All posts by Giulio

Building Envelope, Green Energy, HVAC, Sustainability, Technology

A 50th birthday to remember

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Bel-Con Design-Builders made sure ‘more than the tractors are green’ at Clow Farm Equipment

Clow Farm Equipment celebrated its 50th anniversary in a big way thanks to a full-scale green makeover provided by Bel-Con Design-Builders.

The Kingston-area company, founded by Oakley Clow, left no stone unturned, either, building a brand new store situated on Highway 15 just north of Highway 401, equipped with a full complement of sustainable features.

“Oakley and his son Doug, were concerned about quality, fit and finish right from the start,” says Bel-Con president Tom Gunsinger. “ They’d seen a similar John Deere Dealership constructed by Rice Construction, the Butler Builder in St John New Brunswick. The Clow family Oakley, Shirley and Doug were all great to work with and a breath of fresh air with their commitment to constructing an efficient, comfortable, low maintenance building.”

(In “industry terms,” the facility in New Brunswick is referred to as a ‘Butler building.’ That means, to the layman, that a ‘Butler building’ utilizes the Butler Manufacturing building-solutions company for the design, manufacture, and marketing of metal building systems for commercial construction.)

Clow Farm Equipment was all in, as it turned out.

“The client appreciated Butler’s attention to details, right down to the trims,” says Gunsinger, whose Belleville-based company has been affiliated with Butler since 1978. “And, when they contacted us, they expressed their desire to have an energy-efficient and comfortable building. “
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For starters, Bel-Con worked the following features into the new Clow Farm Equipment building:

  • The wall system is Butler’s eShadowall panel with an accredited tested R-value of R21.1;
  • The MR-24 roof system utilizes Butler’s Thermal Liner System (TLS-12) which has an accredited tested R-value of R38.7;
  • And natural light was important as well, Butler’s SunLite Strips were used in the shop to provide daylight harvesting.

Gunsinger points out that the use of Butler’s systems provided other green building benefits, as well, including high recycled content of the entire structure, roof and wall systems.

“The client also had a desire to ensure comfort for their staff, so we incorporated radiant in-floor heat in the perimeter offices and showroom, as well as throughout the entire shop,” explains Gunsinger. “The mechanics, we were told, are often on the floor when servicing the equipment, so that keeps out the cold. We also included energy-efficient lighting systems, occupancy sensors and low-flow plumbing fixtures.”

Butler’s attention to building green hinges on the premise that “taking actions today so opportunities for future generations won’t be inhibited.’ They combine green technologies and practices with systems’ construction efficiencies to make sustainable buildings more affordable.

Some examples of how Butler Manufacturing is doing that, include:

  • Products that reduce material use. All Butler projects optimize the amount of steel used to meet exact design specifications;
  • Salvaged/recycled products. Butler building systems contain up to 74 per cent recycled steel;
  • Reusable or recyclable materials. Butler steel buildings can be disassembled, relocated and reused, making them adaptable to different end uses and extending their usable life;
  • Butler buildings require minimal maintenance to last much longer than their intended warranties. The MR-24 roof system has a proven in-place performance of over 40 years.

Gunsinger says Bel-Con is definitely on the same page.

“Our focus is to encourage our clients to look at the total cost of ownership (TCO), as opposed to just the initial construction costs,” he explains. “Studies have shown that, on average, the construction cost only accounts for 10% of the TCO of a facility, with the other 90% spent on lighting, heating, cooling and maintenance.

“By investing in high-efficiency and long-lasting systems the owner can realize significant savings over the life of the building. Another study shows that for every $1 invested in energy efficiency, there will typically be a savings of about $6 in total building operating costs. The roof system, itself, is very sustainable as its life expectancy is over 30 years. In fact, for another client, we recently replaced a metal roof that had been there for 47 years!”

Web / bel-con.com / greentractors.ca

Architecture, Building Envelope, Green Energy, HVAC, Ideas, Style, Sustainability, Technology, Top Stories, Trends

Green Building Expo

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The first Canadian trade show for green building

It’s no surprise that Green Buildings & Sustainable Strategies magazine is leading the way in cost-efficient virtual trade show technology for the green construction industry.

