Russian Orthodox Church
Also called the Cathedral of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, the Russian Orthodox Church built between 1863 and 1866 is located in Geneva. It is a neo-Russian style church that welcomes Orthodox believers of various origins.
Les points forts
Les prestations principalesThe air heating system was retained as the only one possible. Initially it was a forced air heating system via a coal-fired boiler.
The basement, where the sanitary facilities, library and technical rooms are located, was extensively modified. Radiators were added as basic heating with ventilation as back-up for air hygiene and document preservation.
Separate technical rooms (boiler room and central ventilation unit) were created, whereas initially the caretaker used to take his naps next to the air boiler, with all the problems of small leaks and CO and CO2 leakage that this entailed!
The ventilation system consists of a forced air monoblock with recirculation air and efficient filter sections. In the dome, we installed an exhaust fan that draws in exhaust air through a network of 12 flexible ducts from the 12 openings in the dome.
The heating and ventilation functions were completely separated, whereas previously they had been one element. The fresh air intake was enlarged, the old ventilation ducts completely replaced and the openings in the vault reopened.
The systematic and traditional use of incense and hundreds of candles during religious ceremonies resulted in the deposition of soot and dust on the paintings and icons that line this church and even in the vault of the dome. Due to the presence of this soot, numerous and costly restorations had to be carried out repeatedly. The aim of our mandate was to find a solution that would reduce the number of restoration works and their intervals.
An intelligent MCR control system was installed in the basement plant. It is very simple for the user, who only has a few buttons to operate on the ground floor. The system heats up before the church service (full power), during (quiet power) and afterwards to “flush” and ventilate so that the soot-laden fumes are exhausted as quickly as possible to the outside.