Too Transparent?

Responding to new energy goals with facade design

[ Page 7 of 7 ]

Sponsored by the Ornamental Metal Institute of New York

This test is no longer available for credit

CRYSTAL BALL

Looking into their crystal balls, architects anticipate that facades will become more dynamic, eventually achieving a higher level of integration with the BAS system’s environmental, thermal, and lighting controls.

“Dynamic facades will be connected and synchronized with building technologies, enabling them to react and adapt to changing needs,” projects Paret. “This will result in building facades playing a significant role in net-zero energy and intelligent buildings that deliver well-balanced and optimized solutions for comfort, operations, economics, and energy efficiency.”

Similar to Gensler’s achievement with the PNC Tower, LPA’s D’Amato predicts that the future will bring much more of a relationship between internal use and spaces and the design of external facades. “It is about creating a balance between the user-driven function of the space and the performance of the facade,” he says.

As technology continues to advance, particularly in the realm of materials, architects also anticipate that glazing will achieve higher insulation levels and better protection from solar heat gain.

From a technical perspective, Mainiero expects that continued advancements in 3-D printing and computer-controlled CNC fabrication will enable curtain wall manufacturers who already offer standard solutions for shading to expand selections to allow customizable options, without a major retooling or alteration to the fabrication process.

In the grand scheme of things, Tranel points out that the industry is in the midst of seeing the entire energy sector being weaned from its dependence on fossil fuel energy. With unplugging from the electrical grid and achieving a carbon-neutral building as the ultimate long-term goal, high-performance facades will surely play a major role in this process.

USER COMFORT

As architects work to create effective high-performance facades, user comfort is prominent in their minds.

“The most innovative designs today involve options to achieve personal comfort for occupants,” states Brandon Tinianov, vice president of business development, View, San Francisco, California. “Office areas, for example, may now include operable windows, fans, novel task lighting, or out-the-door patios or gardens. With these spaces available, workers can choose what environment best suits their needs at any given time.”

Essentially, the idea is to give users more control over their environment; for example, offering them different places where they can sit in the building, outside of their desks.

By opening up Pittsburgh’s PNC Plaza’s double facade into a patio area with daylighting and natural ventilation, Gensler accomplished just that for the building’s employees.

Taking another example, Shepley Bulfinch discovered in a recent LEED Gold Certified multifamily housing project in Eugene, Oregon, that the residents required less temperature control because they could better control their environment. In fact, with operable windows in the living units, Shepley Bulfinch didn’t have to put air-conditioning in the bedrooms, and simply designed a heat recovery mechanical system for bathroom exhaust and living room conditioning.

“Even though that region of Oregon can get quite cold in the winter and hot and humid in the summer, we learned that when the occupants had the ability to control the comfort in their own space, their temperature tolerance was greater,” relates Thomas Chinnock, AIA, associate of Shepley Bulfinch, Phoenix, Arizona.

END NOTES

¹"High-Performance Flat Glass to 2017,” The Freedonia Group, June 2013. Web. 15 Mar. 2016.

²"The Commercial Glazing Markets 2015 Edition,” Palmer Market Research, Oct. 2015. Web. 15 Mar. 2016.

³"Low-Cost, High-Energy-Saving Dynamic Windows,” U.S. Department of Defense’s Environmental Security Technology Certification Program, Dec. 2014. Web. 15 Mar. 2016.


The Ornamental Metal Institute of New York is a not-for-profit association created to advance the interests of the architectural, ornamental, and miscellaneous metal industries by helping architects, engineers, developers, and construction managers transform designs into reality. www.ominy.org

[ Page 7 of 7 ]

Subscribe to Architectural Record - Save 10%.

Notice

----- Advertising -----