District Energy - A Case study of Floating Office in Rotterdam

Floating Office Rotterdam is the largest floating office in the world. Off-grid and carbon-neutral, it floats if water levels rise due to climate change. The heat pump with surface water heat exchange is one of the innovations that showcases the building’s mission for climate change. The heat/cold generation is supplied by 2 heat pumps which are placed in the floating building’s pontoon. The pontoon consists of 15 similar prefab concrete floating boxes, with a heat-generating network of tubes poured into the concrete bottom plate, which extracts heat/cold from the surface water. The pontoon functions as the heat exchanger between the river water and the building, by feeding the gained heat/cold feeds to the climate ceilings on the office floors. The electricity for the heat pumps is delivered by the solar PVs on the roof, making it a net zero installation. This type of heat pump with surface water heat exchange is the first of its kind; it uses the architecture of the floating office. Speakers Trupti Yargattimath, Project Officer, UNEP Copenhagen Climate Centre (00:26) Albert Takashi Richters, Partner Architect, Powerhouse Company (02:18,34:18,40:17) Q&A (44:03)