The built environment has seen an acute increase of interest over the last decade targeted towards a building’s overall performance. Green building defines itself to be a design and construction strategy for improving efficiencies such as energy and lighting, water, and materials while also increasing employee productivity, employee health, and construction and debris recycling, all stemming from how it affects the economic and environmental factors. “Green” has, within the last decade, become synonymous with terminology and trends beyond its definition as just a color. It is widely referred as being cautiously aware of the human impacts on the environment, including, but not limited to, how we create new forms of energy, purpose product materials, and asses the waste amounted from all aspects of life. Buildings have great impact on our lives, improving our communities, health and well-being, as well as sustain and facilitate business and it is with this that society has paid close attention to the relationship green and the built environment have.
Culturally, over the past half century, our feelings towards an all-glass building tends to generally be of an awe-gawking one, impressed not only by the aesthetics, but by the ingenuity that comes with it. It was made technologically possible to construct a free standing structural frame that no longer required an exterior wall to serve as a major bearing support. Prime examples of highly glazed facades can be found in some of New York City's skyscrapers, such as One Bryant Park and the New York Times Tower.
Culturally, over the past half century, our feelings towards an all-glass building tends to generally be of an awe-gawking one, impressed not only by the aesthetics, but by the ingenuity that comes with it. It was made technologically possible to construct a free standing structural frame that no longer required an exterior wall to serve as a major bearing support. Prime examples of highly glazed facades can be found in some of New York City's skyscrapers, such as One Bryant Park and the New York Times Tower.
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Main entrance to One Bryant Park (Retrieved from http://www.e-architect.co.uk/images/jpgs/new_york/one_bryant_park_cookplusfox240908_cdbox_4.jpg)
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Among it being an often popular choice because of its aesthetics and optimum daylighting capabilities, there are many other components that make it a wondrous design feature. It allows for occupants to connect to the outdoors, allowing for the natural elements to become exposed and enveloped with the building. Glass is also a very durable product that has the ability to withstand the aging process far better than many other building skins do within the urban environment.
Such a long time fascination with transparent designs has certainly raised concerns, particularly with those that surround the issues of sustainable design and construction that are responding to increasing energy usage and consumption. Many partisans of high-performance green design argue that the idea of an all-glass facade might indeed be something of extraordinary construction with pleasing aesthetics, but with a price they are not willing to compromise for. Accordingly, it is in the best interest to wait for improved glass technologies that will make for better solutions when implementing an all transparent designed structure.
Still, the major issue at hand is energy. Generally speaking, these type of constructs tend to be ones that consume more energy in comparison to buildings with moderate levels of glass incorporated into them, as well, as an increase in solar heat gain and conversely, heat loss in colder weather. An energy-modeling exercise was conducted for Environmental Building News, that detailed five variables in response to the overall energy consumption of a 10-story, 10,000 sq. ft. per floor building. What resulted were the different impacts in reference to partnering appropriate glazing type windows and glazing percentage to proper building orientation and footprint according to its location. Other solutions that fostered from such exercise prompted the idea to use different types of glazing in accordance with the side of orientation. Many designers forfeit this method for the simple reason of not wanting to compromise aesthetics and possibly their time and efforts in researching the projected heating and cooling loads that might associate with this type of design component. Interior and exterior shading are an optimal and more cost-effective approach to solving solar heat gain and heat loss, with possible automated shades that are activated by sensors to provide maximum comfort.
Still, the major issue at hand is energy. Generally speaking, these type of constructs tend to be ones that consume more energy in comparison to buildings with moderate levels of glass incorporated into them, as well, as an increase in solar heat gain and conversely, heat loss in colder weather. An energy-modeling exercise was conducted for Environmental Building News, that detailed five variables in response to the overall energy consumption of a 10-story, 10,000 sq. ft. per floor building. What resulted were the different impacts in reference to partnering appropriate glazing type windows and glazing percentage to proper building orientation and footprint according to its location. Other solutions that fostered from such exercise prompted the idea to use different types of glazing in accordance with the side of orientation. Many designers forfeit this method for the simple reason of not wanting to compromise aesthetics and possibly their time and efforts in researching the projected heating and cooling loads that might associate with this type of design component. Interior and exterior shading are an optimal and more cost-effective approach to solving solar heat gain and heat loss, with possible automated shades that are activated by sensors to provide maximum comfort.
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| New York Times Tower has both fixed exterior shading and automated, motorized interior blinds triggered by daylight sensors to provide a maximum level of control. |
On the other side, architects, green designers, and energy experts alike, respond that although the concern for energy consumption is increasing globally at an alarming rate and is an issue that designers, contractors, and engineers should take seriously, many can argue that there have been measures taken to account for such an issue. According to Paul LeBarge, the green building strategy manager for Apogee Enterprises in Minneapolis, "if we incorporate features to distribute daylight deeply into a building and to block it when it is not wanted, highly-glazed facades offer a tremendous amenity in large buildings," thereby increasing energy efficiency and work productivity.
Building with such an elaborate, aesthetic material like glass can present its challenges and concerns when discussing the energy consumption that might arise, but I believe it is a design element that, in the present day, cannot be avoided or dismissed on terms like these. There are solutions and methods that prove to work in favor of an all glass facade with studies and exercises detailing the proper measures needed to be taken when considering such a design feature, like the building orientation and glazing percentage. I also concur on the fact that with the world turning to greener solutions in the design and construction fields, innovation and technologies are quick to follow with material companies engineering their products to become what designers and contractors alike will use because of such a response to sustainability.
Building with such an elaborate, aesthetic material like glass can present its challenges and concerns when discussing the energy consumption that might arise, but I believe it is a design element that, in the present day, cannot be avoided or dismissed on terms like these. There are solutions and methods that prove to work in favor of an all glass facade with studies and exercises detailing the proper measures needed to be taken when considering such a design feature, like the building orientation and glazing percentage. I also concur on the fact that with the world turning to greener solutions in the design and construction fields, innovation and technologies are quick to follow with material companies engineering their products to become what designers and contractors alike will use because of such a response to sustainability.
As you've mentioned in your post, the possibilities for green/sustainable design in larger scale building is rather exciting moving forward. Up until recently, all glass skyscrapers were done for aesthetics and at the detriment of energy efficiency. Case and point, Mies van der Rohe’s Seagrams Building which has an abysmal energy efficiency rating. With so much surface area exposed to heat loss/gain, it is easy to see why glass skyscrapers were not the greenest. However, new advancements in more efficient mechanical systems and the development of low-e glass has made it possible for these buildings to use energy resources in a much more efficient manner. The Bank of America Tower at One Bryant Park which is mentioned shows the green potential in skyscrapers, as it achieved LEED platinum certification while having an all glass facade at 55 stories tall.
ReplyDeleteGlass buildings provide a more aesthetically pleasing answer to sustainable design yet; the implementation of glass panels on a skyscraper of that magnitude is not the best solution to achieving an environmentally responsible structure. The health benefits and worker efficiency are sure to rise but it would be interesting to see if those benefits outweigh the additional cost of the glass and the total embodied energy for the whole envelope. I agree that glass is used more for its showmanship qualities since it may easily be tied in with ideas of transparency and energy coming into a building but it is not a material that should be used extensively.
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