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Diana Volovelskay, San Francisco Marketing Coordinator and Donald McCleary, P.E., Glumac hosted Christoph Ingenhoven’s tour to San Francisco, University of California at Berkeley, and the University of Southern California, where he presented a portfolio of sustainable projects featuring buildings with activated fa€ades. Glumac hosted the tour to promote sustainable design concepts that have been used in other parts of the world, and are now potential opportunities for consideration in the United States. Winning the competition for the first eco-high-rise in 1991 for the headquarters of RWE-ESSEN, Ingenhoven firmly established himself early on as one of the core proponents of double-skin and activated fa€ades. Describing his vision that "The Future Is Green" to well-attended presentations Ingenhoven inspired the group: "As architects, engineers, and clients, we can influence the global problem, and be responsible to reduce our carbon footprint at least a minimum 25%." Form has followed evolution, and beautiful design has turned into environmentally responsible triple zero super green building, characteristics of which are:
Double-skin fa€ade One of the more innovative methods of energy conservation which Ingenhoven discussed that is rapidly gaining ground is the double-skin fa€ade. This building method was a European Union (EU) architectural innovation which incorporates a pleasant aesthetic with natural ventilation, improving air quality without the acoustic and security issues that persist with single-skin facades. The double-skin fa€ade has the benefit of reducing noise pollution to the interior occupants while still providing natural ventilation, without the need for additional HVAC equipment to accomplish this task. The technique has evolved since its introduction. Originally, the buildings used a passive system which limited the amount of control the occupants had. The newer systems have added additional controls to the ventilation process to provide a more streamlined process of providing outside air when required. Other advancements with the double- skin facades include interstitial shading systems that add a reflective surface to reflect undesired light and heat from the building. In general, three main types of facades exist:
A double-skin activated fa€ade is a pair of glass "skins," i.e. two layers of glass, separated by an air corridor, of which the outer layer insulates against noise, wind, and temperature change. The air space between the two provides natural ventilation. Sun shading, i.e. a conventional glare screen, is built inside the fa€ade as "internal blinds," allowing sun protection, glare protection, and solar gain. Horizontal levers at a 10% slope allow the double-skin to become an activated fa€ade, influencing the flow of air and noise protection of the building. Thus, the benefits of double-skin activated fa€ades are:
Research performed by Franklin Andrews, Professor Michael Wigginton of the University of Plymouth, and Battle McCarthy, on behalf of the United Kingdom Department of Environment, Transport and Regions demonstrates that double-skin buildings are able to reduce energy consumption by 65%, reduce running costs by 65%, and cut CO2 emissions by 50% in the cold temperate climate prevalent in the United Kingdom when compared to advanced single-skin building. Cost exercises have shown that buildings employing a double-skin may cost as little as 2.5% based on gross internal floor area. The majority of buildings featuring this fa€ade system are being built in Europe; however, Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong and now the State of California now feature double-skin building. [The presentations were sponsored by USGBC NCC, AIA SF, AIA Pasadena and Foothill, Gensler, and Charles M. Salter Associates Inc.] |
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[ARTICLE] Glumac Relocates to LEED Platinum-Designed Office at the Standard Insurance Center 26-Apr-2012[ARTICLE] Creating Gensler's "Jewel Box" 06-Feb-2012
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