Sustainable building

Swiss Post is setting the standard with its new headquarters

Ecological, energy efficient, stable in value: the new Swiss Post headquarters sets standards for sustainability and workplace design. It will be occupied in the spring of 2015.

In spring 2015, 1,800 employees are moving into the new Swiss Post headquarters in Berne.

With over 1,600 workplaces for 1,800 employees covering eight storeys and 30,000 square metres of versatile, multi-functional office space, the new headquarters is a modern office building with a spacious entrance hall, connected by three atriums that channel natural light into the offices. The building, right beside the Wankdorf S-Bahn station in Berne, will be occupied in the spring of 2015. The old headquarters, the 40-year-old Schönburg building, is in need of renovation and has been sold by Swiss Post.

DGNB and MINERGIE certification

From planning and implementation to operation and maintenance, Swiss Post's focus with the new headquarters is on sustainability down to the very last detail. The building was designed to the standards of the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB). For the DGNB certification when construction is complete, all of the companies involved in construction are seeking the DGNB Gold Label, which is awarded to buildings and urban neighbourhoods in which the central focus is on the well-being of users and that meet sustainability criteria in an outstanding way. The new headquarters also fulfils the MINERGIE standard.

All of the construction and working materials used can be used again. The offices are heated and air conditioned by an extensive geothermal system: 69 probes driven up to 140 metres into the ground use geothermal heat to heat the building. Or they channel off heat and convert it to cool the air in the room when required. Not only in the literal sense is there a good working atmosphere: the workplaces in the new headquarters offer a great deal of comfort, while at the same time providing the greatest possible flexibility.