80 Architecture November 2009
Guido Schiefer / photon-pictures.com 3,648 multi-crystalline modules, produces 300 kW of power – enough to generate all the energy required by Galaxia’s tenants. The confluence of the ESA ground sta- tion, the satellite, and the sea of PV mod- ules is akin to watching a family reunion: after all, one of the earliest applications of PV panels was in outer space, where they were used to power satellites. For most visi- tors to Galaxia, this abstract reunion won’t be the first thing they notice. Rather, the building’s architecture and design are like- ly to be the focus. For some, standing inside the forest of metal poles – which help to support the weight of the PV roof – configured as they are in stark right angles, could give the im- pression of being inside a cage, although one that would be easy to slip out of. From the outside looking up at the recurring peaked roof of glass and PV modules, it looks some- thing like a futuristic greenhouse. As new as this structure may appear, that notion is misleading. For one thing, even though the center was officially »in- augurated« on June 25th, the core of the structure has existed for decades. In fact, the mass of metal, glass and PV are simply a covering – or an envelope, as Philippe Samyn of Brussels-based engineering and architecture firm Samyn and Partners, Galaxia’s designers, calls it – sheathing squat, block-like wooden structures that were used for educational purposes at the nearby Euro Space Center, The Euro Space Center is organizationally separate from the ESA facility next door. The idea for creating Galaxia as a home for high-tech, space-oriented businesses came from Idelux, the publicly funded development agency that seeks to lure businesses and create jobs in the province of Luxembourg, a rural area of southeast Belgium. Fabian Collard, the director of Idelux, knew that proximity to the ESA ground station, which will be responsible for controlling the Galileo satellites, would attract plenty of high-tech businesses. But when Collard approached ESA of- ficials about possibly sharing facilities, he The old, basic structure of the building: the wooden construc- tion inside the new shell has stood for decades November 2009 81 » encountered a problem. »For security rea- sons, it was not possible for all companies to stay inside of the ESA ground station,« he says. Collard decided to create some- thing outside of the station but directly linked (via a fiber optic connection). That something, of course, was the Galaxia Business Park. And from the very beginning, Collard says, the idea of incor- porating PV into the building design was attractive. »We were thinking: a satellite in space uses the energy from the sun, so why don’t we do the same thing?« One obvious reason not to do so was cost. Fortunately for Idelux, they were able to take advantage of a package of national and regional incentives, including green certificates, which are similar to feed-in tar- iffs, and worth EUR 0.30 ($0.44) per kWh for this project; they also received subsidies from the Wallonoia area where Galaxia is located, as well as tax rebates and grants. In total, Collard says the incentives accounted for 90 percent of the cost of the PV panels. »If it was not possible for us to receive the subsidies, we would not do it,« he says. For Philippe Samyn, designing a build- ing with PV and other sustainable charac- teristics is something he’d been prepared to do for decades, ever since getting his masters degree in civil engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technol- ogy (MIT) in 1971. »When I went back [to Europe] from MIT in 1972, I was perfectly skilled to make designs answering to the environment,« he says. »But the clients were not there, nobody cared.« Even if they did care, the cost of PV and other so-called green building elements was prohibitive, he says. »It’s nice to talk [about] at cocktail parties, but it’s anoth- er thing to put the money on the table,« he says. But with Idelux getting so much public assistance for Galaxia, cost was not an issue, leaving Samyn free not only to suggest the use of PV, but to also come up with a design he felt was appropriate for the site. This included how to incorporate the existing wood buildings – which Samyn bemoans had the charm of a supermarket – and to also find ways to mitigate the noise and pollution from the nearby E 411 high- way leading from Brussels to Luxemburg.
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