Prague’s Galerie Harfa greener
Green projects“We made the decision to begin the activity leading to savings as part of the LEED certification two years ago,” stated Tamir Winterstein, the executive director and partner of the Lighthouse Group. “The obligation to recertify every five years is a great plus for us as it will enable us to either maintain the savings we have reached or, in light of new technology, to increase them even further,” he added. The certification process was managed and arranged by Sentient. After carefully comparing the two most well-known certification methods, the owner of Galerie Harfa, Lighthouse Group, chose LEED. “In this instance the entire building was assessed, including the tenant space, which is the greatest difference in comparison with BREEAM In Use and this fact raises the credibility of the acquired assessment even higher,” said Martin Scheuch, an agent of Sentient.
For Galerie Harfa the reduction in energy intensity meant the implementation of a series of energy-saving measures in the areas of ventilation, heating and cooling, on which consultants from Sentient cooperated with Optimal Engineering. Thanks to the introduction of these measures, Galerie Harfa has achieved energy savings of 6.1 pct.
Galerie Harfa, which is situated in Prague’s Vysočany district and has 49,000 sqm of retail and entertainment space on three levels, was opened in November 2010. It is connected to the neighbouring O2 arena andoffers 160 shops, entertainment and sports facilities, as well as 1,600 free parking plots. In April 2011, a DinoPark, the only one in Prague, opened on the roof. In the winter months there is also a skating rink on the roof. In May 2015, The Czech Hockey Hall of Fame was opened in Galerie Harfa. The developer and investor behind the project is C&R Developments, a member of Lighthouse Group. As part of the Galerie Harfa development, it has completed two ten-storey towers with 20,500 sqm of office space, now fully occupied. In the net few years the multifunctional complex will expand with the addition of more offices and a hotel with a conference centre. The project thus contributes significantly to the revitalisation of the territory of the former ČKD plant and the Nové Vysočany area.
Sentient is an independent consulting company in the real estate and construction segments operating in Central and Eastern Europe. It provides consulting on construction projects in 13 countries, with permanent offices in Prague, Bratislava, Budapest, Warsaw, Bucharest, Zagreb and Montenegro.
Optimal began operations in the Czech Republic in 1994 as part of the Optimal Praha company. First it profiled itself as a construction and installation company working in the area of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and plumbing work. It later expanded its services to include technical building management. In 2005 the design and construction division was spun off, leading to the creation of Optimal Engineering, which is involved in the comprehensive design of technical installations including heating, ventilation, air conditioning, plumbing and electrical systems.
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