Stockholm’s Shining Waterfront Centre is a Shape-Shifting Low-Energy Venue

<a href="http://inhabitat.com/redesigned-slussen-transit-hub-by-big-and-nod/">Stockholm</a> recently completed construction on a silvery world-class conference center that contributes density and contemporary style to the heart of the classic city. Located adjacent to the main train station, the Stockholm Waterfront Congress Centre by <a href="http://en.white.se/">White Arkitekter</a> utilizes an array of state-of-the-art systems including a shimmering glass façade imbued with 1,040 square meters of solar thermal collectors, a high-tech transforming interior, and an ice storage cooling system to reduce its <a href="http://en.white.se/">energy</a> use. The center brags about being “greener than green” -- hit the jump to see if they can back up this claim.

Like the <a href="http://inhabitat.com/worlds-first-zero-carbon-conference-center-opens-in-dublin/">Convention Center Dublin</a> that opened last year, this conference center incorporates a wide range of green technologies.

The building is passively heated during the icy winter months thanks to a unique steel-louvered glass façade.

<a href="http://inhabitat.com/anz-centre-is-australias-largest-greenest-office-building/">cooling</a> is achieved using water in the adjacent Lake Mälaren as a heat sink.

Off-peak power is used to create <a href="http://inhabitat.com/greenbuild-2010-day-2-wrap-up/dsc04169/?extend=1">250 tons of ice</a> underneath the building, which can be used to cool the center in a hurry when it is packed with people.

The building also uses a neat trick to distribute energy evenly throughout the facility -- when one section is too hot and another is too cold, the HVAC system can balance the temperature between the two areas with little net added energy.

The facility, which is made partly from reclaimed materials salvaged from the site, can transform its program at the push of a button.

The <a href="http://inhabitat.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2011/02/Stockholm-Waterfront-Congress-Centre-11.jpg">3000 person theater</a> can change into separate performance spaces or a huge dining room, allowing the building to act like a much larger facility.

A daylit transition provides access to a 414 room hotel.

The Centre also links directly with the<a href="http://inhabitat.com/spiraling-superfuturistic-newport-station-in-wales-connects-two-sides-of-the-city/">Central Train Station</a>, contributing diverse public functionality and accessibility to the striking facility.

Access to the Centre by train.

Daylit transom.

The steel louvered facade reflect ambient light.