After all, part of the magazine’s mandate is to alert readers and advertisers to the latest sustainable development trends.

The countdown to Canada’s first virtual trade show for the green construction industry is underway and the wheels are already in motion on a number of fronts.

Utilizing cutting-edge virtual trade show technology, we are pleased to announce Green Building Expo. This first-of-its-kind show will be held in “cyberspace” starting April 12, 2016 and running for a full year.

What we have planned is an affordable way for you to engage all of Canada in the latest green building endeavours in very interesting and cost-efficient way. The event itself will celebrate Canada’s greenest and most successful building projects. Each exhibit will showcase sustainable construction solutions to the right attendees in a timely and cost-efficient manner. Participants will be able to exchange contact information with Canada’s most active green building professionals. Green Building Expo is budget-friendly for participating exhibitors and free for attendees. Our coverage area is Canada, but being held in cyberspace, exhibitors can reach out to a global audience to generate a high volume of leads and prospects.

Green Building Expo will bring together technology, materials, products, and service providers, developers, general contractors, architects, consultants, engineers, interior designers, builders, specifiers, project managers, green investors, bankers, building owners, facilities managers, along with municipalities, expert organizations and other key stakeholders of green building projects; saving money and eliminating travel time, construction, logistics, and associated carbon emissions with physical meetings and trade exhibitions.

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Instead of being up and running for only a few days, similar to a traditional trade show, the individual booths will remain active for an entire year and available online 24/7. When not stuffed exhibition booths function as a website and the exhibitors can still have the visibility and availability of their information.

And additional exhibitors can join at any time during the duration of the show.

Relevant, compelling, engaging events with live webcasts of expert speakers will be added throughout the year to motivate participation on particular days around particular themes.

Bolstered by advance print and online media and advertising, Green Building Expo will enjoy a social media strategy using Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and others that will actively promote the event beforehand and during the event as well as provide follow up activities.

Attendees and exhibitors can easily interact through text, audio and video capabilities. The functionality allows both one-on-one and group conversations, thus allowing for meaningful discussions.

Product manuals, demos, brochures, posters, videos and other informational material can be conveniently downloaded by visitors to be saved permanently.

In the auditorium exhibitors can deliver stunning webinars which can be hosted live or made available on-demand to visitors even after the event is over. They can now enjoy greater control in delivering their webinars and drive higher levels of visitor engagement using social media integration.

Studies show that over 40% of traffic on virtual events of any kind come through a mobile device. That figure is only growing, making the mobile experience absolutely critical for success for events hosted online. Thus, Green Building Expo offers a mobile-friendly version for the event, packing it with interaction tools to ensure mobile visitors remain equally engaged and productive.

The mobile experience comes with a comprehensive chat application, allowing mobile visitors to interact seamlessly with exhibitors. This affords visitors even more flexibility as they can keep communicating even when they are on the move. Furthermore, the chat experience is intuitive and familiar, allowing visitors to focus on the conversation, rather than figuring out how it all works.

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Exhibitors will have access to the following information:

• Number of visitors to their booth;

• Number of clicks on their brochures, products, videos, and posters;

• Contact details listed on each visitors;

• Downloaded content;

• Site traffic, unique and total visits;

• Number of visitors contacted in chat.

For more information about the event go to www.green-building-expo.com or contact Giulio Marinescu, Executive Managing Director at 416-250-0664 or by e-mail giulio@green-building-expo.com.

Architecture, Green Energy, Ideas, Sustainability, Technology

Doing it right

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No stone unturned with an EcoVicar ENERGY STAR® home

Taking a page from its corporate mantra, the company’s EcoVicar ENERGY STAR® homes are constructed with the same attention to detail.

“The key to a successful home is based on a solid foundation, built with quality material and by experienced craftsmanship. We built our company the same way we build your house.”

Those criteria are evident, in spades, with the meticulous detail found in the EcoVicar homes. Not only are health and safety paramount, but the myriad of options and features ensures fresh air distribution throughout.

