<div>Budova Nordica Ostrava has a European certificate for energy savings.</div>

Ostrava - The European Commission has recognized the energy efficiency of the Nordica Ostrava office building, which is being completed in the city center by the Czech-Polish developer Skanska Property Czech Republic. The seven-story building has become the first in the Czech Republic to receive a certificate from the GreenBuilding program. According to calculations by the European Commission, the operation of the "green building" will have a third lower energy consumption than what Czech standards prescribe. The Czech News Agency (ČTK) was informed about this by the company's marketing and leasing coordinator Gabriela Dryáková.
    Nordica Ostrava, which the developer is constructing for 400 million crowns at the corner of Českobratrská and Soukenická streets, received the European certificate for its overall sensitive approach to the environment. The building, with nearly 12,000 square meters of offices and retail space, will be completed in January of next year. It will have parking for over 130 cars in two underground levels. The project is being built by Skanska CZ.
    The administrative building will achieve lower energy consumption, for example, thanks to a balanced ratio of glazed to solid parts of the facade, which has a special surface. The building has stronger insulation than standard requirements, and its entire shell, including windows, is tighter. The building will be heated by a district heating source, and energy savings will come from a central ventilation and cooling system. The underground parking lot will ventilate and heat the waste air from the offices.
    The building was designed by the Swedish architectural studio Tengbomarkitekter, led by native Ostrava architect Ivan Krejčí. The architectural office Qarta Architecture and architects David Wittassek and Jiří Řezák also contributed to the design. "The main intention was the functionality and clarity of the architectural concept. People must have a pleasant feeling when they walk to their workplace in the morning, which must meet high demands for thermal and light comfort," Krejčí stated.
    The developer company has so far reached agreements with interested parties for the lease of less than a tenth of the office and retail space. According to Dryáková, the company expected greater interest; the current financial crisis has likely affected the level of interest. "We are negotiating with several other interested parties who may significantly influence the size of the leased space. We should know more in a few days," Dryáková told ČTK.
    According to her, GreenBuilding is a voluntary program of the European Commission that was established at the beginning of 2005. Its aim is to improve the utilization of possible energy savings in non-residential buildings. A certified building must be at least a quarter more energy-efficient compared to the energy standards in the given country.
    Skanska Property Czech Republic is a subsidiary of the Swedish group Skanska Commercial Development Europe. It has been active in the Czech market since 1997 and is currently preparing to build a logistics park near the village of Jeneč, not far from Prague. Nordica Ostrava is the only project of the company outside of Prague so far.