Innovations in Chemicals for Building and Construction (Technical Insights)

Chemical Technologies that help in Achieving Sustainability in Building and Construction

This research service analyzes the innovations in chemicals for building and construction by covering five different segmentation; concrete admixtures, adhesives, water proofing chemicals and membranes, repair and rehabilitation chemicals as well as flooring chemicals. This is a study covering the current state as well as the future potential of emerging technologies that help in achieving sustainability in building and construction industries.

Executive Summary—Research Scope

This research service, "Innovations in Chemicals for Building and Construction" brings out the strategic and technology developments in the construction chemicals space on a global scale. This research service captures the global developments for chemicals used in the construction industry as building and construction have gained prominence throughout the world with increasing importance for infrastructure development.

The construction chemicals domain is highly cost-competitive and the current influence of several environmental or green regulations has created an opportunity for the manufacturers to develop multifunctional materials at lower lifecycle cost by efficient utilization of waste recycle and waste reduction techniques.

In brief, this research service provides:

• Snapshot of the construction chemical technologies

• Key drivers and challenges that influence use of chemicals in building and construction.

• Highlights of some key innovations in the field of construction chemicals and the level of technology adoption

• Emerging opportunities for construction chemicals

• Technology deployment and application roadmap

• Roadmap for construction chemical technologies

• Technology Management Strategies

• Key Patents in construction chemical industry

Research Methodology

Primary Research

• Engineers

• CTOs/ CEOs/ CIOs

• Technical Architects

• Research Heads

• Strategic Decision Makers

• Technology Policy Heads

Secondary Research

• Technology Journals

• Periodicals

• Market Research research services

• Technology policy information sites

• Internal databases

• Thought Leader Briefings

Executive Summary- Priorities for Construction Industry

Energy Efficiency

Improving energy efficiency of buildings

Sustainability

Weather resistance, longevity, and low maintenance

Increasing Wellness

Improving indoor and outdoor air quality

The future trends in construction industry is the creation of buildings, which consume less energy to build and operate. This can be achieved in several ways such as by effectively utilizing technology developments, considering process designs, and by studying human behavior patterns and adhering to regulatory frameworks. Examples of technology utilization are installation of thermal insulation materials. Sustainability priorities can be divided into two categories: economic sustainability and environmental sustainability. Economic sustainability is defined as increasing profitability by making more efficient use of resources including chemicals or materials and utilities and labor whereas environmental sustainability can be described as utilization of natural resources for protecting the environment from the impact of emissions, effluent, and waste. New and innovative solutions that meet the demands that are associated with the global challenges are being increasingly considered by stakeholders. Increasing health and wellness is one of the main priorities because it promotes better working conditions for contractors and developers along with providing ambient living conditions.

CEO's Perspective

1. The building and construction market has witnessed the consolidation of several small- and medium-sized participants into larger entities from the last five years, leading to more competition in terms of expertise as opposed to price.

2. Construction chemical companies need to focus on designing and providing sustainable solutions for their product as well as aggressively approach niche markets in each segment through product development or technology innovation and obtain a premium price for their brand.

3. Construction chemical suppliers will have to strengthen their relationships with contractors and architects, and they will have to work together to identify cost-effective options within their portfolio rather than pushing their products unidirectionally into the market.

4. Research and development (R&D) initiatives are significant to the growth of the construction chemicals market. Enormous efforts of R&D activities are needed to differentiate in terms of product offering.

Technology Snapshot

Construction chemicals is one of the niche segments in specialty chemical segments of chemical industry. These chemicals are specialty products that are used in building structures to increase its life, and also to impart additional protection from environmental hazards. Construction chemicals are considered to be the backbone of any type of construction work and are essential for high quality structures . They are usually utilized as additive substances in pre- as well as post-construction stages.

Role of Construction Chemicals

• Minimizing or optimizing utilization of raw materials that are needed to produce sustainable and strong infrastructure

• Promote performance of raw materials that are used in building and construction.

Construction chemicals play a very important role in reducing the total raw material consumption for construction material manufacturers, thus, acting as cost-effective problem solvers espeacilally in the case of ahdesives and rerlated products.

Construction chemicals provide manufacturers a way to differentiate their product. The tailored performance improves the overall market quality., giving consumers a performance-based choice.

Technology Snapshot—Value Chain

Feedstock Source and Creation

Feedstock Providers

• Petroleum Plants

• Chemicals and resin manufacturers

Raw Material Developers

Construction Chemicals Developers

• Developers of materials such as

- Epoxy, Vinyl

- Acrylic

- Silicon

- Bitumen

Product Fabricators

Product Manufacturers

• Concrete admixtures

• Adhesives

• Water proofing chemicals and membranes

• Repair and rehabilitation chemicals

• Flooring chemicals

End Users

Contractors/Project Developers

• Residential

• Non-residential

• Roads

• Bridges

Technology Value Chain Analysis

• All feedstock suppliers such as BASF, Shell, Dow Chemical, Huntsman, and ExxonMobil provide continuous supply and evaluation of feedstock. Feedstock manufacturers will ensure that the quality of incoming raw materials are according to specifications, supplier statements, and certificates.

