BREATHE

Type: Office Building

Location: Milano

Team: Politecnico di Milano

BREATHE is an energy-efficient office building in Milan, designed to achieve net-zero energy consumption (nZEB). The project integrates multiple design strategies, supported by computational tools, to contribute to the decarbonization of the built environment. Throughout the design process, digital modeling and calculations played a crucial role in decision-making.

The form and material choices are optimized based on incident solar radiation and the local climate. Green building strategies are incorporated through various urban green spaces and a large atrium park. The atrium enhances natural ventilation by extracting hot air into the tower, creating a chimney effect that improves airflow in summer and retains warmth in winter.

The opaque façade is composed of prefabricated panels for easy on-site assembly. For the transparent sections, detailed energy calculations were performed to determine the optimal glazing, minimizing energy consumption across all four seasons. At the same time, the design ensures adequate daylight penetration while preventing glare, with optimized shading systems refined through energy simulation tools.

After optimizing the building envelope to reduce energy demand, the next step focused on enhancing the efficiency of systems and equipment, including lighting, hot water, HVAC, PV and rainwater management. BREATHE maximizes natural light, utilizes a geothermal heat pump for water heating, and employs a mix of HVAC systems tailored to different zones. Its PV panels are installed at an optimal tilt for Milan’s latitude and the rainwater is collected and reused for toilets and greenhouse irrigation.

On average, office buildings in Milan consume approximately 200 kWh/m² per year. BREATHE significantly reduces this, achieving an annual energy consumption of just 85 kWh/m² wich is more than a 50% reduction.