Wise Green Glass Facade For Unilever's Northern Europe Headquarters

Unilever, the world’s second largest Fast Moving Consumer Goods Company after Procter & Gamble recently acquired for itself, a new headquarters for its Northern Europe faction. Located at HafenCity, Hamburg, on the banks of the Elbe River in Germany, the edifice is designed by Behnisch Architects and combines modern architecture with sustainability and energy-efficiency.

Dual Exterior: Inner Glass “Skin” & Outer Plastic “Cocoon”

Inner Glass Skin

Rather wisely, the building combines climate conservation and transparency through its exterior glass facade. This façade comprises solar control glass from Interpane, which allows optimum levels of daylight transmission. On the ground floor, the generous glazing in a pillar-beam design serves the same purpose. This brings down the operating costs for indoor artificial lighting.

Moreover, the façade also prevents the interiors from heating up excessively during summer, thereby reducing the need for air conditioning. Conversely, the insulation value of 1.1 W/m2K (as per EN 673) retains requisite warmth inside the building.

In some parts of the building, a cold sound-insulation facade, using laminated sheet glass provides protection from increased noise levels.

Outer Plastic Cocoon

The glass facade is protected from the rough sea air by a single-layer, fully transparent plastic cover called a “plastic cocoon”. This outer skin helps reduce heat gain and control wind effects. The space between the facades is ventilated and is able to supply draught-free fresh air through open windows.

Interiors

The interiors of the Unilever HQ are designed like a vertical village. Multiple levels connect with each other, lacing throughout the huge daylit atrium. The spa, stores, and café on the first floor are open to the public, extending the social context of the building to the city. The upper stories link private and public workspaces with large informal seating areas around the central atrium. The open floor plan uses an atrium to anchor satellite workspaces. The building is designed to provide space for 1,200 Unilever employees. The interior uses a cooling system controlled by a chilled concrete ceiling. The thermal mass effect facilitates effective cooling with significantly reduced energy requirement. The daylighting is controlled manually and with built-in glare-control measures. Acoustic control has been tailored to keep the atrium sound levels comfortable. A special hybrid ventilation system is implemented in the buildings.

LED

A system of SMD LED or surface mount LED lights was developed and installed to save nearly 70% of the energy of halogen lighting.

Awarded for Sustainability

This building received many prestigious awards like “The Golden Environment Award of the HafenCity Hamburg GmbH”, “The WAF (World Architecture Festival Award)”, and “The International Bex Award (Building Exchange Award). All these clearly exemplify the outstanding sustainability and modern architecture efforts of this Green corporate office.

Most innovative curtain-wall system - The Sixth System Paragon Architectural Products LLC

The Sixth System is a new glazing façade structural system from Paragon Architectural Products, Scottsdale, Ariz., that features a stainless steel supporting structure that is hidden within the silicone joint, according to Russ Hals, sales and marketing assistant, Paragon Architectural Products. By contrast, most glazing systems have clearly visible supporting structures in the form of aluminum mullions, transoms, steel trusses, columns, stainless steel cables, rods or glass fins on the interior or exterior of the glass façade.

“What’s so revolutionary about this system is that there are no internal or external supporting structures required, and it offers amazing views unobstructed from any supporting structure,” Hals says. The system also allows for additional interior floor space, and is cost competitive with a standard fin system. The installation sequence is fast and simplified, he says.

The Sixth System has been structurally engineered and fully tested, and can withstand the rigorous internal and external pressures, as well as all loading factors, according to a company release. The system features grade #316 stainless steel hardware available in numerous shapes, including round, square, rectangular, hexagonal and octagonal.

The system has not yet been used in any existing projects, but Hals says the company has a list of upcoming projects to be completed with the technology in the United States—New York City, San Francisco and St. Louis—and abroad—Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand.

Source : www.glassmagazine.com

Glass Workshop Building in Tokyo – Light as Air

A new workshop building in glass has come up in Japan for upcoming engineers and scientists; it has been designed by Tokyo-based architecture firm Junya Ishigami and Associates. This is a crystalline glass building that serves as a flexible studio and workplace for students at the Kanagawa Institute of Technology, Tokyo. Ishigami and his team aim to create an ideal environment for KAIT students to work on self-initiated projects and build things.

