Computerized Facade Allows Skyscraper to Inhale and Exhale

[M II A II R II K]

Computerized Facade Allows Skyscraper to Inhale and Exhale


September 2nd, 2010

By Suzanne LaBarre

Read More: http://www.fastcodesign.com/1662231/...ale-and-exhale

http://spectrum.ieee.org/green-tech/...en-buildings/0

It’s hard being green in a high rise, and if you want operable windows, forget it. You might as well turn the place into a coal plant. But German architects Sauerbruch Hutton have figured out a way to let in fresh air without tossing their eco cred. The secret: a high-tech skin. As Peter Fairley at IEEE Spectrum reports, the firm’s KfW Bankengruppe office building, in Frankfurt, has the world’s first “pressure ring” facade. That’s a fancy way of saying that it balances pressure throughout the building, allowing occupants to crack windows without turning their offices into a set from Twister. (Typically in a high rise building with operable windows, you get pressure differentials that generate huge cross breezes.)

In the KfW tower, sensor-controlled ventilators on the outer skin (see detail below) open and close throughout the day in response to temperature, wind direction and speed, among other factors, throwing a ring of positive pressure around the building. That air is drawn into offices through floor vents and windows along an inner facade workers control; then, it's exhausted into the building core. So what you get is a system of natural ventilation that eliminates the need for AC and heat in the fall and spring. And in extreme weather, when you need an artificial bump, the pressure balance won't throw your heating and cooling systems out of whack.

[KevinFromTexas]

I remember when we took a tour of The Austonian, that one of the doors was open on the 55th floor, and you could feel the air blowing through that floor through the door. That doesn't sound impressive, but then again, it was an 8,000 square foot unit and were standing inside the elevator.

[Aleks]

these double layered facade's are really innovative and i've been curious about them for a long time.

except i've only seen these designs on office buildings. i wonder if they could also be used on residential skyscrapers, and if so, would the energy savings be enough to cover an entire layer around the building?

[Biff]

Here in Winnipeg they just completed a double walled glass facade office building. You can open the windows inside if you want to get fresh air. It has won numerous energy efficiency awards as well as the award for the most energy efficient tall building in the Americas in 2009. Here is the build thread.

http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/show...manitoba+hydro