ADVANCED FAÇADE SYSTEMS: 300-level
SESSION 7
DATE // START TIME // ROOM NUMBER:
Wednesday, September 29, 2010 – 2:00pm – Altman B
ABSTRACT:
This panel will explore two award winning entries submitted in response to the Center for Architecture’s recent competition “Open Call: Innovative Curtain Wall Design,” which utilized recent advances in kinetic building envelopes to produce responsive and adaptive buildings.
MODERATOR:
Rick Bell, Executive Director, AIA New York
SPEAKERS:
Anna Dyson, Director, Center for Architecture Science and Ecology (CASE)
Alberto De Gobbi, President and CEO, Permasteelisa North America.
Chuck Hoberman, Principal, Adaptive Building Initiative
Nicholas Holt, Director, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP
Denzil Gallagher, Principal, Buro Happold
Christopher Sharples, Principal, SHoP Architects PC
DESCRIPTION:
Both the HelioTrace and HeliOptix façade proposals showcase the experience and sensibility of the design collaborators as well as the technology and environmental performance of the combined kinetic envelope systems.
SOM invited cladding construction leaders Permasteelisa Group and the Adaptive Building Initiative (a co-venture between Buro Happold and Hoberman Associates) to partner in pioneering an advanced kinetic curtain wall system called “HelioTrace.”
HeliOptix is a joint venture that was developed to commercialize a solar façade system that has emerged from one of the research areas currently being pursued by The Center for Architecture Science and Ecology (CASE). This integrated concentrating façade system combines photovoltaic electricity generation, daylight harvesting, and collection of high grade heat which can be used for solar powered absorption cooling.
HelioTrace
Nicholas Holt, Director at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM) will introduce the firm’s history in building enclosure design in several diverse climate regions worldwide. The design team challenged themselves to design a universally applicable system. Mr. Holt will address challenges of building enclosure design, including balancing the desire for transparency with opacity required for energy efficiency.
Recognizing the importance of inter-disciplinary collaboration and the creative solutions arising from them, SOM invited Permasteelisa to partner in this competition. Permsteelisa’s first response to the design challenge was the need for a kinetic system, and introduced the Adaptive Building Initiative to the Team. The award-winning “Helio-Trace” is the result of this collaboration. The presentation will conclude with a description of the system’s design, including environmental analysis provided by SOM’s Sustainable Enginneering Studio, yet another example of inter-disciplinary collaboration and teaming.
The Adaptive Building Initiative (ABI), founded in 2008, is a joint venture between Hoberman Associates and Buro Happold to develop enabling technologies that allow buildings to optimize their configuration in real time by responding to environmental changes. Chuck Hoberman will discuss the ability to implement adaptive systems, stemming from a series of technological advances over the last 10 years, including reductions in cost and size, coupled with increased efficiency of motorized systems and microprocessor technology allowing a greater distribution of embedded network intelligence. Mr. Hoberman will present how the work of the Adaptive Buildings Initiative was adapted by SOM and Permasteelisa to become an award winning kinetic curtain wall.
Permasteelisa’s aim is to constantly innovate and improve architectural cladding systems to ensure top quality performance through constant research and development of new systems, technologies and innovative materials. Alberto DeGobbi will discuss the performance criteria for exterior enclosures and the analysis, testing and validation involved in the design and fabrication of curtain wall systems, and the real world challenges of manufacturing, budget, safety and installation are integral to Permasteelisa’s overall design of systems. He will present the structural system integration developed for the HelioTrace project and the opportunities and challenges associated with the design, fabrication and maintenance of kinetic facade systems. He will conclude with a new state-of-the-art testing facility under development at Permateelisa’s Connecticut fabrication plant.
HeliOptix
The second half of the session will explore another kinetic façade system which allows natural daylight and views while also lowering building operating loads and generating renewable energy.
Anna Dyson will introduce the HeliOptix system and compare this to other solar electric and water heating technologies currently available. She will describe ongoing testing and instrumented data gathered from the demonstration installation at the Syracuse Center for Excellence.
The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) design by SHoP is one of the testbed sites for this technology. Chris Sharples will address façade and building integration and the added benefits of this system in the atrium application. He will also discuss the licensing process and development activities currently being undertaken by HeliOptix, a joint venture established to bring this next generation technology to market.
Denzil Gallagher will present how solar concentrating façade technologies can be used to provide solar powered absorption cooling and heating. He will show system configurations combining solar concentrating facades integrated with building perimeter heating and cooling systems. Energy modeling analysis of these systems will be used to discuss the benefit and challenges of these systems. Mr. Gallagher will conclude by discussing future trends in façade design and integration with energy management systems.
