Aesthetically Pleasing Efficient Intelligent Building Skins Engineering Essay

Aesthetically Pleasing Efficient knowing Building Skins applied science EssayArchitecture is no longer static and un metamorphoseable instead it is dynamical, responsive and conversant The desire that construct undresss reflect the skins of living organisms properly designed, they breathe, change form, and adapt to variations in climate But plunder highly efficient tidy skins gloss over be aesthetically pleasing?A expression releases a chameleon which adapts. A properly equipped andresponsively clothed make would monitor all infixed and external variables,temperature, hygrometry and light take engenders, solar radiation etc, to determine the outgo force equation given these conditions and modify the expression and its internalsystems accordingly. It is not too frequently to ask of a construct to incorporate, in itsfabric and its nervous system, the very basic vestiges of an adaptive capability.(Rogers 1978)The aim of this paper is to explore the notion of in corporating intelligence into a twists faade. The discussion about the energy efficiency of faades has inspired many an(prenominal) architects to no longer view the building envelope as static but as a dynamic being, that can adjust its shape, surface, function and inside spaces in realtime in response to intelligent controls that monitor active feedback from theenvironment. Solar and wind energy, daylightlight, and water can be capturedby buildings and reuse efficiently. An Intelligent building is maven that combines bothactive features and passive design strategies to provide maximum user comfort byusing minimum energy. The intelligent faade forms s eeralise of the intelligent building, itis what protects the inhabited interior whilst controlling exchanges between insideand outside at the envelope level. The plan being to respond effectively to ever-changingclimate conditions and inhabitant needs in purchase order to improve functional act. A buildings faade doesnt just pl ay a key role in the sustainability of a building adding to both energy efficiency and the quality of the internal climate. It is also a fundamental p artistic creation of the buildings aesthetic, adding to the structural outline and defining its ocular impact on the urban surroundings. A faade can only be set forth as intelligent when it overhears use of natural renewable energy sources such as solar energy, flow of aviations or ground heat to meet a buildings requirements in ground of heating, cooling and lighting. The idea that the fabric of a building can increase its interaction and response to external changes and internal demands with a prime objective of lowering the environmental load is an exciting c one timept. The facades almost become local, non-polluting energy suppliers to the building.The notion of intelligent building facades is not a new idea however the implementation of high-tech skins has been slow. While fashionable and almost sure as shooting advantageou s, sceptical architects atomic number 18 afraid that operable components argon magnets for value engineering or foresee them being stripped off their buildings in the future ascribable to poor performance or poor maintenance. merely, the rising cost of energy, latest environmental initiatives and the focus on the green propaganda has put great responsibility on architects and engineers to make continuous energy prudences and this must be achieved through effective building design and clever management. Almost seven years aft(prenominal) the European Union passed legislation requiring property owners to report on the energy performance of their buildings, a new round of tougher regulations is under way. Plans to revise the Energy act of Buildings Directive (EPBD) in 2010 be expected to result in even tighter emissions targets for new buildings. Gradually more than and more architects ar beginning to enjoy automating their facades quite than leaving energy-efficient functio ns to chance. Consequently, the crucial boundary connecting the interior environment and the elements is getting more consideration and consequently more animated.Most buildings today are equipped with more and more advanced technologies, but few still seem to be utilizing the true potential that this green intelligence has to offer. The intention of this study is to take the idea of the intelligent skin much further and realize what could potentially be possible in the future.The paper will go on to describe the context deep down which the need for variability in building skin performance has arisen and demonstrate how such dynamic response mechanisms harbor been incorporated into the design and construction of leash buildings The GSW Headquarters in Berlin, by the architects Sauerbruch and Hutton 1999. The Debis Headquarters building, Berlin by The Renzo Piano Building Workshop in 1997 and the B4 and B6 office buildings in Berlin by Richard Rogers 1998. All three role studies are purpose built office buildings that were built around the same time frame and are in the same European climate, Germany. The climate in Berlin is known as continental. The summers are warmer than the UK and the winters c out of dateer. Summer temperatures can rise to 32 degrees centigrade while winter temperatures can drop to -15 degrees centigrade.After German reunification in 1990 Berlin was to become the gateway to the whole former Soviet Communist Empire as it was transformed into an economic