At DTU, we strive to develop technologies that create sustainable change and benefit society. The Climate Challenge Laboratory, also called Building 313, will provide the framework for a state-of-the-art research environment where researchers across disciplines can develop new solutions to the climate challenge.
DTU has designed and constructed the Climate Challenge Laboratory (Building 313) with a strong focus on sustainability, which has been incorporated into all aspects of the project to the best extent possible.
This includes minimizing the CO₂ footprint of the structures, optimizing process energy, and designing with the possibility for disassembly and adaptation. The goal is certification under DGNB Gold, DGNB Heart, and hopefully also DGNB Space Gold (a new certification scheme for interior elements). In addition, the operational solutions have been optimized to support the lowest possible consumption of process energy.
Read more in the newsletter: “A building with optimal energy solutions” (Theme: Process energy and heating)
Building 313 is designed as a generic laboratory building with the objective of ensuring a long lifespan. The generic approach provides the necessary flexibility to accommodate future changes in research needs.
The building is designed to be disassembled and reused. This includes the use of materials that can be recycled and design solutions that make it easy to separate and reuse components.
Furthermore, durable materials such as CLT timber structures have been used wherever possible.
A combination of timber, concrete, and steel has been used, with the CLT* timber structure applied to reduce environmental impact, while concrete and steel have been used where necessary to meet functional requirements.
It is a 7-storey timber structure with a height of approx. 31 meters. The timber structure is used only in the office area of the building because the laboratory areas have strict technical requirements - for example, for vibration control - which timber cannot meet.
*CLT (Cross-Laminated Timber) is a solid timber element consisting of typically 3, 5, 7, or more layers placed at right angles. CLT has properties similar to concrete and enables large-scale and tall timber construction. A CLT element is stiff and strong, ideal for long spans such as floor separations, floors, and ceilings.
CLT is well suited for prefabrication, which provides a fast and efficient construction process, and it is easy to dismantle once the building reaches the end of its lifespan. In addition, solid timber elements weigh less than concrete, allowing for a smaller and less costly foundation, and the elements can be handled using smaller cranes on the construction site.*
Read more in the newsletter: “A seven-storey timber building takes shape” (Theme: Timber construction)
DTU has aimed to reuse as many pieces of furniture as possible from the university’s reuse inventory of chairs, tables, and lamps—amounting to 250 items. The ambition was 100% reuse, but this was not feasible while still meeting users’ functional needs.
The building is designed with reuse in mind, including the use of recyclable materials and design solutions that make disassembly and reuse straightforward.
Read more in the newsletter: “Common areas with room for everyone”
Together with the main contractor MT Højgaard and the advising engineers, we have focused particularly on reuse, site management, and digital design tools when developing Building 313 and planning its construction.
Reuse:
Sand used for backfilling at DTU Building 310 is reused at DTU Building 313.
Construction site:
Toilets, showers, site huts, and offices heated with heat pumps
Energy-saving lighting in shared access areas
Waste sorted into fractions
Meters on main distribution boards for both site huts and the rest of the construction site to increase awareness of electricity consumption
Water consumption meters to increase awareness of water usage
Use of district heating for temporary heating on site
Digital design:
A complete 3D model for use by production staff
Detailed modelling of plumbing, ventilation, and electrical systems to minimize errors during construction
Read more in the newsletter: “Sustainable construction site”
Biodiversity has been considered by integrating green areas and planting around the building. This creates habitats for local species and contributes to a healthy ecosystem.
Biodiversity has high priority in and around Building 313, both in the courtyard and on the façade.
In the courtyard, the aim is to attract moths, the five-spot burnet, the small copper butterfly, and the variable longhorn beetle to thrive in the moist forest-floor habitat.
On the façade:The green façades will become a visible signature for Building 313 and provide an experiential value for users inside. Rainwater from the roof flows through planting boxes and down to the ground. Plant species have been chosen according to whether the façade faces east or west and based on their placement, as upper floors are expected to receive more water than lower floors.
