Hi All,
I have been looking for examples of energy efficient air conditioning in notable works of architecture. Searching hasn't helped much. If at all you have any clues please let me know. Thanks a lot.
'energy efficient air conditioning ' is a contradiction in terms...
the closest thing i can think of towards efficient cooling would be zumthor's kunsthaus bregenz, which runs chilled water through the concrete structure to pull heat out of the building.
your most efficient bet is superinsulating and proper shading on exterior of thermal envelope, negating the need for cooling.
I remember seeing some diagram in Praxis about Morphosis' San Fran Fed. Buidling, or maybe it was Caltran in LA, and they used like thermal mass heating and cooling using concrete basement zig zaggy things. I'm sure other people know the technical terms for all of this and probably know what the heck i'm talking about, but that seemed like a better system than a huge roof top air tumbler system...
The Federal Building in San Francisco has several problems with climate control, and the employees I'v spoken to that work there are quite frustrated. Morphosis = not the right people to learn from (in this case)
It could be issues with being user controlled versus automated. When I visited Berlin this summer, I got a tour of the GSW Headquarters by Sauerbruch Hutton that was conducted by one of the architects that worked on the building (we later did a tour of the firm as well). Long story short, as he was talking about all of the sustainable climate control features of the building, we were sweating like pigs (it was one of the hottest days of the summer in Berlin) and it was due to the fact that the users don't operate the building to the ideas of the sustainable system (they keep the building unshaded too late in the morning so by then the concrete radiates heat the rest of the day), so that is a case where automation is better than user control.
I think it ultimately comes down to the right mix of automation and user operability. I'm sure that may be the same issue in the Federal Building as well.
In the case of the Federal building, the light supposedly heats one long facade and people on the other side are still cold. That's just what I've heard.
I'm not sure how much user intervention automation systems allow... If someone goes and closes a window the system thinks should be open, does it compensate by opening other windows more and making others feel uncomfortable as a result, or does it just ignore user intervention?
Aug 14, 10 3:01 pm ·
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"Airconditioned" Buildings.
Hi All,
I have been looking for examples of energy efficient air conditioning in notable works of architecture. Searching hasn't helped much. If at all you have any clues please let me know. Thanks a lot.
'energy efficient air conditioning ' is a contradiction in terms...
the closest thing i can think of towards efficient cooling would be zumthor's kunsthaus bregenz, which runs chilled water through the concrete structure to pull heat out of the building.
your most efficient bet is superinsulating and proper shading on exterior of thermal envelope, negating the need for cooling.
I remember seeing some diagram in Praxis about Morphosis' San Fran Fed. Buidling, or maybe it was Caltran in LA, and they used like thermal mass heating and cooling using concrete basement zig zaggy things. I'm sure other people know the technical terms for all of this and probably know what the heck i'm talking about, but that seemed like a better system than a huge roof top air tumbler system...
The Federal Building in San Francisco has several problems with climate control, and the employees I'v spoken to that work there are quite frustrated. Morphosis = not the right people to learn from (in this case)
It could be issues with being user controlled versus automated. When I visited Berlin this summer, I got a tour of the GSW Headquarters by Sauerbruch Hutton that was conducted by one of the architects that worked on the building (we later did a tour of the firm as well). Long story short, as he was talking about all of the sustainable climate control features of the building, we were sweating like pigs (it was one of the hottest days of the summer in Berlin) and it was due to the fact that the users don't operate the building to the ideas of the sustainable system (they keep the building unshaded too late in the morning so by then the concrete radiates heat the rest of the day), so that is a case where automation is better than user control.
I think it ultimately comes down to the right mix of automation and user operability. I'm sure that may be the same issue in the Federal Building as well.
True.
In the case of the Federal building, the light supposedly heats one long facade and people on the other side are still cold. That's just what I've heard.
I'm not sure how much user intervention automation systems allow... If someone goes and closes a window the system thinks should be open, does it compensate by opening other windows more and making others feel uncomfortable as a result, or does it just ignore user intervention?
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