which ensure an abundance of daylight, resulting in a bright and pleasant space for employees to congregate.

Sustainable energy solutions put Siemens in front

“We want to be as energy efficient as possible in the way we work”, says John Finnich Pedersen, Director of Communication at Siemens. Pedersen is especially proud of how the strive for sustainable energy solutions has made the Danish Head Office a guiding light within the company.

“Our building is only one of a few that are LEED certified. We have achieved the second highest rating, which is called ‘gold’. With this new office facility Siemens has fulfilled all its demands in terms of how a modern building should work.”

Documenting the daylight effect helped Siemens achieve LEED certification

LEED stands for Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design. According to Lone Feifer, the leading expert at the VELUX Group on sustainable living in buildings, the LEED certification system is a way to ensure the quality of the building.

“The certification is based on five categories, which include information about location, water consumption, energy consumption, materials and resources, as well as the indoor climate”, says Feifer.

One of these parameters involves the volume of daylight in the building. An effect which can be notoriously difficult to predict.

“To help document the effect, we have developed a number of VELUX Building Simulation Tools, which can be used to simulate the impact of VELUX Modular Skylights. It’s important, because it is this form of simulating daylight, energy and indoor climate that in the end will document the significance of our modules.”

"We know this building ticks all the right boxes to score gold – and by a significant margin."

Michael Gøtz, Project Manager, Siemens Real-Estate, Denmark

We have developed a number of VELUX Building Simulation Tools.

Lone Feifer, Programme Director of Sustainable Living in Buildings, The VELUX Group

Siemens Head Office, Ballerup, Denmark

The planning phase 

• Planning began in 2011.
• Materials were delivered starting from November 1st, 2013
• Installation was completed November 16th

Parties involved in the project

• The construction group included the building owner PenSam Liv & Pension, architects from Arkitema Architects A/S, KPC København A/S as main contractor, build consultants from Midtconsult A/S, representatives from Siemens A/S and a group of VELUX technicians.
• KPC København A/S led the building project.

The solution

• Six ridgelights, each measuring 17 meters in length, in atrium configuration.
• 228 fixed modular skylights of 900 mm x 2200 mm.
• All modules have integrated blinds.
• 32° ridgelight pitch