epicentre by new enthronement from the West. A skyline of construction cranes rose over the city, citizens marvelled at the remarkable commitment to entwining a city separated for 50 years. Berlin bravely tried to release its catastrophic past with a new visualization of the urban future. Potsdamer Platz has been the site of the extensive redevelopment, instigating all three of the buildings in the review. Because of this, the buildings should employ reasonably up to get a line eng ine room and design, which can be effectively compared and critiqued in the study. Not only this, but through a growing trend, buildings that employ environmen in height(predicate)y conscious technologies are still the exception in most of Europe today. However Mary Pepchinski explains why for many reasons Germany appears to be the leader Many German architects and engineers sincerely consider about the effect their buildings have on the environment, but others realise that new technologies will be profitable in 10 to 20 years time. Politically, Germanys omnipotent Green party also influences national environmental policies. (M, Pepchinski 199570)The general purpose of this review is to determine whether functional and aesthetic value can be effectively combined in a single project while still managing to combust energy consumption. However to establish whether the buildings have aesthetic significance one must first determine the criteria for aesthetic judgement.Aesthetics exam ines our response to an object. Judgments of yellowish pink are sensory, emotional and intellectual all at the same time. Viewer interpretations of beauty possess two concepts of value aesthetics and taste. Aesthetics is the philosophical notion of beauty. Taste is a result of education and awareness of cultural values thusly taste can be learned. Taste varies depending on class, cultural background, and education. According to Philosopher Immanuel Kant writing in 1790, beauty is objective and universal thus certain things are beautiful to everyone. The contemporary view of beauty is not based on innate qualities, but rather on cultural specifics and individual interpretations. (Kant 1790)The criteria for assesing whether the buildings are aesthetically pleasing in this study will be based on two or more views, that of architects or journalists and my own personal opinion. Because judging aesthetics depends on individual interpretations, one is hard pressed to determine the answer , however if based on two views, both can be taken into account, and a conclusion come to. To asses whether the building meets the technological efficiency will be based on performance data or statistics and an engineers view. By also spirit at whether or not post occupancy evaluation (POE) methods have been adopted at the as-built stage, involving the views about the buildings from the perspective of the people who use them. It could give rattling information on building user perception assessing ease of use, controls, facilities and most importantly perceived visual insight.GSW Headquarters Berlin Sauerbruch Hutton Architects 1999This landmark office tower is an admonitory example of sustainable architecture make use of energy-conserving features. It was the worlds first thermally flued tall building. The most important reflexion of the low-energy concept is the highly transparent and dynamic high-rise faade. Colourful orange and pink automated blend panels in the west double skin cavity manage solar heat elucidate and day lighting. These perforated metal shutters give the building its unique and ever varying appearance. They can be both pivoted and moved aside mechanically or individually by the user therefore the composition of the entire west faade depends on the habits of the occupants. This make outs a classifiable ever-changing pattern causing the complex body part to come alive.Whilst elegant in simplicity, form and function, the design results from a highly technical discourse in which the engineering and architectural principles rely largely on each other. The design process involved a high level of collaboration between the architects and the engineers-Arup London. The multiple functioning envelope required the main elements of the building to be the result of excellent teamwork. To minimise heat loss both the atomic number 99 and West perimeter walls are designed as double skin facades. The West faade acts as a solar flue, it has th ree layers the inner layer consists of a double glazed aluminium curtain wall in which every second bay has an operable window. The vertical posts of this inner faade carry can coververing brackets to support the outer faade this layer is single glazed and consists of 3.3m x1.8m laminated water ice panels. Airflow within the inner and outer skins of the faade can be regulated according to seasonal and weather conditions by dampers at the top and bottom. earthy ventilation is brought in through the East double skin faade. Fresh air enters the building, passes through the interior spaces, across specially designed corridor openings, and is extracted by the solar flue of the West faade, which offers particularly good thermal insulation. The East faade with its porous ventilation openings is like a smooth skin, where as the West faade deep and separated into layers resembles a fur. (UME 200129). The reduced depth of the tower along with generously sized windows allows maximum day l ighting, creating optimum conditions on the office floors making