This single-story glass box workshop covers an area of 21,410 sq-ft. The glass studio has a large open floor plan topped with a roof and supported by columns of various sizes. A floor-to-ceiling glass facade and strips of skylight on the roof create a spectacular work environment for design projects.

The floor-to-ceiling glass makes the building appear weightless and elegant, and the open plan preserves the building’s sense of transparency as the viewer’s eye can shoot directly across the uninterrupted space. 305 slender steel columns of various sizes support the stripped roof of skylights and are scattered all over the building in a random fashion.

The white columns and the frameless glass façade almost make the building disappear. The façades are formed by 5m×1.5m glass panels that are just 10mm thick. They are stabilised by perpendicular fins, which offer complete transparency. The column arrangement and need for elimination of partition walls allow the studio to maintain its feeling of openness.

During the day time, glass skylights above the building offer unbeatable natural light. At night when the lights are lit, the glass building shines like a star on the ground. Ceiling fixtures and task lamps enable factory-like facilities to operate long after classes end for the day.

The one-room building contains 14 freely arranged, open spaces. These include a check-in area, denoted by an Ishigami-designed, donut-shaped counter, as well as specialized areas for pottery, woodworking, computer graphics, metal casting, and other media.

There are also four multipurpose work spaces, a small supply shop, and an office-like alcove for the facility supervisors. Ishigami eschewed organizational devices, such as structural grids, proscribed circulation paths, and even walls (the closest lavatories are next door). Instead, he used rectangular columns, furniture of brown wood or white steel, freestanding HVAC units, and potted plants to modulate the whole 16-foot-high space.

To blur the boundary between indoors and outdoors, Ishigami eliminated all openings on the glass walls except for doors and a few small floor vents that draw fresh air supplied by roof vents. Inside, the columns function as abstract trees and potted greenery—each plant carefully selected by the architect—serves a bona-fide design role, not just a decorative one.

Surging Glass Concert Hall

Elbe Philharmonic Hall, constructed in the HafenCity quarter of Hamburg, Germany, is set to be among the tallest buildings of Hamburg. This glazed structure is essentially a concert hall built atop an old warehouse by name Kaispeicher A and is designed by architects Herzog & de Meuron. The entire complex, along the warehouse docks on the Elbe River, will sprawl over an area of more than 700,000ft². The construction is scheduled to be completed by 2012.

This new wonder in glass will top 110 meters in height and have a 667,000-square-foot roof upon completion. The space will represent the cultural core of HafenCity by virtue of being ‘the’ concert hall for classical music concerts, sophisticated entertainment music and also a further highlight in the largest inner city urban development area in Europe.

The hall also offers a 250 room five-star hotel, a wellness and conference zone and 47 owner-occupied apartments. The apartments will enjoy a spectacular eastward view down the Elbe. The roof of the larger auditorium will be constructed to look similar to a series of large glassy waves floating above the distinctive Kaispeicher.

The Façade

The glass façade, consisting in part of curved panels, some of them cut open, stands out as a gigantic, sparkling crystal that catches the changing reflections of the sky, water, and city. In the hotel, the air vents become wave-like hatches, while the balconies of the apartments – horseshoe-shaped recesses in the glass – guarantee spectacular views, protection from the wind and lateral ventilation of the connecting rooms all at once.

The concert auditorium, which faces inwards, shimmers with its amber-coloured foyer through the glass wall. A grid of white dots is on the facade to provide protection from the sun. The density of the grid will be individually calculated, with the aid of a computer, so that each room has adequate protection depending on its function and position.

Apartments

The Elbe Philharmonic Hall will be more than just a concert hall – it will form an entire residential and cultural complex. In the west, the residential section will tower 110m above the Elbe. The 47 apartments will offer impressive views out over the city and the port, and have a separate entrance. Plans include a five-star hotel with conference facilities on the east side.

