House of Knowledge Work: Fraunhofer Institute, Stuttgart

Transcription

1 Innovative electrical distribution for the Zentrum für Virtuelles Engineering (Center for Virtual Engineering), Fraunhofer IAO, Stuttgart The Fraunhofer Institut für Arbeitswirtschaft und Organisation (IAO) in Stuttgart developed a workplace for the future. New organizational forms and modes of communication take advantage of the potentials of a world continually molded by digital media. In June 2012 a spectacular new building augmented the institute s current building on the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft s campus in Stuttgart-Vaihingen. The design by renowned architect Ben van Berkel takes up the right-angled shapes of the existing building in two bands on the façade. They begin horizontally and then swing in curves into the new Center for Virtual Engineering (ZVE), recognizable by its curving and bending surfaces. The result was a House of Knowledge Work in which innovative ways of working are not only studied but also experienced. The curved façade connects the sections of the building and creates a motif reflected in the interior helix stairway. The ZVE s some 3,200 sq.m. of space allow room for laboratories as well as workspaces for the Innovation Lab, the Urban Living Lab, and the Immersive Engineering Lab, flexible office space, and numerous areas for communication. The building was developed with four colored-coded floors and an open atrium with an expanded helix staircase, which allows visual contact among all of the spatial zones and, like the entire architectural ensemble, encourages informal encounters. In doing so, the building manifests the insight that innovative ideas arise just as often during a coffee break as at a desk. In organizing the employees office spaces, the building follows a mandate of non-territorialism. Only some workspaces for instance those of team secretaries are assigned specifically to one person. 1

2 Most work surfaces are available to be used flexibly and as needed. Employees seek out an empty workspace in the morning, to which they bring their personal office caddy and log on with their laptop and VolP cell for the day. Private conversations can be held at acoustically screened Meeting Points; closed rooms for meetings and conferences are also available. Labs, offices, and communication zones encircle the central atrium. Sight lines extend across floors. The ZVE was recognized by the DGNB Certificate in Gold for its intelligent and imaginative approach to environmentally friendly, high-quality, and comfortable design. ZVE s infrastructure is thoroughly dedicated to sustainability. Heating and cooling are achieved with geothermic energy from multiple 170-meter shafts into the earth. The sprinkler system s tank as well as the building s own cement serve to store energy. Energy-efficient LED lights, automatically switched on and off and dimmed as needed, are used throughout. The building s energy consumption is monitored constantly in order to better evaluate the measures in use. 2

3 Decentralized Electrical Distribution Economical and Functional The building had originally planned for a conventional electrical distribution solution with radial wiring and a fixed layout of floor outlets. Deciding instead on an EVOline decentralized electrical distribution system provided a solution that allowed for considerable cost reduction and optimization of the electrical circuit and above all better provided a flexible and dynamic use suited to the building. The electrical distribution now centers around Consolidation Points, located according to use, which are powered by the central ring main and can be adjusted to accommodate different uses of the space at any time. A comparison of the plans reveals the savings achieved simply by switching from an overabundance of floor outlets to a use-based organization of EVOline Consolidation Points and outlets. The conversion from floor outlets to EVOline outlets alone saved some 25 percent of costs, affording professional electrical planning for the workspace at the same original budget. A thorough reduction of the Consolidation Points according to the layout allowed further savings of 20 percent. A comparison of ZVE s floor 00 shows the advantages of use-based positioning of EVOline Consolidation Points and outlets over a fixed floor-outlet system. The savings for cabling are also reflected in the budget. Central ring mains for power require only a fraction of the conventionally needed cable lengths and furthermore reduce the space s fire hazard. ZVE is equipped with a double floor; floorplates with and without outlets can be rearranged as necessary. The modular, removable carpet squares can be easily loosened and realigned. 3

4 After removing the necessary carpet squares and floorplates, the EVOline Consolidation Points are easily accessible. A look into the double floor illustrates how little cabling is required of the electrical supply to workspaces. Two central ring mains are available for use (light green and violet), to which the Consolidation Points are connected by way of clamp connectors. Connecting and shifting the clamp connectors can also be done while live. Currently only the light green central ring main is being used on the floor shown since most work in the office area is done on computer. The violet central ring main, which additionally offers a twopoled communication main, has however already been connected to the Consolidation Point. Thus, as other uses become necessary, two separate electrical circuits can be effortlessly opened, isolating sensitive operations (such as computers) from error-prone operations (such as test systems) and protecting both separately. The decentralized safeguard in the Consolidation Point isolates the surrounding office from faults at individual workspaces. Providing data from the server room by way of radial cabling remains particularly cumbersome. The majority of the cables in the double floor pictured below belong to IT, but in this case, too, the main cable end in the EVOline Consolidation Points, to which the workspaces are connected with a concentration point cord. Power and data run through their own EVOline Consolidation Points. Two isolated electrical circuits can also be implemented. 4

5 Powering the Workspace for Flexible Use Workspaces are powered with electricity and data by individually placed EVOline outlets and cable chains from the Consolidation Points. This allows ZVE to avoid nuisances typical of other traditionally planned offices where the majority of floor outlets go unused or are rendered inaccessible by furniture. The remaining floor outlets often lie far away from the workspace; exposed connector cables are often unavoidable, causing tripping hazards. Not long after moving in, these offices are again filled with tangles of cords under desks and spanning walkways. Any attempt to rearrange workspaces often only exacerbates the situation. EVOline-WireLane here emerging from an EVOline circle outlet can accommodate cables at various heights and right-angled corners. In contrast, EVOline s solution for ZVE supplies power to the workspace itself. From the Consolidation Point, electricity and data are directed to an outlet located directly by the workspace. Should the desk be moved, the floorplate with the outlet can be moved with it. From the outlet to the desk, the cables are corralled by a cable chain, which separates power from data according to EMC standards. ZVE also required a flexible solution, since desks can be individually adjusted up to standing height. 5

6 ZVE s workspaces are powered consistently with EVOline Docks and power strips, held by a tray under the work surface. Powering the workspace in such a manner solves a prevalent problem. Floor outlets rarely ever provide the number of outlets needed at modern workspaces. At ZVE, two plugs and two network outlets are located with in immediate reach on the desktop so that a laptop, for example, can plug in for power and data without difficulty. The EVOline Dock was selected for the task; its design seamlessly suits the sophisticated architecture and premium interior design. 6

7 Left, a typical double workspace on the third floor of ZVE. In the middle, a hotel desk in the Urban Living Lab illustrates the modular configurability of the EVOline R-Dock. In the conference room of the pre-existing building, right, tabletops with integrated EVOline FlipTops were selected. Below the work surface, a tray integrated into the desk accommodates network elements and power strips for eight plugs, for instance for the cord to a permanent computer screen. Practical experience shows that the tray s space is often completely filled; it could serve to be larger. But even at this volume, almost all the necessary hardware can be connected directly at the desk without cluttering the office space with unruly cords. ZVE s mandate to integrate physical and virtual worlds of work was met. Mobile work instruments and Internet, data and software from the cloud have come together in a seamlessly functioning hybrid system in the House of Knowledge Work. 7