Green Skinned “G Towers” in Malaysia

G Tower is the latest in green buildings, incorporating features like massive green walls and refreshing rooftop gardens, located at the crossroads of two major thoroughfares in downtown Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This sustainable building received the Green Mark Gold Award from the Building and Construction Authority of Singapore. It has also taken up the position of being Malaysia’s first carbon positive building.

The building rings in a new concept by combining offices, a private club and a boutique hotel, all under one roof. The boutique hotel, named G City Club Hotel offers 180 executive rooms, conference rooms, function/board rooms and an infinity pool. The orientation of the building with the sun is very appropriate, and several water-efficient features have been incorporated.

Green Features

1. This tower uses 25 percent less energy as compared to other buildings of similar size and location, thanks to efficient air-conditioning and lighting systems.
   
2. Double glazed glass panels with vacuum in between have been used, which helps cut heat transmission.
   
3. The extensive landscaping with sky gardens, ponds and green walls help cool the overall environment and improve air quality.
   
4. The swimming pool is kept clean through the use of eco-friendly cleansing salt rather than chemicals.
   
5. A sophisticated rain water harvesting system irrigates the plants and vertical greens found throughout the building. Condensed water from the cooling tower is collected for re-use.
6. Hot water is generated using waste heat from the air-conditioning system.
   
7. The carpets and external timber decking use green certified recyclable materials.
8. The interior décor includes refurbished furniture.
   
9. Toxic free building materials, paints and wallpapers are used for their low volatile organic content (VOC).
   
10. Motion-sensitive lighting helps bring down power costs.

G tower saves nearly 7.3 million Kwh of electricity per year, at a ten-hour day, 6 day-week and 52-week year activity period. This is equivalent to a reduction of 3.5 million kgs carbon dioxide emission into the environment, which is same as saving 18000 trees per year.

Willis Tower Skyscraper and the Glass Ledge

Willis Tower, formerly christened ‘Sears Tower’ is a centre of business and the tallest skyscraper in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Chicago’s skyline owned Willis Tower as the world’s tallest building until the inauguration of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, U74AE. Currently it is on the second place among the world’s tallest buildings, is the tallest skyscraper in the western hemisphere and the tallest building in the United States.

Willis Tower has 108-storeys and stands at 1,450 feet (443 meters) - 1,730 feet (520 meters), which include the heights of twin antenna towers. The Tower offers 3.8 million square feet of space inside for retail and business purposes; and it cost more than $150 million to create this building.

Salient Features:

• The structure is formed from 9 bundled square tubes, each 75 feet wide with no columns between the core and perimeter. Two of the tubes are 50 floors high, two are 66 floors, three are 90, and two are 108.
• The construction with separate tubes provides lateral strengths to withstand the strong Chicago wind loads, as each tube only needs to take a part of the pressure.
• Facades consist of 28-acres of black anodized aluminium panels and approximately 16,100 bronze-tinted windows.
• Six roof-mounted robotic window washing machines are used to clean all 16,100 windows.
• The tower has a pressure lock at the freight entrance to combat the 'stack effect' generated by the differential in air pressure caused by cold air meeting warm air in the building.
• Includes world's fastest observatory elevators at 1600 feet per minute.
• Solar panels on the 90th floor roof of this tower are used to heat water for restrooms.
• Smart lighting systems installed here will automatically dim when enough sunlight is available inside.
• Includes 25,000 miles (40,223 kilometres) of electrical cable and approximately 43,000 miles (69,200 kilometres) of telephone cables.

Skydeck

The most attractive feature of the Willis Tower is the observation deck, or the “Skydeck”, which is 1,353 feet (412 meters) high above the ground. The Skydeck occupies the 103rd floor, the highest non-mechanical floor in the building. It has its own entrance on Jackson Boulevard, and attracts approximately 1.5 million visitors per year.

Skydeck offers the best views of Chicago and it is possible to see four states - Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin, as the range of view is 40 - 50 miles (65 - 80 kilometres) from here.

Another attraction at the Skydeck is 'the Ledge', a glass balcony extending 4.3 ft from where one can look straight down. The glass balcony is 10ft high and 10ft wide, and can hold five tons of weight with its 1.5 inches-thick glass. The transparent walls, floor and ceiling leave visitors with a feeling of floating in air.

Each glass box is comprised of three layers of glass laminated into one seamless unit. The low-iron, clear glass is fully tempered and heat-soaked for durability. In addition, the motorized system that projects and retracts the boxes from the building utilizes steel Linear Beams.

This Skydeck is cold, almost icy to the touch and gives a rather eerie feeling when looked at!

Energy Efficient Meyer Hospital with Green Roofing

A quarter established for medical treatment of illnesses, a hospital setting calls for an environment of comfort, health and warmth. And Meyer Hospital, a paediatric hospital in Florence, Italy is furnishing its patients with all of this and much more. Recently, this hospital upgraded a wing to a “green” and “sustainable” one, the intent being to provide an environment conducive to recovery whilst consuming minimum energy and natural resources.

Meyer Hospital houses 3 wings. The east wing hosts the university and research unit; the west wing, the outpatient facilities; and a central block houses the administrative department. The main entrance of the hospital leads to a glazed passageway to a ‘healing garden’, which further leads to the spacious upper atrium. The upper atrium features a play area for children that open towards a green roof.

The upper glass of the atrium is embedded with solar electric panels to generate energy and offset glare. The glass roof is installed with 47 solar tubes, which permits natural light to enter the building. These tubes lend an appearance of several ‘Pinocchio Hats’ lining the roof of the building. The green roof acts as an insulation cover, lowering the temperature inside the hospital greatly.

The building’s walls are covered with 6 cm of thermally insulating materials. This is expected to reduce 12% of the energy used annually for heating. Wooden-frame windows are incorporated in the building. Patient rooms are protected from direct sunlight by an overhanging sunshade. To reduce the visual impact of the building in the park, the shading system is covered externally with copper-plates and internally with wood.

Two high-efficiency condensing gas boilers and radiant floor panels have been installed for supply space heating. Radiant floors help reach a thermal comfort level at a low cost. Two electrical chillers have been installed for cooling purposes. A third chiller is also installed, which generates heat for domestic hot water.

Greenhouse

A bio-climatic entrance hall called the ‘Serra’ (greenhouse) which has been built surrounding the hospital building acts as the public face of the hospital. This curved triple-height space, attached to the central wing of the villa, is an innovative and sustainable atrium. This greenhouse is shaded by internal white blinds adjustable through an automatic control system. A 31 kWp of glass/glass Photovoltaic system installed at the greenhouse provides the opportunity of combining energy production with other functions of the building envelope such as shading, weather shielding and heat production.