Brusnengo, (BI)
Type Office building
Client Sa.Sil S.p.A.
Project 2006 Project LIFE “NOVEDI”: Sa.Sil S.p.A.
Preliminary project 2006 L.Ramon, SASIL Spa
Definite-executive project 2008 Studio Roatta Architetti Associati
Heating system 2008 Studio Roatta Architetti Associati
Structures Eng. S.Ogliati, Brusnengo
LCA study by Turin Polytechnic - G Blengini, M.V.Busto

In an industrial area, a new facility to recycle glass. SASIL S.p.a., the client, is a leading company in a LIFE European project, www.sasil-life.com, called NOVEDI (NO VEtro in Discarica, “No Glass in Dumps”) with the partnership of the Biella Province authority and Turin Polytechnic.
It consists in the production of a glass foam from recycled glass that concurs in the production of light concrete. This allows the creation of horizontal structures and single-layer bearing walls with a high potential for thermal insulation.
For implementation, the office building receives another contribution from the “Notice for model and strategic interventions in the energy field” of the Piedmont Region authority, thanks to its experimental nature and its energetically efficient performance. The particular shape of the building, established by the previous preliminary study conducted by the owners, is essentially a symbolic representation: the big roof pitch is a logo, south-facing for a better exposure of the photovoltaic system. The new project introduces some variations: the interruption of the roof pitch below the photovoltaic panel, with two big skylights to allow natural light into the building. The dimensions of the skylights allows a special rear chamber that embeds the photovoltaic panel. The blueprint then undergoes an important variation in volume in the front portion of the building: the internal volume emerges above the roof, opening a great south-facing window on the reception area. This window has an automatic system of sunlight screening. Rain water caught by the roof is collected in a tank for watering the surrounding green. The walls are made with a mix of concrete and glass foam cast in place with a high thickness. Thus a single-layer wall is obtained with a high degree of insulation and the total elimination of thermal bridges around the perimeters. The horizontal structures are made of the same material, with a different percentage of glass foam.