With an EcoVicar home, making a house airtight keeps the living space free of outdoor dust, pollen and noise. And each home is equipped with an intelligent ventilation system that doesn’t just flush out odours, but brings in new fresh outside air and distributes it throughout the home.

And standards are maintained with the ENERGY STAR® stamp of approval. The federal government-backed labelling program has a reputation for producing significantly better buildings and ensures consistent quality with inspections and tests.  

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EcoVicar welcomes inspectors. Unlike a ‘code-built’ house, EcoVicar solicits third-party trained and certified auditors to test air tightness air barrier systems and inspect key mechanical systems to make sure they meet the upgraded specifications set by the ENERGY STAR® program. And the key plank in any ENERGY STAR® home is setting a stringent limit on indiscriminate air leakage. This saves money, while ensuring an abundance of fresh air. (Air leakage in a home leads to discomfort, dryness, excessive noise, dust and pollens from outside.)

There are five key, balanced features, namely:

* A complete thermal enclosure system for comfort, durability and reduced maintenance;

* Fresh air, with an airtight thermal envelope;

* Efficient lighting and appliances, which mean reduced operating costs;

* Integrated inside and outside water systems;

* And an integrated heating, ventilation and cooling system with optimal design and installation.

Comprehensive air sealing, properly installed insulation and high-performance windows combine to deliver better comfort, better durability, reduced maintenance costs and lower monthly bills. During construction, partners must meet all the requirements of the EPA’s comprehensive thermal enclosure system inspection.
Because the designed intent of an EcoVicar home is to save money and produce a more durable building by ensuring an airtight thermal envelope, it’s paramount to exchange the stale air produced indoors by a typical family. Most new homes in Ontario use ‘exhaust’ only strategies to pull in outside air through a leaky house, but that approach can cause issues that are easily avoided by installing ‘balanced’ ventilation and heat-recovery ventilator.

A little-known fact is that the lighting and appliances in homes come with two price tags – the purchase price and operating costs. EcoVicar homes offer higher quality appliances that require less maintenance, are quieter, and provide lower monthly utility bills, all the while creating a perfect style most homeowners are looking for.

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Managing water both inside and outside homes has never been more important. EcoVicar homes provide features that conserve water volume, but also lower the cost of producing warm water for a growing family. Additionally, the homes come with built-in features that ensure rainwater is managed with a passive system and backed-up power systems.

The ENERGY STAR® program insists on ensuring the mechanical system is sized precisely for the house and that the mechanical components selected for the house communicate well and co-operate for maximum efficiency. The process doesn’t stop at the planning stage but carries on through to field inspections to ensure that the planned specifications are followed and specified models are installed. During construction, ENERGY STAR builder partners must meet all of the requirements of EPA’s comprehensive heating and cooling system.

As a result, you get a home with a complete heating, ventilation and cooling system – a better approach to building a better home.

Web / vicarhomes.com

Building Envelope, Green Energy, HVAC, Ideas, Sustainability, Technology, Trends

The Edelweiss House

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The Edelweiss House in Wakefield, Quebec, becomes Canada’s first LEED v4 certified building and the second LEED v4 Platinum certified home in the world

Ecohome’s Edelweiss House project, a passively heated, cold climate demonstration home located in Wakefield, Quebec, has become the first project in Canada to earn LEED v4 certification. Edelweiss is not only the first project in Canada to be certified under LEED v4, but it has also earned the highest level possible – Platinum – making it only the second LEED v4 home in the world to reach LEED’s most rigorous level.

The hyper-efficient cold climate house boasts an average price tag and an extremely low operational budget. Located 40 minutes from Ottawa in the Gatineau Hills, this 1,552 sq. ft. home was less than $250,000 to build and its energy bills are estimated to be less than $1.40/day. In comparison, a standard new home of comparable size consumes roughly 10 times more energy.

The Edelweiss House was designed and built by Emmanuel Cosgrove and Mike Reynolds, co-founders of Ecohome. “We don’t really build anymore as our mission is education,” they say. “We undertook this project to show builders and homeowners that it isn’t that hard or expensive to build better performing homes, and that your true monthly overhead can actually be lower, right from the moment you move in.”

