Swisscom Business Park Ittigen

Building work is currently under way on the Swisscom Business Park Ittigen just outside Bern. From next spring the five-storey building will provide state-of-the-art workplaces for up to 2,000 employees, most of them for Swisscom’s IT Services. The office complex is also set to become one of the largest Minergie P Eco buildings in Switzerland; and for its fire-fighting requirements, the project management have opted for an EconAqua mist sprinkler system, the innovative extinguishing system from Contrafeu. The comprehensive fire protection installation is complemented by a fire alarm system from Securiton.

Swisscom is building a new office complex at Ey in Ittigen, right next to the main A1 thoroughfare. The Business Park is set to offer 1,700 modern workplaces, spread over 42,000 square metres. The five-storey building with two basement floors stands out by virtue of its distinctive architecture. The office premises are laid out around a clearly structured atrium that is bathed in natural daylight. Numerous walkways have been designed to facilitate movement from room to room. The Business Park is also setting new standards when it comes to energy efficiency. In fact, the atrium acts a little like a human lung: It inhales air from the outside and releases it into the offices as required. The system uses natural air circulation and is able to dispense with centralised air conditioning units. Probes extending deep down into the earth act as heat and cold storage capacitors, guaranteeing a pleasant and balanced ambient climate. Most of the energy for the heat pumps is supplied by the photovoltaic installations on the roof. As a result the Business Park uses three and a half times less energy than conventional office buildings built ten years ago.