Palazzo edison
Gold Leed Certification for the building

Result of an important renovation of the fascist building of the Banco di Roma, Palazzo Edison is a modern office building equipped with the best technologies for energy saving and environmental protection.
It is an example of excellent restoration of an existing structure inspired by the principle green concepts.
The building is certified LEED Gold.

The challenge

The property wanted to transform the original rational architecture into a functional and evolved office complex, respecting the original volumes.
The indoor court, full of air-conditioning units and plant distribution elements accumulated over the years, was rationalized to restore the palace dignity.
The building had also to have a green valence and had to contribute to a cleaner air in Milan citiy, eliminating local combustion emissions.
The designer had to face the challenge of cutting down energy consumption and management costs of this very big area.
The property wanted a building with a LEED certification (Leadership in Energy and Environmental DesignTM), the voluntary certification on total life cycle, from design, to construction and management.

The complex

  • White marble coated concrete building except for ground floor and mezzanine coated by gneiss stone.
  • Surface: 12,665 m2
  • 4 underground floors, 3 wings of 6 levels (26 meters above ground), 8 levels head (40 meters)

The team

  • Architectural redevelopment project: ASTI Architetti, Italy
  • Plant renewal project: TEKSER, Milan, Italy
Palazzo edison
The solution

The upgrading of the air conditioning plant has replaced the existing system with an enhanced hydronic system based on:

  • 2 air cooled multifunction heat pumps, powered by electric power and placed in the cover, able to produce hot and cold water at the same time in any operating season. The two heat pumps feed the four-pipe ducted fan coil units for the offices and the existing hydronic coil air treatment unit for the branch offices. The units also satisfy the function of preheating of the domestic hot water tank;
  • 1 ELFOEnergy Ground Medium2  heat pump for the heating of the domestic  hot water production tank;
  • 8 primary air systems Clivet ZEPHIR3 with energy thermodynamic recovery with different sizes with total air flow of 62200 m3/h, one for each floor, positioned in the inner cloister, for the exchange of the outdoor air and the ambient humidity control
  • 1 electric renewable photovoltaic solar power plant on roof

The system

  • 2 SPINChiller3 multifunction units for the simultaneous production of chilled water
  • 1 ELFOEnergy Ground Medium2 heat pump
  • 8 primary air systems Clivet ZEPHIR3 size 1-3-5-6 (from 1.500 to 15.000 m3/h)
  • Photovoltaic panels on the roof

The solution

The upgrading of the air conditioning plant has replaced the existing system with an enhanced hydronic system based on:

  • 2 air cooled multifunction heat pumps, powered by electric power and placed in the cover, able to produce hot and cold water at the same time in any operating season. The two heat pumps feed the four-pipe ducted fan coil units for the offices and the existing hydronic coil air treatment unit for the branch offices. The units also satisfy the function of preheating of the domestic hot water tank;
  • 1 ELFOEnergy Ground Medium2  heat pump for the heating of the domestic  hot water production tank;
  • 8 primary air systems Clivet ZEPHIR3 with energy thermodynamic recovery with different sizes with total air flow of 62200 m3/h, one for each floor, positioned in the inner cloister, for the exchange of the outdoor air and the ambient humidity control
  • 1 electric renewable photovoltaic solar power plant on roof

The system

  • 2 SPINChiller3 multifunction units for the simultaneous production of chilled water
  • 1 ELFOEnergy Ground Medium2 heat pump
  • 8 primary air systems Clivet ZEPHIR3 size 1-3-5-6 (from 1.500 to 15.000 m3/h)
  • Photovoltaic panels on the roof

The results

The used solutions allowed to completely eliminate polluting emissions, as the power of the heat pumps is completely electrical.Energy consumption has also been cut down and partly covered by the photovoltaic panels installed in the roof. The principle of decentralization with air renewal and purification units housed inside the building’s inner hallway has provided the maximum flexibility and functional autonomy, to reduce management costs, to valorise most of the terraces on the roof of the building.
The space dedicated to the technology centers has been rationalized with a substantial reduction of the aesthetic impact on the roofs, returning dignity to this significant building of the 30s architecture of the last century.
The building has been awarded the prestigious Gold Level LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental DesignTM) Certification according to the Core & Shell 2009 standard.