Inside One of the Most Sustainable Buildings In the World | Olympic House IOC

Situated on the edge of Lake Geneva lies Olympic House, the headquarters for the International Olympic Committee, and can be considered the most sustainable building in the world. Olympic House is not typically open to the public, but today we've been invited by the International Olympic Committee to get behind-the-scenes access to show you just how incredible this building and the overall Olympic movement is for creating a more sustainable future. Officially opened by the International Olympic Committee, or IOC, in Lausanne, Switzerland in June of 2019, Olympic House aims to pave the way for large organisations to make a positive difference in the world, while also reflecting the IOC's mission to make the world a better place through sport. Olympic House brings together the IOC's over 500 employees that were formerly spread out across Lausanne in four different locations. The Olympic Games is an event that brings together people, languages, cultures and incredible skills from all over the world. They were of course started in ancient Greece, but the modern Olympic Games as we know them today were not revived until 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin in Paris, with its first official headquarters established in peaceful Lausanne amid war-torn Europe in 1915. The IOC moved again a few decades later, in 1968, to Château de Vidy, still sitting next door to Olympic House and acting as a beautiful reminder of just how far the movement has come. As the IOC team outgrew Château de Vidy, a new headquarters was built and opened in 1986. This served as the Olympic headquarters for several decades until construction began on the current Olympic House in May of 2016. To ensure that the construction of the new HQ created as little waste as possible though, over 95% of the former headquarters was recycled, with some of that being repurposed in today's Olympic House. Concrete, for example, was crushed on site and was reused in the foundations of the new building. To be truly sustainable in its building process, the IOC made sure to keep everything local, from the designers, materials used and labourers needed. This reduced carbon emissions and also contributed to the local economy and community. The five-storey building, designed by Lausanne-based Etten-Brechbühle in collaboration with Copenhagen-based 3XN Architects, is surrounded by angled glass to represent an athlete's dynamic energy and is covered with over 2,500 square metres of greenery. This is so that the building, despite being modern, blends in with the natural setting of the Louis Bourget public park in which it resides, as well as lets in as much natural light as possible. Olympic House has over 1,000 square metres of solar panels on its roof, in the shape of a dove, to generate much of the energy the building requires. The building has no air conditioning, however it doesn't need it, as water from Lake Geneva is pumped into Olympic House to cool and heat it. The building also collects rainwater on site, to be used in interior and exterior plant irrigation and in the toilets throughout. The building holds LEED Platinum certification, as well as other awards which certify this building as being one of the most sustainable in the world. Inside, we were lucky enough to be shown around by Senior Sustainability Communications Manager Eva, who helped us to enter the world of the Olympic movement. The most noticeable feature, visible when you first walk in, is the incredible staircase of unity linking the five floors of the building and the various teams that reside on each floor. This example of active architecture not only echoes the five Olympic rings, but is also designed to encourage interaction and movement. By the way, did you know that the five colours of the Olympic rings, and the white background that they are typically displayed on, show the six colours used throughout all country flags in the world? The building's cafeteria offers meals made in-house by talented chefs from around the area. Much of the food used is grown locally, and the cafe is always striving to provide more organic, as well as plant-based options for each employee's preferences. There is also an area where employees can purchase fresh produce for a low price directly from the office to take home with them. Working our way upstairs along the winding staircase, it becomes evident that unity and athletes were considered in all aspects of the building, inside and out. Fun features including a track-inspired meeting table, pictograms of all the different Olympic sports on the walls, and a whole meeting room covered in solely Olympic athlete signatures make appearances throughout the building. Similarly, the unity of the various IOC teams is achieved in the no-wall design of the different floors. Offices and meeting rooms are surrounded instead by glass walls, with individual phone boxes in corridors for employees to make private phone calls. Beautiful views of the lake can also be observed from the south side of the building, and two balconies with space for meals and seats to take in some sun in the summer are available for all employees to use on the second and sun-soaked top floors. With pieces of Olympic history everywhere you look, the fourth-floor common space honours the IOC's origins with Pierre de Coubertin at the helm, by displaying his desk, at which de Coubertin likely worked to revive the modern Olympics. In this Olympic capital, the IOC believes in walking the talk, and works to actively contribute to sustainability and the local community in a number of ways. For example, employees are encouraged to use alternative methods of transport in their everyday commutes. They are provided with a subsidy if they choose to ride their bikes instead of driving. Similarly, the IOC worked with the city of Lausanne to create Bus Line 24, connecting multiple Olympic-related sites throughout Lausanne, and providing employees with a direct route to work. Sometimes, high-ranking officials need to be transported around the city. To do this, the IOC has its own fleet of hydrogen-powered cars. The hydrogen is produced using renewable energy sources like hydropower, and is inspired development of the local hydrogen sector. All of these actions have had a positive impact on the city of Lausanne, but what about the greater Olympic movement? Did you know that the gold, silver and bronze medals presented to the Olympic athletes during the 2020 Tokyo Games were made entirely out of recycled electronics? Or that the Olympic podiums were made from plastics collected from the public? The IOC works with international federations and national Olympic committees to provide support and guidance on how to integrate sustainability topics into the organizing of future Olympic Games. Touching on everything from water quality to local sourcing, carbon management and more, the IOC provides the framework and standards of sustainability for host countries and committees to follow, and leaves the execution up to the best creative minds to apply them within their cultural contexts. The Paris Games in 2024 are also using the stadiums and arenas that the city already has, instead of building new ones. Of the 36 venues required for the Games, only two are being constructed, one of which is the Aquatic Center in Saint-Denis, which will be repurposed as a community aquatic center after the Games are finished. So we just finished up at Olympic House and I have to say that we've both been just absolutely blown away by what we've seen. The inside of the building, the outside of the building, the work culture that's created there, they made sure that sustainability plays a huge part in literally every aspect. I have to say my favorite part was the staircase because it looked like it was floating inside of the building and the fact that they took the five Olympic rings and turned that into a design was just fascinating. One of my favorite things is that the IOC actually worked with the city of Lausanne to create a bus route so that this encourages employees to not drive to work as much, maybe use public transportation or even cycle and all of the incentives that are in place too to make sure that the employees live actually sustainable lives outside of the office as well. Something else that really impressed me was the fact that the building was being powered by renewable energy. So from the solar panels on the roof to the water from the nearby Lake Geneva was helping cool the building. How cool is that? Big thank you to Eva and her team for allowing us in and for taking time out of their days to give us a tour of absolutely everything. If you ever make it to Switzerland and Lausanne specifically, we highly, highly recommend that you go check out Olympic House. Of course, you won't be allowed inside without prior invitation but just walking around the park outside and seeing it from the outside really is just incredible. If you enjoyed this video, make sure you hit the like button down below. It really helps us out. And don't forget to subscribe to the Going Green channel. Thank you so much for watching and we'll see you in the next one.