most artificial lighting redundant.The brief noted the building had to be a low-cost, socially sensitive coordinate, which addressed the historic urban context and roadway planning, but still provide a strong image as the headquarters of GSW. It also had to have functional quality in connecting new and old buildings whilst ensuring operational environmental efficiency. The overall aim for the mechanical design was to improve the buildings sustainability rating by achieving energy deliverys of 30-40% in comparison to an ordinary building. (www.arup.com) the structure is integrated in a three-dimensional composition, offering a working environment which is beneficial to team-working and customer-focused operations. In 1999 natural ventilation was reportedly used for 75% of the year and the building hardly saw the need to operate its air-conditioners. (NSG space modulation) In the Property EU Magazine M. Korteweg saidT he building is excellent in its passive control of energy consumption, with CO2 savings estimated to be 55% of equivalent air-conditioned buildings. (Korteweg, M)In my opinion the tall, slender 85 metre tall structure that is curved in shape adds an interesting addition to the urban skyline. The bright glossaryed red, pink and orange shutters on the West faade are undoubtedly what makes this building stand out from the crowd. It looks like a radiant mosaic, very different from the silvery white East faade. I consider colour to be a fantastic medium to address the senses. Colour is used actively in design as a means of generating atmospheric and distinctive buildings, and I think in this structure it works particularly well. It certainly looks the part but this buildings image is not just skin deep, it also plays the part in reducing emissions and saving energy. The fact that these vivid panels are not just decorative but also functional makes the building so much more fascinating. At night the exterior of the building is lit up, making it easily recognisable, even from a distance. Showing how functional and aesthetic value can be united fantastically in a lone project.In the Architectural Review magazine, James Russell describes the building asAn array of energy saving strategies and staff amenities in a colourful, stylish package (Russell, JS 2000156)Reunification put the site back at the centre of things, and the colourful new sun-shades on the west elevation energise the neighbourhood. (Russell, JS 2000156)To sum up this sophisticated mix of bold good looks and intelligent features and to evaluate the success and failures, I would say that this building works astonishingly well on both levels. The building lives up to what the brief intended.The Debis Headquarters Berlin The Renzo Piano Building Workshop 1997The Debis Tower was the first building in the initial stage of the huge Potsdamer Platz development, which was anticipated to give Berlin a new spir it. It is a pioneering energy-conserving design an exceptional example of environmentally progressive architecture celebrating design and technology. It comes across as being subtle and rather understated compared to some of the surrounding urban infrastructure. It has a certain graceful and distinguished modesty. The East facade of the tower is dominated by biscuit coloured terracotta cladding, horizontal and vertical terracotta slats create an accurately proportioned pattern, which expresses every floor and bay within an overall food grain resembling a sort of skeletal skin.The building is technologically sophisticated it has a highly effective curtain wall, which offers considerable advantages in terms of the delivery of energy, day lighting, user control and comfort. The interior skin consists of a visually delicate and subtle render-breathing wall. It features double-pane operable windows, allow the individual inhabitants of the offices to adjust their own internal climates all year round by taking tempered air from the 700mm wide cavity for natural ventilation. The exterior faade is made up of 12-mm thick, automated, pivoting, laminated blur louvers. The smallest amount of air exchange takes place through these louvers when closed. Allegedly the thermal devices designed for the faade work so well that natural ventilation is used for around 60% of the year an exceptional percentage for a building in a northern climate. In addition, there is a 50% drop-off in the energy consumption of the building and 70% reduction in the emission of carbon dioxide. (NSG, Space Modulation).Energy conservation was a significant aspect of the design policy for the building and the project was awarded funding from the European Union Joule II research programme to help finance the design of the facades.To create this environmentally sustainable building many factors had to be considered and contribute towards the design. One being water management. The building makes prof icient use of the rainfall it collects, some of the rainwater is used to irrigate the surrounding landscape and vegetation of the building, some is used as water for toilets, and the excess is used to fill the nearby pond when the level drops. The building is accounted to save around 20,000 cubic metres of water a year. (Arch Review 1998)This building is very different from the first case study I looked at. It doesnt make a huge statement, clad in bright, bold colours and doesnt stand out significantly from its neighbours. I think it is delicate and rather subtle in the way it looks. A continuous