Shenzhen, China

I came across this image of an urban district in Shenzhen, China and felt compelled to post it. I am in disbelief.


Photo: Schittich, Christian. "in Detail: Solar Architecture". 2003

Facade construction and design trends - discussed by montage

Below are three images which describe the current state of a large percentage of our building stock, current trends in facade re-construction, and the direction high-performing low-energy building design. They are titled "Cars vs Buildings", "New Skin New Hope", and "Hyper Performance", respectively.

Building facade rennovation/retrofit

Most of the discussion regarding energy efficient, high performance, and sustainable buildings revolves around new projects. What about the existing buildings? As buildings outlast their original uses, we renovate the interiors without thinking twice. What about when they are obsolete in terms of energy use, thermal performance, occupant comfort, or natural light?

Below is a good example (the outcome, not the 13 year process) of a façade renovation to a historically significant building in Brussels. This is the Berlaymont building occupied by the European Commission.

All photos from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlaymont

Here is a comprehensive description of the glass louvers from http://www.aecsimqa.net/en/node/70

The Berlaymont building is a double ventilated glass façade building with glass louvres. The inside glazing layer is made of traditional double glazing and the outside façade is made of rotating glass louvres.The louvres are made of two glazing leaves with a multi-layer film inside. The external face of the micro-perforated film is white, in order to reflect the daylight. The louvres inside colour is black, so as to allow the view towards outside.
The louvres are organised in frames of 2m high and 3.3m width. Each frame contains 6 superimposed elements. The frames are organised by sectors, each of them including 3 frames that are interdependent for the louvres rotation command.The louvre rotation is thus made by sectors (on the whole 433) thanks to engines (on the whole 748), that are ordered by a central unit.The louvre control is a function of:- The sun position (date and time) ;- The louvre location on the façade (orientation et height) ;- Information collected by the meteorological sensors located on the roof (wind, horizontal illuminance, rain and temperature).
The louvres are tilted according to these parameters and make function either of shading (from 0° to 60°) or of reflectors, in order to increase the luminous penetration (110°), when there is no direct sun. For each sector, the sun height and solar mask have been calculated, as a function of the time, and it is from this calculation that the louvres slope is determined. For the shading function, the louvres are oriented perpendicularly to the sun. As the rotating movement is only possible by 10° step, the louvre will be perpendicular to the sun rays, with ± 5° accuracy.
Under cloudy sky, the daylight factor values are strongly dependent on the louvres slope. When the louvre slope is equal to 110°, the daylight factor increases by 33% compared to the value obtained with a 90° slope and by 100% compared to the value obtained with a 0° slope. The luminous direct transmittance of the louvre is about 70%. This value is constant as the louvre stays perpendicular to the sun.

Bio-composite Facade Panels

Check this paper out:

TRANSPARENT FAÇADE PANEL TYPOLOGIES BASED ON HYBRID
BIO-COMPOSITE AND RECYCLABLE POLYMER MATERIALS

which can be downloaded here:

http://cid-d0b0848dc7f3f9fb.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/Studio?authkey=WqBijvj1EFg%24

Maximum transparency

Photo: www.philadelphia-reflections.com

Kimmel Centre for the Performaing Arts, Philedelphia, 2001

Rafael Vinoly Architects

Engineering: Dewhurst Macfarlane and Partners

Old and New

Photo: K.Schorn, 2008

The oldest known concrete shell structure: the Pantheon, Rome

Completed approximately AD 125

Diameter = 141ft (43m)

Photo: www.ketchum.org

Petroleum Coke Bulk Storage: Pittsburg, California

Designed by OPAC Consulting Engineers, 1997.

Air formed, built by Dome Systems, Inc.

Hemisphere diameter: 180ft (55m)