Plaza

Escalators will deliver visitors through the Kaispeicher A and into an open plaza 37m up. The plaza is a freely accessible zone positioned like a radiant joint between the warehouse and the new building. From there, visitors will be able to enjoy a magnificent view over the port, the River Elbe and the city. The interior of the Plaza will be dominated by the curved ceiling with its varying geometrical shape. It will afford spectacular views of the city and the harbour.

Auditorium

The large concert auditorium, with approx. 2,150 seats, will take pride of place in the Elbe Philharmonic Hall. It does not follow the orthogonal concept of a so-called shoebox stage. The orchestra and conductor are situated in the centre and the audience seating sections rise up in interlocking irregular terraces to form a steep-sided cauldron. Light is reflected from the bright surfaces. The reflector in the sharply pointed ceiling is a striking feature. It ensures outstanding acoustics and is also part of the lighting system.

Energy Efficient Glass Structure - European Investment Bank Headquarters

The winner of the first place in the Emilio Ambasz Prize for Green Architecture for International Buildings this year was European Investment Bank in Luxembourg. This truly iconic building was designed by Ingenhoven Architects.

This extensively glazed building is famed for its unique structural design, apart from several energy-efficient design elements. By virtue of these qualities, this office building achieved the coveted “Very Good” rating under the United Kingdom’s Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM). It is also the first building on continental Europe to have been assessed under this scheme.

The headquarters of the EIB boast of a 170 meter-long tubular glass and steel structure with a zigzagging non-hierarchical office layout. This 72,500 sq meter building has enough office space and facilities for 750 employees and includes indoor ‘warm’ atria, a cafeteria, restaurant, and a connection to nearby buildings.

The building is completely shielded by 13,000 sq meters of glass that allow the penetration of daylight easily from all angles. Operable windows allow occupants to directly control the room temperature and permit natural ventilation.

Glass Roof

The highlighted tubular glass roof, framed with light-weight steel, covers 170m by 50m of building area. Being glazed, the roof offers maximum daylight and transparency and is key to the building’s environment-friendly concept as it curves around the office floor plates. The tubular glass envelope allows for daylighting of the working bays. The transparency of the external envelope is reflected internally by an open office layout that promotes free interaction.

This glass roof curves around the floor plates to create atriums in the V-shaped “gaps” of the building wings. The landscaped winter gardens on the side of the valley are unheated and act as climate buffers; they reduce variations between the outside temperature and the desired temperature in the offices, thereby contributing to lowering heating requirements in winter and cooling requirements in summer.

In contrast, the atriums on the boulevard side serve as circulation spaces. The largest atrium houses the main entrance to the building, and so temperatures in these areas have to be kept at a comfortable level. Both winter gardens and “warm” atriums are naturally ventilated through open flaps in the shell to draw fresh air into the building and to reduce heat gain especially in the summer months.

Cold water pipes also run through the concrete floor slabs, creating chilled ceilings in order to cool the building in summer and to regulate the building temperature between seasons. In winter, thermal energy from solar heat gain is used to heat the building, thus reducing energy consumption.

Energy Conservation

Mechanical systems such as lighting, sun shading, heating, cooling and ventilation can be controlled individually. Wastage is avoided as much as possible, as individual settings are reset to the most efficient levels possible several times a day by the central control unit. Staff members can open their windows to the atriums and winter gardens or to the outside at almost all times.

All offices are equipped with a control panel that allows building users to individually regulate blinds for sun shading, lighting and temperature. Artificial office lighting is restricted to 300 Lux throughout the offices. However, staff can illuminate their individual work spaces with desk lamps to 500 Lux. This overall reduction in general lighting Lux levels significantly reduces the building’s energy consumption.

All surfaces - walls, floors and ceilings - are also designed to make optimum use of daylight, enhance luminosity and thus contribute to a pleasant working atmosphere.

Efficient Construction Materials

Construction materials were selected in accordance with the energy used for their manufacture, with materials with the least energy consumption given preference. The internal façade frames, for example, which cover a surface area of 17,600m2, are made of wood rather than aluminium because research found that the energy used in the manufacture of the wooden materials is only 2% of that which would have been expended in the manufacture of the equivalent aluminium profiles.