rhythm of horizontal terracotta louvers interrupted by ever changing individually operable blinds, creating an interesting pattern.In the Architectural embark J.Russell gave his opinion of the building At some times of the day, the sun sparkles from the bevelled bottom edge of the pivoting glass panels at others, it picks out elements between the glass walls the vertical glass returns, th e metal faade-support structure, or the maintenance platforms. The terra-cotta elements dont move, but their raw-claw finish invites touch. The rhythms of open and closed cladding along with deepening and lightening shadows as the light changes through the day have their own sensuous appeal. (Russell 1998135)To begin the process of discussing the successes and failures of the building, I am struggling to find a part of the buildings environmental aspects that can be described as a failure. Even tiny details seem to add to the sustainability of the design. The energy-saving approach of the facades combining terracotta and glass screens gives the building a visually rich texture and a highly practical purpose. The building has an innovative environmental approach and careful design detailing, making it an all round success.B4 B6 office buildings Berlin Richard Rogers 1998Like the earlier case study, these two office buildings were part of the much bigger master plan to redevelop t he devastated Potsdamer Platz area of Berlin. In this dense urban context the aim was to produce innovative environments for businesses, which must be strikingly contemporary in appearance, and most significantly, utilized a low-energy servicing agenda with a high-quality user comfort. The faades are made up of identical modules of which their basic identical construction can be varied by using different in-fills according to the orientation and performance requirement. This allows different parts of the building to perform in different ways, depending on its specific position. The materials used are clear and opaque glass panels, ceramic tile cladding, and external and internal blinds, a sophisticated mix, which allows the internal environments to be adjusted in response to the requirements of the occupants.The hollow core plan form of the office buildings is cut away gradually from roof level down flooding the atriums with natural light. The atriums are entirely naturally ventilat ed. In order to optimise the thermal conditions and airflow in the atrium computer simulations were conducted. Solar radiation contributes to the heating and thereby reduces energy consumption in the winter. The natural ventilation ensures that a comfortable climate prevails in the entrance area and the offices adjacent to the atrium throughout the year. A great deal of daylight enters the offices through glazing this solar radiation is used to heat the fresh air from outside and naturally ventilates the offices. It was estimated that energy consumption in the office buildings would be 50% less than that generated by a conventionally air-conditioned building.When visiting this building what initially stood out to me was how much more high-tech it looked than the previous two case studies I had visited. The energy saving devices seem to stand out more and are what primarily make up the interesting, dynamic faade. The building is made up of two blocks, symmetrical from the front. Simi lar to the GSW headquarters, brightly coloured solar shading blinds are used. In this case they are bright yellow, and feature at each end of the building almost acting as bookends. In terms of aesthetics, I think the building is visually interesting and fits in well with its surroundings. Kenneth Powell described the completed buildings as Striking expressions of the rise of an eco-architecture on a sybaritic urban scale.(Kenneth Powell)The amalgamation of environmental technology and design in these three case studies seems to have created visually attractive and interesting facades that credit the surrounding city. However it has been argued that Design of such environmental screens has concentrated on technical developments with little appreciation that facades are the public face of architecture. (Moloney, J. 2007461) this is a strong argument, which I cannot take issue with without taking every case into account. In the past environmentally aware buildings have sometimes bee n perceived as inept and unattractive. But times have changed. Technology and aesthetics should be able to run alongside each other in harmony. Architects are now beginning to use energy saving strategies to their advantage to create more unique, interesting facades. Solar shading devices can add a huge amount of visual interest to a building, creating an ever changing dynamic pattern, just like the buildings featured in this review.Climate change is undeniable. Therefore the demand for more efficient, next-generation adaptive systems for building facades is increasing. What has the future got in store for adaptive facades? New innovations in faade design are primarily down to advanced technical developments in both computer technology and materials. The building envelope is a critical area of a buildings design, with the facade engineer playing a vital role in bringing the architects day-dream to life. New cladding materials and processing techniques are continually being develope d in the search for better faade performance, making the design and procurement of the building envelope a highly technical and complex