The home will now be used for full-day workshops, as well as for short-term rentals that allow building professionals or future homeowners to experience the comfort of a passive solar home first hand.

With a slab-on-grade foundation and a living green roof, the house heats by harnessing warmth from the sun, the occupants and their various appliances. Built with non-toxic building materials and FSC certified wood, the home also features finishing materials such as locally-sourced slate, reclaimed sunken river wood, sandblasted antique doors, and a quartz countertop made of recycled porcelain plates, bottles and mirrors. Edelweiss House is also extremely water-efficient, with a projected water savings of 60 per cent over an equivalent new home.

This ultra-low energy home has earned high praise from the CaGBC for its innovation and leadership. “The Edelweiss House is a phenomenal achievement – the first Canadian project to meet the stringent requirements of the latest version of LEED at its highest level,” said Thomas Mueller, President and CEO of the CaGBC. “I commend Ecohome for being a leader in the Canadian home building community and for demonstrating to the industry that high sustainability standards can be achieved right here in Canada, right now.”

Canada currently has nine additional projects registered for LEED v4 certification in Canada, with this certification marking the first of its kind for any project type. More information on the house, including a step-by-step video series following its construction can be found online at ecohome.net. For more information on additional LEED v4 registered project in Canada, visitCaGBC’s LEED v4 Leaderboard webpage.

 

Additional information about the home:

Passive Solar Index (PSI): The Edelweiss House will act as a vehicle to launch Ecohome’s Passive Solar Index, a simple program designed to affix an energy efficiency value to homes. PSI recognizes homes that perform at a level below 50 kWh/m²/year, where most newly built homes in Canada consume over 150 kWh/m²/year of energy for heating.

Building Envelope, Green Energy, HVAC, Ideas, Style, Sustainability, Technology, Top Stories, Trends

Sergio Galli

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Rock star in both music and designing/building homes

You may have heard of Sergio Galli from his notoriety as the founding member and guitarist of the multi-platinum-selling rock group Platinum Blonde – especially if you grew up in the ‘80s.

But Galli has another passion – designing and building custom homes for Canada’s elite. In 1989, Sergio began his architecture career designing homes, but he soon began to design and build special gems after getting steady requests from his clients.

Sergio continues to build impressive, custom luxury homes with the latest appointments. Wine cellars, private theatres, indoor swimming pools, elevators and tennis courts are just some of the standard client requests he incorporates into his designs.

In addition, Sergio has recently begun offering his design flair and expertise for renovation projects.

“I’m having a lot of fun with this,” says Galli. “I especially enjoy doing facelifts – for houses that is. Every house has the potential to look amazing with a little effort. Then there’s curb appeal, which is very important and often overlooked.”

When Galli’s not at his desk designing, or in the field overseeing a build, he’s busy making music and is currently in the midst of writing and recording a new studio album of original songs.

Galli’s newest project, Platinum Series Estates, launches in the spring of 2016 and will consist of 28 estates, each on two-acre lots, built around the prestigious Lakeridge Links Golf Club located just north of Whitby, Ontario. The custom homes will range in price from $1.8-million to $3.2-million.

This approach is somewhat of a departure for Galli, who typically has private clients who want a custom home designed and built specifically for a lot they already own.

But Galli insists that there will be very little difference in the way he has been operating. “I will still be working directly with each individual purchaser to design a home specifically for them.”

Galli’s duties don’t end at designing and producing architectural plans.
“I know that the interior of a home is every bit as important as the exterior,” he says. “I find that I spend as much time on the interior. There are so many choices and decisions, but in the end there must be a flow, a continuity, if you will.”

In addition to aesthetics, Galli is also an advocate of green building practices. With the Platinum Estates Series, for example, the use of materials with low embodied energy will help protect the environment. Galli will also be using the best double-glazed while increasing the number of windows with southern exposure – resulting in substantial energy savings.
Walls, he says, will be nearly air tight and highly insulated, meeting the rigorous standard of energy-efficient construction. Passive ventilation will cool the houses. Windows on the end gables will open, as will the skylights, creating a strong cross-breeze that moves along the length of each house and pushes warm air up and outward.

