The Pearl River Tower: A Net Zero Energy Skyscraper by SOM, Study Guides, Projects, Research of Design

Download The Pearl River Tower: A Net Zero Energy Skyscraper by SOM and more Study Guides, Projects, Research Design in PDF only on Docsity! The Pearl River Tower Page 1 / 5 I-1 Geographical location Guangzhou, (known as Canton), is the largest city of Guangdong province, located on the Pearl River, southern People’s Republic of China. The city has a population of 12.7 million. Because of the intense economic and industrial activity, they breathe one of the most polluted air on the planet. Situated near the Tropic of Cancer, Guangzhou has a humid subtropical climate, with hot and wet summers and mild winters. Prevailing winds come from South- southeast. I-2 Project owner China National Tobacco Corporation, (C.N.T.C.) is the largest manufacturer of tobacco products in the world. It boasts a monopoly in the People's Republic of China, which accounts for roughly 30% of the world’s total consumption of cigarettes. C.N.T.C. produces a lot of brands of cigarettes, over 900. Among them, Hongtashan (Red Pagoda Hill) is very popular. C.N.T.C. launched the project of a new headquarters building for one of its branches: Guangdong Tobacco Company, (G.T.C.) in Guangzhou. Taking into account the Chinese government’s goal of reducing carbon emission, the tobacco corporation requested a high energy efficient structure, that could produce as much energy as it consumes. I-3 Architect company Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP, (SOM) is a prestigious American architectural and engineering firm. Louis Skidmore and Nathaniel Owings formed it in Chicago in 1936. John O. Merrill joined them in 1939. They became leaders in skyscrapers design. They have worked on several of the tallest buildings in the world, including the John Hancock Centre, in Chicago, 1969, (second tallest in the world when built), and Burj Khalifa, in Dubai, 2010, (the current world's tallest building). Besides architecture and civil engineering, SOM provides services in sustainable design. Hongtashan cigarettes 3 7 12 17 12 23 12 27 12 31 12 Tropic of Cancer The Pearl River Tower Page 2 / 5 II-1 The Net zero energy concept SOM’s engineers defined the “Net zero energy” concept as the ability of a new structure of not requiring an increase in the community’s need of energy. That means that Guangzhou city should consume the same quantity of energy after the completion of the Pearl river tower, as before its construction. The energetic and environmental specifications for the design of the building were laid out according to 4 strategies: Reduction: The whole energy consumed by the builing has to be reduced, ( high performace glazing, automated blinds, …). This chapter won’t be developped in this text. Reclamation: The energy introduced inside the builiding has to be harvested and re-used, by means of a sophisticated air circulation inside the building. This chapter won’t be developped in this text. Production: The building is equiped with an internal micro power station, that is able to produce a “cleaner” energy more efficiently than traditionnal remote power stations, (usually fueled with coal in China). This part won’t be developped in this text. Absorbtion: The building has to take advantage of the natural and passive energy sources available in its direct environment: * Sun  Photovoltaics cells are incorporated in the building envelope, (south façade only), and on external sunshades. * Wind  Vertical axis wind turbines are located in 4 wind tunnels. This text decribes the way the Pearl river tower makes the best use of the wind for energy production. II-2 The wind and the building Wind has a large impact on the design of tall structures. Buildings are obstacles on its path, therefore it generates mechanical constraints on them, proportionnal to its velocity and the exposed surface area. That is the reason why rectangular based skyscrappers are usually oriented so that the narrowest façade faces the prevailing winds. The Pearl river tower does not respect that rule. It’s a rectangular based skyscraper with an unusual curved front façade, and 4 openings, that go right through the structure, called wind tunnels. Their entrance, the wind portals, are designed with aerodynamic shapes. They are situated at two mechanical floors, approximatelly on the first and second third of the tower’s high. 12 12 12 The Pearl river tower in progress 35 12 41 44 47 12 51 12 53 12 55 59 12 66 12 Wind portal at mechanical floor