process yet one that is still immensely creative.Various architects have presented performance-based prototypes as technological, social, and utopian solutions for the problems we face. present are two examplesAdaptive faade Fluidic muscle technology Prof Ir Kas Oosterhuis 2003This was a competition, its aim being to come up with an innovative idea to create a faade that has flexibility that will enable the occupants to have total control of the light levels in their immediate area, rather than have a centralised controller. Currently most solar shading devices have no facility for localised control and the whole faade has to change at once and can usually only be set to fully open or fully closed. This system allows the building users in any part of the building to set their own preferred light levels. The muscles are made of silicon coated pol yamide rubber with steel valves at each end, the shades are inflatable cushions made of polyester coated with hypalon and the whole assembly is joined by steel fixings. The structure is very lightweight meaning easy attachment to be buildings with little disruption. It can therefore be used to enhance the aesthetics of a mundane building. The facade brings attention to the building by the way it moves, it makes the building appear as if its alive, as the skin pulsates and opens.Edge monkeys (theoretical idea) Stephen A. Gage and ordain Thorne (British architect-academics)In an article published in the cyber journal Technoetic Arts Stephen A. Gage and Will Thorne describe a hypothetical fleet of small robots they call edge monkeys. Their function would be to patrol building facades, regulating energy usage and indoor(a) conditions. Basic duties include closing unattended windows, checking thermostats, and adjusting blinds. But the machines would also gesture meaningfully to intern al occupants when building users are clearly wasting energy. This sci-fi sounding system crystallizes the widespread concern informing many recent architectural projects.Today, activating a buildings skin is in fashion. From the robotecture labs at top architecture schools to interactive art installations. Aesthetics and technology are converging in unlikely places. Nonetheless, the mainstream drivers for interactive envelopes are sustainability and strict energy codes.Conclusion-At the conclusion of this review, I have gained an appreciation and better understanding of this new trend towards intelligent faades. Although it is somewhat difficult to conclude this study, primarily because the outcome really depends on individual interpretations and taste. By compare the views and opinions of more than one person, I feel an honest result has been achieved. Yet due to the lack of commonly accepted methods and relevant supporting data for technology, the judging of the overall perform ance of the intelligent facades cannot be carried out. It remains difficult, if not impossible, to carry out a fair comparison between different case studies in terms of intelligence. The different examples show that there isnt only one intelligent faade system but rather that depending on the case in order it is an individual solution according to the location and utilization of the building. As a result it proves difficult to compare the case studies in this report. However looking at them individually the environmental data and statistics collected all point to succesfull levels achieved. The facades seem to be doing their job by reacting intelligently to the climate and impoving internal conditions while still cutting energy consumption. The conclusion reached is that with the combination of these three elements new technology, innovative materials and very good design, highly efficient intelligent skins can still be aesthetically pleasing. But do technically innovative building s always come in such stylish packages?What twenty years ago was perceived as clumsy and unattractive eco-buildings and deterred architects from a design perspective is today an aesthetically interesting and multi faceted solution. In the design of new buildings, the sustainability aspect is particularly best-selling(predicate) and the faade returns to its initial purpose of representation bold, transparent and sustainable architecture is implemented with minimal conflict as a general rule. Another fancy is that intelligent facades are possibly perceived as being visually attractive because of their environmental advantages in a world where being green is in vogue. Or more philosophically, people are attracted to facades with moving parts because motion seems to herald change.Michael Fox an architect and robotics expert predicted Architectural environments will be progressively smart and responsive and capable of complex behaviours. But one must question whether such promises ha ve been realized? And what is needed to push the idea forward-moving and turn the promise of extraordinarily intelligent faades into a reality? Steps need to be taken to develop these products quickly. We are in the midst of orbiculate climate change, the way we think is changing and the way in which buildings are designed and made must also change. Adaptive, intelligent environmental strategies offer a critical contribution to the broad ambition of reversing environmental damage.Intelligent facades will, one day in the near future become a necessity/ shopworn and that in time may hinder the obvious aesthetic merit of exemplar buildings like the ones shown in this report.