The most advanced technologies – such as LED Lighting, home security and motion sensor room applications – will be used in building this community. The roof, wall and floor insulation will meet the highest standard of green friendly products. Also provided will be luxury energy-efficient appliances, plus water-conserving low-flow faucets, toilets and showerheads.

Energy Star-rated HVAC systems will be included and will be properly installed to make sure they perform to their full potential.

To top this off, Galli will be utilizing Bionest System Wastewater Treatment Solutions™ (BCM), which offers a robust, simple and economical treatment solution for high organic load wastewaters. The system’s functioning principle is based on aerated basins, an already proven existing technology. The high aeration level in the BCM rapidly reduces the wastewaters’ organic load (soluble BOD), virtually allowing all wastewater to return to a drinkable state.

During the winter months, a geothermal heat pump will extract heat from deep underground to power each home’s HVAC system. Conversely, in the summer, heat will be extracted from the air and moved back into the earth through a loop system.

The one takeaway each client gets is Sergio Galli – a rock star in the world of music, as well as in the world of designing and building custom luxury and eco-friendly homes.

Web / sergiogalli.ca

Architecture, Building Envelope, Green Energy, HVAC, Ideas, Style, Sustainability, Technology, Top Stories, Trends

True to form

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Soon-to-be-completed Shanghai Tower maintains lofty sustainable goals

Much has been made about the sheer magnitude of the Shanghai Tower, touted as the tallest building in China, and second-tallest skyscraper in the world.

Due for completion in 2015, this spiraling megastructure will soar 2,074 feet (632 metres) into the skyline in Shanghai’s Lujiazui commercial district, right beside two other building behemoths: The Jin Mao Tower and Shanghai World Financial Center.

And within the 121 storeys, Shanghai Tower will house Class-A office space, entertainment venues, retail outlets, a conference centre, luxury hotel and cultural amenity spaces.


Not to be overshadowed, however, is the fact the tower will be targeting a China Green Building three-star rating and LEED gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. And that’s largely due to the fact that sustainability is at the core of the tower’s design.

Dan Winey, of the tower’s Gensler design team, says Shanghai Tower is one of the most advanced sustainable tall buildings in the world, showcasing a number of green technologies.

“One of the original goals for the Shanghai Tower was to design the most sustainable super high-rise building in the world,” writes Winey, a member of Gensler’s board of directors who helped launch the company’s offices in Shanghai. “Our design team’s goal was to design a truly sustainable community within the context of a high-rise building.”

To that end, the results have been noticeable. As the skyline’s most prominent icon, the tower’s transparent, spiral form is showcasing cutting-edge sustainable strategies and public spaces that set new standards for green community.

Sustainability is at the core of the design. The façade’s taper, texture and asymmetry work in partnership to reduce wind loads on the building by 24 per cent, offering a $58-million U.S. savings in overall building materials. The building’s transparent inner and outer skins admit maximum natural daylight, thereby reducing the need for electric light. The tower’s outer skin also insulates the building, reducing energy use for heating and cooling. The tower’s spiraling parapet collects rainwater, which is used for the tower’s heating and air conditioning systems.

Wind turbines located directly beneath the parapet generate on-site power for the upper floors of the building, with a 2,130kW natural gas-fired cogeneration system onsite providing electricity and heat energy to the lower floors. Fully one third of the site will be green space with landscaping that cools the site. Overall, Gensler says Shanghai Tower’s sustainable strategies will reduce the building’s carbon footprint by 34,000 metric tons per year.

Overall, the tower has nine cylindrical buildings stacked one on top of the other. The inner layer of the double-skin façade encloses the stacked buildings, while the exterior façade creates the building envelope, which rotates 120 degrees as it rises and provides the distinctive, curving appearance. The spaces between the two façade layers create nine atrium sky gardens. Much like plazas and civic squares in traditional cities, the public sky atria offer spaces for interaction and community gathering space with restaurants, cafés, coffee shops and convenience stores, as well as lush landscaping, throughout. With sky gardens lining its perimeter, the tower is literally enveloped in public spaces.

