Trivium Retoriikka is a modern low-carbon office with an environmental certificate

In November 2020, a new office building called Trivium Retoriikka was completed in Kupittaa, Turku. Its largest users are the property owner Veritas, the staffing company Eezy, and Sweco, which handled the location’s structural and building services engineering. The low-carbon office is BREEAM certified.

Kupittaa is one of the most important commuter and business areas in Turku, and Trivium Retoriikka brings roughly 700 new experts to the area. In addition to eight office floors, the building also includes reception and meeting rooms on the first floor and a three-storey car park. A walkway connected to the neighbouring building allows users to enjoy the neighbouring building’s restaurant services.

The two topmost office floors and the banquet room in the attic are reserved for Veritas, which bought the property from YIT in March 2019. “We wanted to move from the city centre to modern facilities in a developing business area,” says Technical Manager Jarkko Saari from Veritas Pension Insurance Company. The location’s largest tenants are the staffing company Eezy and Sweco.

Adaptability is visible in the structural and ventilation solutions

Sweco was in charge of Trivium Retoriikka’s structural and precast concrete engineering. The facade was implemented with weather-proof concrete sandwich panels and aluminium composite panels. The architecture is unique, and the interior is also versatile and visually impressive.

“The precast concrete frame was designed to last for the next 100 years, so the interior must be able to flexibly adapt to many purposes,” states Director of Sweco’s Structural Engineering Unit Mikko Sirén. The building was implemented by using 2.7-metre-long modules, which allows for many types of hybrid solutions. “The spread of remote work was also taken into account in the design.”

Sweco was in charge of the location’s HPAC, electric and automation engineering. Adaptability was improved with a decentralised ventilation system, in which ventilation equipment is found on every other floor. “The decentralised system makes the conditions easy to adjust for different users, and the floors’ purpose of use can also be changed without affecting the entire property,” states Project Development Manager Juha Kohonen from the main contractor YIT. “Trivium is a modern, adaptable and ecological office that will stand out throughout its lifecycle.”

Building information modelling supported cooperation with the client

Trivium Retoriikka was designed and built fully as a BIM site. “Efficient coordination and quality assurance of various building information models reduced the risks posed to the project and helped find optimal solutions,” says Chief BIM Officer at Sweco Antti Hämäläinen, who was in charge of BIM coordination for the site.

A comprehensive virtual reality model was also created of the entire property, containing elements such as the technical solutions used in the facilities and Veritas’s interior design plans. “We utilised the model in inspection sessions organised to familiarise the client with the engineering and spatial solutions with the help of virtual reality headsets,” Hämäläinen says.

Building services complying with BREEAM environmental certification

The quality reference used for the building services solutions in Trivium Retoriikka was Sweco’s headquarters in Ilmala, Helsinki. “Our aim is to develop energy-efficient and low-carbon properties that combine cost-effective and responsible business,” Saari from Veritas sums up.

All engineering solutions were guided by BREEAM Excellent environmental certification. Sweco’s energy engineers and environmental consultants ensured good indoor conditions and heat economy through condition simulations. “For example, the windows are optimised to let in a sufficient amount of daylight while keeping the heat load to be cooled at a reasonable level,” says Building Services Engineering Manager Antti Mustalammi from Sweco. A protruding facade also protects from direct sunlight, and the lighting is automatically adjusted according to daylight.

The office facilities are heated and cooled with a hybrid solution that utilises 18 geothermal wells. Geothermal heat is supported with district heating and cooling as necessary. “Adaptability is improved by using radiant ceiling panels. Thanks to their placement, partition walls can be built in the facility, or the facility can be adapted into an open-plan office, as needed,” Mustalammi says. Lighting control can also be programmed to correspond to the changes in the facilities.

Other sustainable solutions include electric car charging stations and solar panels, which primarily generate electricity for the ventilation equipment. The facilities are equipped with water-saving water fixtures, and water consumption is measured per tenant. Sensors monitor temperatures, humidity, carbon dioxide concentrations and VOC particles. Additionally, stormwater calculations and a flood risk analysis were prepared for the site. “The peak stormwater flow rate must not increase, which is why stormwater is delayed with an underground stormwater attenuation tank,” says Jussi Hamilas from Sweco.