OREANDA-NEWS. November 18, 2014. The Post Tower, the global headquarters of Deutsche Post DHL, has received a special distinction twelve years after its construction: The American Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (Chicago/USA) has selected the 162-meter office tower to be the recipient of the “10 Year Award”, a prestigious prize for sustainable design in architecture.

The council honors buildings that have demonstrated over a period of ten years their capacity to operate sustainably. The world’s leading mail and logistics services provider placed great value on the energy concept during the construction of its corporate headquarters, which began operations in 2002.

“It was our goal from the very start to build a trailblazing office tower for the 21st century in terms of form, technology, and ecological orientation, one that is particularly energy efficient and consumes around 30 percent less energy than comparable buildings,” said Frank Appel, CEO of Deutsche Post DHL. “This award is proof of our success.”

The double skin glass facade, one of the distinctive features of the slim skyscraper consisting of two interconnected towers designed by the German-American architect Helmut Jahn, is part of the building’s sophisticated climate control system and makes it mostly unnecessary to install elaborate, power-hungry temperature control equipment. The Post Tower uses small flaps in this double skin facade for ventilation, which are automatically adjusted depending on the outside temperature. Another element of the alternative temperature regulation concept involves small pipes in the cement ceilings of each level, through which cooled or heated water – similar to a floor heating system – is pumped for natural temperature moderation. In summer, the cooling water comes from the Rhine River via a heat exchanger whereas in winter two heat pumps cater for the water’s heating. In addition, the lighting requirements of the glass-walled building are covered to a large extent by simple daylight.