Seeking sustainable solutions for office buildings

Purpose - VTT DIGITALO is an office building built for use by the VTT Technical research centre of Finland. The building project aimed at producing an office building and a modern workspace that supports an interactive way of working, emphasises the image of the user as a provider of high-end technology solutions, and is in accordance with the principles of sustainable construction. The paper sets out to assess the project from the viewpoints of user-requirements management and sustainable construction. Design/methodology/ approach - The study includes the following aspects: life-cycle impacts, building performance and user satisfaction. The paper introduces the project targets, summarises the results, discusses the lessons learned, and makes recommendations for further research. Findings - DIGITALO succeeded in achieving the targets stated for energy-efficiency, adaptability, indoor conditions and service life, but there are problems with reference to pursued interactive and innovative workspaces. The results of the study emphasise the importance to develop requirement management methods that support the identification and understanding of user needs. The users' own understanding about the nature of work rather than directly expressed needs for workspaces should be considered as the starting-point. Originality/value - The DIGITALO project was considered as a milestone in a long-term process that aims at the development of high-quality facility and space services that are in accordance with the user needs, and based on understanding the strategic goals of the user. The DIGITALO case did not manage to achieve all the stated requirements, and the paper discusses the problematics of requirement management especially from the viewpoint of methods and tools needed.