Apollo Nivy

In the heart of Slovakia’s capital city, Bratislava, the modern Nové Nivy district has been taking shape since 2017. This innovative project encompasses a state-of-the-art transportation infrastructure with office and commercial buildings, green spaces and recreational facilities. At the centre of this district stands the Apollo Nivy office building, whose facade is anchored in place by CROSSFIX® consoles from EJOT.
 

The building as an experience

The Apollo Nivy project was not solely focused on its function as an office building. It embraced the philosophy that ‘Just as home is not just a place where you sleep, work is also not just an office,’ blurring the boundaries between work and life. The office building itself is designed to be an immersive experience. Behind its window-rich facade, it houses nearly 48,000 square metres of office space spread across eight floors. The interior design incorporates ample wood, organic shapes, lush greenery, water features and abundant natural light, creating a seamless transition between the indoor and outdoor environments in many parts of the structure. Central themes of naturalness and well-being are prominently featured throughout the building, as the planners of Apollo Nivy firmly believe that only healthy and content employees can deliver outstanding results. The focus extends beyond the physical workspace, placing significant emphasis on enhancing the human experience within the space and all associated elements. This encompasses improvements in air quality, access to water, optimal lighting conditions, a connection with nature, facilitation of physical activity, and much more besides. As a fundamental principle, the Nové Nivy site prioritises bicycle traffic over cars. Consequently, the Apollo Nivy building is seamlessly integrated into the cycling infrastructure with direct access to the cycle path network. Additionally, it features a dedicated bicycle centre on the ground floor, capable of accommodating 200 bicycles and complete with a service area, bicycle cleaning facilities and showers for commuting cyclists.
 

Sustainable building certification

The Apollo Nivy project is actively pursuing the prestigious “WELL Platinum” and “BREEAM Outstanding” certifications, which are awarded to exceptionally sustainable and energy-efficient buildings. To meet the criteria, a solution that combines energy efficiency with flexibility in fastening the ALUCOBOND® facade panels was essential. The architects swiftly opted for the CROSSFIX® substructure system from EJOT for several reasons. This system, constructed using stainless steel, not only minimises thermal bridges, resulting in significantly improved U-values compared to aluminium consoles, but also boasts a considerably higher load-bearing capacity. This reduces the quantity of consoles required, offering further advantages in terms of energy efficiency and the overall carbon footprint of the building materials used.

Versatile facade design

The architectural vision for the facade of the Apollo Nivy building involved diverse elements, including varying heights for the horizontal stripes of the facade panels and a dynamic arrangement of projecting and recessed features. This approach was made possible by leveraging the extensive product variety offered by the CROSSFIX® system. To securely attach the facade, consoles with lengths of 260 mm and the system’s longest dimension of 400 mm were used at Apollo Nivy. These consoles, known for their exceptional load-bearing capacity, were optimally utilized for cost-effectiveness. Following the principle of ‘everything from a single supplier,’ CROSSFIX® consoles are reliably anchored in the substrate using SDF facade anchors. EJOT VARIO screws were used to connect the support profiles to the consoles, offering versatility for both sliding and fixed point connections. The captive pre-assembled sliding washer with a buffer zone prevents excessive pre-stressing forces during the connection, ensuring a constant low contact pressure and avoiding the stick-slip effect, thanks to the special fine pitch thread.
 

Everything from one source

The system concept extends behind the scenes at EJOT, where products are finely tuned to complement each other. Moreover, EJOT operates with close collaboration across borders, as customer support and engagement with planners and architects were handled by EJOT SLOVAKIA, with support from EJOT colleagues in Austria and Croatia during the project planning phase. While customers have a single point of contact, they benefit from the collective expertise of an entire company with numerous specialists in various domains. This is the hallmark of EJOT.