UZH wants to generate electricity on a green roof

Zürich , July 2021

The canton of Zurich has submitted the building template for the new teaching and learning center of the University of Zurich (UZH). The seven-storey wooden hybrid building is to have a green roof, on which electricity will be generated at the same time as a photovoltaic system.

The University of Zurich is to have a new teaching and learning center, the FORUM UZH, by 2028. According to a message on Monday, the cantonal building construction department submitted the building pre-submission. Afterwards, the seven-story building designed by the Basel architects Herzog & de Meuron will be erected as a wood hybrid construction with a concrete structure. The use of wood is supposed to save as much CO2 as is needed to build 77 single-family houses.

The roof is to be greened intensively, thereby improving cooling in summer and thermal insulation in winter. At the same time, the roof will have a photovoltaic system. This should generate around 150 megawatt hours per year, enough electricity for 50 households.

Construction is scheduled to begin in 2024. In the future, the building will have 700 workplaces for students and work space for 6000 members of the university.

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