This environmental philosophy extended to the construction site, where the majority of materials were chosen for their small environmental impact. For example, all wood used has been certified by the FSC or the PEFC (programme for the endorsement of forest certification).

R128 – Green in Glass

That all architectural structures are covered by solid opaque walls on all four sides to maintain privacy and security is a given. So, a home with walls of glass that offer a clear view of the inside is bound to create more than just a ripple, and 128 Werner Sobek does just that. This rather novel concept in residential architecture seems to have broken through all conventions and set a new - if not higher - standard in innovative construction.

R128 Werner Sobek is four-storey house, floating high on a hill overlooking the city of Stuttgart, Germany. Inside this curious creation, there are no doors, switches, interior walls or partitions and no closed rooms. But what takes the cake is that the home generates its own energy. The construction material used to create R128 is one hundred percent eco-friendly and recyclable.

R128 has a most attractive glass façade and is devoid of a basement. High quality triple-glazed glass with inert gas filling is in use. The use of a modular design, complete with glass panels and steel frames ensured easy assembly and disassembly of the construction. The insulated glass panels prevent overheating of the interior during summer and loss of energy and warmth during winter. The supporting steel frame comprises of 10 tons of steel.

The ceiling of the Werner Sobek glass house consists of prefabricated panels overlaid by plastic. Beneath the unscrewed floor, aluminium ceiling panels are affixed by clip connections. Lighting, heating and cooling systems are fitted into that layer and this acts as an acoustic absorber pattern.

Sensor controlled doors have been installed on the upper and lower levels of the house. All appliances and environmental systems are also controlled by motion sensors and voice commands. The front door has a voice recognition feature which allows it to open automatically on a voice command. Water faucets in the bathrooms are regulated by sensors. Windows are controlled by touch screen technology.

Every floor has two folding windows each, which allow natural daylight and fresh air to enter the house. During summer, cool water running through the floor elements removes excess heat from the entire house with the help of a heat exchanger. Thus surplus energy is stored for use in winter. This ensures minimal energy consumption. 48 solar powered modules with a total capacity of 6.2 KW are installed on the rooftop, which are responsible for supplying all the power required by the pump system.

This green show-house is expected to go a long way in promoting energy-efficient architecture.

Ryugyong Hotel with a Sound Facelift

Ryugyong hotel in North Korea, once known as the worst building in the history of mankind, now made a history by stamping itself as the prettiest glass building with glistening glass façade. The construction of this building started in 1987 and then it got stopped in 1992 due to the government’s financial difficulties. Again the construction work got started in April 2008, nearly 16 years later. This building is shortly known as “105 hotel” and “The 105”.

This hotel covers an area of about 3, 900,000 sq.ft. This 105-story hotel rose to a height of 330 meters and its height simply dominates the Pyongyang skyline. Moreover this building is expected to be the world’s tallest hotel, after its completion in 2012. This building contains three wings rising at 75 degree angles and it is supposed to have five revolving restaurant and an observation deck.

The façade of this hotel is constructed with very shiny and amazing reflective glasses and glass windows on one side of the concrete giant. Mirrored glass has to be fixed at the other side of the muddish-grey concrete structure. The old 3000-room hotel is made up of concrete formed and molded by cement masons. This new Ryugyong hotel resembles a blossoming flower and the concrete shell is covered by a blue sheet of glass.

Ryugyong hotel is going to incorporate glass paneling and telecommunication antennas. The openings of the building are used for the vegetable garden and orchards. Two water basins at the central wing are used to collect rain water and the collected water is used for the irrigation facilities of the vertical garden. The rest of the ground and the unused part of the basement will be occupied by green slopes and wooden zones. This hotel also incorporates sanitary installations and kitchens, plugged into the central shafts.

This building is also intended to contain a hospital, a bowling alley and seven revolving restaurant/night clubs. This hotel also included an elevator shafts. Amazingly there are many safety equipments hanging from the bottom to top of the building including harnesses, ladders and safety nets. It is estimated that the revamping plan will cost nearly $2 billions. Hopefully, this revamping plan will result in great success and will make the Ryugyong hotel a notable icon.