Green Products: Trends & Innovations

This course is no longer active
[ Page 18 of 23 ]  previous page Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 next page
Advertorial course provided by Thyssenkrupp Elevator, US Green Building Council, Tarkett, Lutron, VistaWall, Umicore, PPG FlatGlass, C/S Group, AltusGroup, MechoShade, HunterDouglas, AISC, Sloan Valve

Glass Becomes Ultra-Clear

A double thermal-pane glass curtain wall will be screened by thin horizontal ceramic tubes anchored by a steel framework one to two feet in front of the glass. The irregularly spaced horizontal rods will bounce daylight up to the ceilings of the tower's interior, creating a high degree of energy efficiency in heating and cooling the building and taking on the changing color of the sky during the course of the day as light strikes them from different angles.

The New York Times daylighting scheme is so radical that the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, a project participant, commissioned a 4,500 square foot. mock-up in the parking lot of the company's printing plant in Queens to determine how the system will perform. "I can't begin to describe how much data Berkeley has generated in its effort to perfect the system," says Jan Berman, president of Long Island-based MechoShade Systems, Inc.

Turner Construction Co., the general contractor, dismantled the mock-up in November and is rebuilding it in accordance with new project specifications calling, among other things, for a "brightness override" that will fine-tune automated shading and interior lighting controls. Not only will the automated window shading system move to pre-set positions according to the angle of the sun, but 600 light sensors throughout the building will allow the system to react to factors like light reflecting from nearby buildings.

The Times project will also feature window shades made of a new two-sided, PVC-free fabric developed in concert with McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry (MBDC). The fabric was designed specifically to meet Piano's requirements for a material that would allow the greatest possible light transmittance, permit views to the outside, and, at the same time, reduce glare.

"This project is the earliest we've ever been brought to the table under contract," Berman says, "but it was necessary in order to optimize the lighting control package. Steel hadn't even gone out when we began discussing lighting.

"It was essential," Berman says. "We are working increasingly with dynamic systems in which shading, lighting and controls all are part of an overall system designed to harvest natural light to the greatest extent possible, control solar heat gain and, at the same time, provide workers with the greatest degree of comfort possible."

 

[ Page 18 of 23 ]  previous page Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 next page
Originally published in Architectural Record.
Originally published in February 2005

Notice

Academies