“With the topping out of Shanghai Tower, the Lujiazui trio will serve as a stunning representation of our past, our present and China’s boundless future,” said Jun Xia, Shanghai Tower design leader and Gensler principal. “This tower takes inspiration from Shanghai’s tradition of parks and neighborhoods, recasting that history in a high-density, urban form symbolizing the emergence of modern Shanghai and China.”

Architecture, Green Energy, Ideas, Style, Sustainability, Technology, Top Stories, Trends

Most Sustainable Office Tower Officially Opens

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24-storey TELUS Garden office tower first in Canada built to new LEED Platinum standards

TELUS Garden’s office tower in the heart of Downtown Vancouver is now officially open. Rich with innovative architectural, technological and environmental features, it is the first substantial office tower in Canada built to new Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum standards.

“Our new home that embellishes the heart of Vancouver’s skyline, TELUS Garden is an architectural icon that exemplifies our brand, reflects our values and symbolizes a deep appreciation of our team for their dedication to connecting people and communities across Canada,” said Darren Entwistle, TELUS President and CEO. “It is our sincere hope that this exceptional space provides inspiration for all who live, work and visit here. Indeed, TELUS Garden is Canada’s most beautiful and ambitious LEED Platinum building, and one of the most environmentally-friendly developments in North America.”

The unique development’s features include:

  • A district energy system that will reduce demand from conventional energy sources by 80 per cent and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than one million kilograms a year. The system recovers energy from the neighbouring telecommunications building that would normally be lost and uses it to heat and cool air and water throughout the development;
  • Vancouver’s largest solar panel array on the office tower’s rooftop, reducing reliance on conventional commercial electricity;
  • Rainwater capture systems to irrigate gardens throughout the development;
  • 10,000 square feet of outdoor meeting space and garden terraces on six levels planted with a community food garden that will be tended by TELUS team members, indigenous trees and thousands of plants species;
  • An iconic architectural canopy along Georgia Street that will provide coverage to the new public plaza that also features seating, music and a free Wi-Fi zone
  • Vancouver’s first cantilevered office spaces above city sidewalks, which enhance the office building’s design while maximizing the use of vertical space;
  • A media façade that will display community programing including visual arts created by local students and arts organizations;
  • A custom made Fazioli piano in the office building lobby for local musicians, beside an indoor koi fish pond;
  • Advanced building systems, which include a ventilation system providing fresh air to residents and workers, rather than the recycled air typical of towers;
  • High-efficiency motion sensor lighting to significantly reduce energy consumption;
  • Charging stations for electric vehicles and bike storage, with showers for team members;
  • 450,000 square feet of new office space and 65,000 square feet of new retail space, including TELUS’ flagship 2,300 square foot retail store.

“When we first imagined this project five years ago, our vision was to create a new headquarters for our team that would dramatically reduce TELUS’ environmental footprint,” said Andrea Goertz, TELUS Chief Sustainability Officer and Senior Vice-President. “It was also important to us that the development contribute to Vancouver’s social fabric by recreating this central block as a vibrant, fun place full of culture and energy. TELUS Garden has achieved all of that and more.”

TELUS Garden’s office tower was designed to support TELUS’ Work Styles program, which encourages team members to work when and where they are most effective. Fully 70 per cent of TELUS team members work at home full or part-time, coming into the office when it meets their requirements. Work Styles saves real estate costs while simultaneously reducing employee commuting expenses, environmental impact, and traffic. To support the program, the office design combines private meeting rooms, mobile work stations, open seating areas, shared work stations, kitchens, large outdoor terraces and green spaces to encourage collaboration, teamwork and innovation.

“As a leading technology company here in B.C., it’s fitting that the new TELUS Garden showcases new building and environmental techniques,” said Minister of Technology, Innovation and Citizens’ Services Amrik Virk. “This new building is a symbol of technology and ecology working together to create sustainable development.”