Read more in the newsletter: “Nature moves in” (Theme: Biodiversity)
The building was designed by Christensen & Co Architects, who focused on sustainable construction, including material choices and universal design.
1:1 Landskab served as landscape architects on the project, advising on the greening of outdoor areas and façades.
In the Climate Challenge Laboratory, DTU aims to create an architecture that includes people with diverse needs and provides shared spaces that support many forms of collaboration - from informal lunch conversations to active knowledge sharing and pop-up presentations.
A systematic approach to universal design has been applied, designing the architecture so that people with different needs (e.g., anxiety) and functional variations (e.g., wheelchair users) can use the building and be part of the community on equal terms. The goal is to ensure that as many people as possible are enabled and motivated to contribute to the collective effort of solving the climate challenge.
Read more in the newsletter “Common areas with room for everyone” about the building’s layout with a focus on social and environmental sustainability.
The vision for the Climate Challenge Laboratory has been to create a framework for an environment where users share knowledge and cross-fertilize each other’s research.
In addition to housing three DTU departments:
DTU Energy
DTU Physics
DTU Nanolab
the building also hosts several centres and research groups, including:
the national unit E-MAT
Catalysis Theory Center (CATTHEORY)
Center for Visualizing Catalytic Processes (VISION)
the research center CAPeX
Read more in the newsletter “Common areas with room for everyone” about the building’s layout with a focus on social and environmental sustainability.
Art is integrated into the building’s design to create an inspiring environment that supports the building’s purpose: enabling cross-disciplinary collaboration and helping different research groups inspire one another to find solutions to climate challenges.
Read about the four artworks in newsletter 14: “Floating Sun.”
Building 313 is designed for research and collaboration to find solutions to the climate crisis.
It is equipped with advanced laboratories that support research in energy technologies such as Power-to-X (P2X) technologies.
Read more in:
An article by Peter Brixen on P2X, where electrolysis cells convert electricity into fuel: “New electrolysis cells pave the way to cheaper hydrogen”
Newsletter 10: “A matter of time” – Theme: Early commissioning
The electron microscope is a facility - a powerful research tool - used by scientists in their efforts to develop new catalysts for the Power-to-X technologies needed to enable the green transition. Accommodating such a highly sensitive instrument as the electron microscope used at the VISION basic research center places significant demands on the building. The environment must be as quiet and stable as possible, both in terms of noise and temperature. The temperature inside the room may not vary by more than 0.8 degrees over 24 hours. The microscope rests on its own two-meter-deep foundation, which is completely separated from the surrounding building foundation so that it is unaffected by vibrations caused by activities elsewhere in the building.
There must also be no electromagnetic interference from outside, as this would significantly affect the microscope.
Facts about VISION
The Center for Visualizing Catalytic Processes (VISION) is funded by the Danish National Research Foundation, which has granted DKK 85.5 million for the period March 2020 to May 2026 (DNRF146). The center is led by Professor Stig Helveg at DTU Physics.
VISION focuses on catalysis. Catalysis is the science and technology of controlling the rates of chemical reactions and is key to producing sustainable chemicals, fuels, and energy. Efficient catalysis can be achieved using nanoparticles, but understanding how particle size, shape, and structure influence catalytic processes is a major scientific challenge.
VISION addresses this challenge by combining new and emerging platforms for observing the atomic structure, dynamics, and function of individual nanoparticles during catalytic reactions. The center will shed light on how single nanoparticles catalyze chemical reactions at the atomic level. By answering this question, VISION aims to achieve scientific breakthroughs in thermal catalysis and electrocatalysis—breakthroughs that are essential for addressing the major environmental challenges of our time.
Source: DTU
Read more in Newsletter 10: “A matter of time” (Theme: Early commissioning)
Esper Christophersen Sektionsleder Campus Service Mobil: 51809630 esch@dtu.dk
Area: Approx. 10,000 m2
Height: Approx. 31 m
Location: DTU Lyngby Campus, 3rd quadrant
Team:
Art: Tue Greenfort, donated by the New Carlsberg Foundation
Target price: DKK 319.7 million
