Prysmian HQ

GBC Italia Award 2018

Prysmian’s headquarters has been designed to achieve the highest level of sustainability. The development has been awarded the prestigious LEED Platinum certification by the U.S. Green Building Council for its outstanding approach to environmentally-friendly design, waster conservation, energy efficiency and healthy indoor materials.

The new offices are not only efficient, but they also allow Prysmian to contain costs and approach its work in a more environmentally friendly manner, thereby protecting our planet while also contributing to making the company's business more sustainable.

The most distinctive feature of the Prysmian Group’s headquarters in Milan are the triple-height glasshouses connecting together the office blocks. These fully-functional green ‘havens’ offer notable advantages in terms of natural lighting, controlling the microclimate, and overall energy efficiency.

The glasshouses really help raise the standard of teamwork, introducing flexible and informal work dynamics that improve business relations through dialogue, cooperation and environmental well-being. A north facing sloping pitched roof structure, complete with aluminium fixtures holding wide glass windows, allows natural light to flow into the office blocks without bringing in any extra heat. The roof is fitted with operable shutters in order to naturally cool the office spaces in summer.

The roof pitches facing south have adjustable mechanically controlled shutters to provide natural lighting and, at the same
time, keep out some of the direct sunlight and any extra inflow of heat. Mechanically-controlled roller blinds designed to avoid glare are also fitted on the inner side of the pitched glazing.

Eighty-five percent of spaces permit the use of natural light, thanks to a lay-out featuring two large air-conditioned conservatories that link the three main wings of the building.

Artificial lighting is provided by variable-intensity LED illumination, automatically regulated by sensors based on natural light levels. These same sensors detect the presence of people and shut off lights in empty open spaces and vacant meeting rooms. All of this allows Prysmian to achieve an energy savings of more than 80% compared to the use of traditional bulbs and to use artificial lighting only when and where necessary.

Sorting is encouraged at the office to limit waste. The staff is encouraged to commute to the workplace by offering special annual season tickets for public transport services in order to reduce the use of private car and to give up their parking space at the facility. This initiative has been well received, confirming that a large number of people prefer more sustainable solutions for commuting.