Unit 4 Sustainable Architecture

1 Introduction

1.1 Read the text title and hypothesize what the text is about. Write down your hypothesis.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

1.2 What do you know concerning this issue? List your ideas in the table left column “I know”.

I know that…	I have learnt that…

1.3 If you know answers to these questions write them down in the space given after each question.

	What is the aim of sustainable architecture?
	Why has the interest in sustainable architecture grown so radically?
	What benefits does the installation of green roofs and living walls lead to?
	What architectural style is Aqua Tower designed in?
	Why was the name 'Aqua' assigned to the building?
	Where is the Pearl River Tower situated?
	What are the Pearl River Tower’s main sustainable features?

1.4 Circle in the list the words and expressions you know. Write down their translation in the table and calculate the percentage of your lexical competence.

	to contribute to			to beat out
	growing concerns			to rank
	energy usage			wave-like
	plumbing systems			sinuous shape
	to save energy			solar shading
	living walls			curving balconies
	to improve quality			wind load
	profitable			to blend with

Sustainable architecture is architecture which is designed in an environmentally friendly way. In the broad context, sustainable architecture seeks to minimize the negative environmental impact of buildings by enhancing efficiency and moderation in the use of materials, energy, and development space. The goal of sustainable or “green” architecture is to create structures which are beautiful and functional, but which also contribute to a sustainable lifestyle and culture.

Interest in sustainable architecture grew radically in the early 21st century in response to growing concerns about the environment, but in fact people have been building sustainably for thousands of years, because sustainable projects are often practical in nature. A truly sustainable building will have a design which addresses a number of issues, including heating and cooling, water usage, environmental quality, and energy usage. Architects can deal with environmental aspects of building construction in a variety of ways, all of which are designed to increase efficiency without being cumbersome or detracting from the function of the building.

Much of sustainable architecture focuses on building intelligently. For example, a building may be oriented towards the south in the Northern Hemisphere so that the building will be warmed through the day by the sun, and a building may be insulated with extra care to minimize heat loss. Plumbing systems may be designed to utilize less water while still functioning normally, and the building might include smart lighting which turns off when people are not around to save energy.

Installing green roofs or living walls is another example of sustainable architecture. These projects increase heating and cooling efficiency, help scrub the air, and look aesthetically interesting, making them beneficial from many points of view. Many architects build sustainably to show people that it is possible, and to illustrate the fact that being environmentally friendly does not have to make a building ugly. In fact, many of the measures which increase efficiency can make a building more interesting and beautiful to look at, and they can also improve quality of life for users of the building. A courtyard with plants, for example, can be a good sustainability move, and it also creates a pleasant outdoor space for people to use.

Anything from a private home to a towering office building can be constructed with sustainable ideals in mind. Sustainable architecture principles can also be applied to the retrofitting and remodeling of existing structures, because conversion is more environmentally friendly than demolition and rebuilding in most cases. Many governments provide incentives for people who address sustainability issues in construction projects, which have contributed to the rise of sustainable architecture around the world.

Sky Farm. This 714 foot structure in downtown Toronto, Canada is a superb example of how living walls and vertical gardens can actually be profitable as well as beautiful. The 58 story building only requires 1.32 hectares of land and yet will have 8 million square foot of agricultural space due to the vertical design of farm. It is said that the crops could yield up to $23 million in revenue per annum.

Aqua Tower. Architect Jeanne Gang's stunning new Aqua high rise in Chicago has won the 2009 Skyscraper of the Year Award, an honor presented annually for the past decade by building-website Emporis to skyscrapers at least (or 328 feet) tall. Aqua Tower beat out 304 other contenders. Reaching 819.34 feet into the sky, Aqua may only rank 40th in the tally of tallest building in the United States, but the project is groundbreaking in other ways. Not only is it Gang's first skyscraper project, but the structure is also the third-tallest building in the world designed by a woman, as well as the largest project ever awarded to an architecture firm headed by a woman.

Aqua Tower is an 86-story mixed-use residential skyscraper in downtown Chicago designed in the Postmodernist architectural style. Aqua is also the first downtown building to combine condos, apartments and a hotel. A daring piece of architecture, Aqua looks more as a massive sculpture than as a residential block in the crowded heart of the city.

The name 'Aqua' was assigned to the building because it fits the nautical theme of the other buildings in the Lakeshore East development: the Tides, The Shoreham, The Regatta, etc.... Besides, the name is derived from the wave-like forms of the balconies; the tower's proximity to nearby Lake Michigan also influenced the name.

At its heart it is the standard glass box we've seen before. But protruding from its surface are waltzing concrete balconies resembling ripples or waves. This is an appropriate solution considering the building's location near both Lake Michigan and the Chicago River. Behind its weaving balconies, this 82-storey residential and hotel tower is a largely conventional building. Conventional in plan, that is, but unexpected in terms of form, and laced through with amenities and luxuries

The design was inspired by the striated limestone outcroppings common in the Great Lakes area (see photo to the right). But this sinuous shape is not just a mere formal gesture, but it is also a strategy to extend the views and maximize solar shading.

Jeanne Gang stretched its balconies outward by as much as 12 feet (3.7 meters). The result is a building composed of irregularly shaped concrete floor slabs which lend the facade an undulating, sculptural quality. Gang cites the striated limestone outcroppings that are a common topographic feature of the Great Lakes region as inspiration for these slabs.

Much like each wave in the lake, each floor plate in Aqua is unique, thus construction is unusually complicated. The sinuously curved concrete decks on each floor assume different configurations where balconies extend anywhere from 2 to 12 feet. Although the architects used computer modeling to create the rippling contours, the fact that each floor slab is unique in shape meant calculations had to be done separately for each floor.

Sustainability was an important factor in Aqua's design. Gang and her team have designed the outdoor terraces to maximize solar shading, and to make the best use of natural light and ventilation. Various types of high-performance glazing on the exterior also help cut solar load while taking advantage of the views. Other sustainable features include rainwater collection systems and energy-efficient lighting.

The green roof on top of the tower base is the largest in Chicago. An 80,000-square-foot planted garden on the tower’s three-story podium provides a park that diminishes the heat-island effect.

The project has already won an award from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) for bird-friendly design, because birds will be able to see its curving balconies and therefore will be less likely to fly into the tower.

The Pearl River Tower. It is situated in Guangzhou, in southern China. It is intended for office use and is partially occupied by the China National Tobacco Corporation. The tower's architecture and engineering were performed by Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill with Gordon Gill (now at his own firm) as a chief architect.

The Pearl River Tower is designed to be one of the most environmentally friendly buildings in the world. Among its features are turbines that turn wind into energy for the HVAC system, solar collector for more power generation, a rainwater collection system, part of which is heated by the sun to provide hot water. The building is cooled, in part, through heat sinks and vertical vents. The turbines do more than generate electricity, though. The openings through which the wind flows help reduce the overall wind load on the skyscraper. More than that, its designers want to direct and manage the region's often fierce winds so they become "invisible braces" that stiffen the tower.

Visually, the building is quite nice. It is a rounded slab divided into three roughly equal sections, with visible cross bracing on the narrow ends. A pleasing light blue glass blends well with the sky.

Дата добавления: 2015-10-26