TELUS has long called British Columbia home. The development of the company’s new LEED Platinum TELUS Garden reinforces TELUS’ commitment to the City of Vancouver and supports the city’s goal of becoming the greenest city in the world.

For more information about TELUS, please visit telus.com.

Architecture, Building Envelope, Green Energy, HVAC, Ideas, Style, Sustainability, Technology, Trends

Not forgotten

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SPARK-designed Beijing complex pays homage to historical textile market

To the naked eye, the unique look of the Jing Mian Xin Cheng complex in Beijing, China, might not remind anyone of days gone by.

But on closer examination of the two office towers that sit atop a retail podium – and by detailed explanation from the principal at SPARK, which conceived the mixed-use design – it becomes obvious that efforts were made to pay homage to a textile market that once occupied the site.

The architect often uses the words ‘pleated’ and ‘woven’ to describe the towers’ textured façades. There are ‘pleats’ of perforated aluminium sheeting and a ‘weave’ of rippling windows that resolve a variety of practical issues while harkening back to earlier tenants.

“The pleating and weaving effects emerged from visualising the façades as pieces of three-dimensional fabric rather than paper-thin curtain walls,’ says SPARK Director Jan Felix Clostermann. “The façade engages with interior space by sculpting new habitable zones at the building’s edge.”

Clostermann says that the texture, which dissolves into a flat, glassy curtain wall with height, “baffles traffic noise from the ring road and offers a level of acoustic protection to the interior.

“The façade’s depth also creates new sites for natural ventilation and for an elaborate exterior lighting scheme that makes the textile-inspired texture stand out at night.”

The eye-catching mixed-use development adjacent to Beijing’s Fourth Ring Road was the winner of a ‘Best Office and Business Development’ accolade at the MIPIM Asia Awards 2013. The entire development consists of the two office towers and a retail podium immediately adjacent to the road, with a protected public plaza to their rear.

Given that the massing of the blocks was predicated and constrained by the sunlight requirements of a residential development to the north of the site, SPARK’s work focused on the detailed design of the façade and landscape.

Clostermann says the ‘thickened’ facades perform a number of functions beyond enclosure. First, besides muffling traffic noise, they provide a level of acoustic protection to the interior. The weave effect on the towers is thus concentrated at the lower levels, fading out with height. Secondly, in the case of the woven glazing, the façade engages with interior space by sculpting new habitable zones at the building’s edge.
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Simultaneously, the woven glazing establishes new opportunities for ventilation.

“The weave allowed us to add small side openings for natural ventilation,” Clostermann says. “In most of Beijing’s Grade A office developments, windows are very large, heavy, top-hung panels that are difficult to operate and prone to falling.

“Many building operators do not allow windows to be opened for this reason, yet air conditioning is usually switched off at 6 p.m. and remains off on weekends. This is a problem for those who need to work beyond regular office hours.”
Smaller, lighter, and much easier to use, Jin Mian Xin Cheng’s side windows are thus a practical and low-tech solution to a common problem. The extremities of the ‘weave’ serve an additional function as easily accessed light boxes for night-time illumination of the building.
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In a similar vein, SPARK’s landscape design for the plaza establishes a habitable topography of folds on the horizontal plane.

“The ground folds up to create seating, and to demarcate different zones in the plaza for different activities,” says Clostermann. “This continuation of the theme in the landscape design assures a pedestrian experience as impactful as the visual experience of the passing motorist. “
SPARK, international architects with offices in London, Singapore, Beijing, and Shanghai, hope their latest mixed-use design, located near Beijing’s Fourth Ring Road, will serve as a reminder that ‘depth of experience need not be forgotten despite the speed of the city’s expansion.’ SPARK’s award-winning studios create distinctive buildings for their clients and great places for people. Their designs emerge from a detailed analysis of context, brief, and typology, using innovation to drive social, environmental and economic value. SPARK delivered projects in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, India, and Australia. Each one has its own unique spark and manifests SPARK’s desire to tackle and deliver on challenges that reflect the key global imperative of attaining a sustainable, life-improving environment for all.

Web / sparkarchitects.com