• Construction chemicals and material suppliers such as Sika, Evonik, BASF, Lafarge, Akzo Nobel, Arkema, and WR Grace provide a wide range of innovative offers in specialty construction chemicals and materials that includes: concrete admixtures and fibers, products for architectural concrete, liquid pigments for colored concrete, cement processing additives, concrete masonry products, and structural waterproofing systems.

• Product developers like Dow Chemical, Akzo Nobel, BASF, DuPont, and Saint Gobain provide the complete process of bringing new products to market whereas product fabricators or manufacturers provide a spectrum of construction chemicals or improved products by incorporating several chemicals: additives, pigments or composite materials for specific application.

• Contractors and project developers serves end users from across industry verticals to use construction chemicals ubiquitously.

Table of Contents

Executive Summary 3 

Technology Overview 7 

Impact Assessment and Analysis 12 

Diffusion of Innovation and Needs Assessment 20 

Opportunity Evaluation and Landscaping 23 

Key Patents 35 

Key Contacts 42 

The Frost and Sullivan Story 45

Source : [...]

Image [...]

Read More

"Can Technology Save the World?" by David Olson

Can technology save the world? 

In short: No, not by itself. A sweeping set of changes in the way we interact with the planet is needed to stabilize our rapidly deteriorating biosphere and avert a bleak future. Technology is simply a tool to help us achieve these changes. A dangerous argument, however, is when decision-makers and influencers say our impact on the planet is not a concern, and changes in our behavior are not needed in the near future, or ever, because technology will save us. Sounds ridiculous, but various forms of this argument are commonly invoked in government and international forums, particularly when profits and votes come into play.

planetary boundries

Environmental denialists and conservative think tanks parrot several pollyannic arguments that humans are too clever to fail. And they argue what we need is more unregulated economies to foster technological advances. The media oftentimes reinforces this same attitude by headlining how that ‘this’ or ‘that’ new advance will help save the world without placing its potential contribution in the proper context. The danger in this is that real conversations and substantive actions to improve the situation, now, when it is most needed, fall to the wayside.

World-Saving Technologies

So, what kind of technological advances can really help save the world? In short, they are technologies that will enable humans to back away from the “planetary boundaries” essential to a habitable Earth. Johan Rockström and others propose nine planetary boundaries needed to maintain favorable, livable conditions on our planet: global freshwater use; land system change (ex. loss of natural habitat and agricultural lands); climate change (increasing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and its subsequent warming); ocean acidification; stratospheric ozone that protects us from intense radiation; the biogeochemical nitrogen (N) cycle and phosphorus (P) cycle; the rate at which biological diversity is lost; chemical pollution; and atmospheric aerosol loading. A measure of terrestrial primary (plant) production (TPP) has also been recommended by Steven Running as an important planetary boundary.

For a technological advance to really help us, it must be able to diminish the impact of our destructive behaviors, reduce harmful waste products, or enhance economic and social conditions at global scales in a way that planetary conditions and processes can be pushed towards a more favorable, sustainable state. In other words, while a new technology may be very clever and useful for a portion of society, if it does not efficiently reach enough people at a reasonable cost, and does not drive significant, positive changes in our planet’s vital signs, then its contribution is wholly limited.

Energy Needs & Climate Change
So what are examples of technologies that can help save the planet? If scientists figure out how to utilize energy from controlled fusion reactions, then world-changing shifts in our current energy use (fossil fuels, hydropower, nuclear, biofuels) and a reduction in harmful by-products will occur. Fusion drives our sun, but safely replicating that process on Earth to create a sustainable energy source has eluded us so far. Improved solar, wind, and tidal energy technologies will help, but they will have to replace a significant percentage of fossil fuel to really slow global warming and acidifying oceans. However, technologies do not have to be complex or expensive to make a real difference. The GravityLight, an electricity source generated by the slow fall of a lifted weight, can bring power to billions around the world and, consequently, reduce the need for fuel wood, coal plants, and hydroelectric dams, resulting in less deforestation, greenhouse gas emissions, and fewer aerosols in the atmosphere.

Agriculture
Technological advances in agriculture that might greatly increase productivity on less land and with less need for poisons (ex. herbicides, pesticides, fungicides) can increase food security, reduce the need for conversion of natural lands, and improve the quality of life for humans. Fewer pesticides will also help pollination systems rebound and natural ecosystems be more resilient. Agricultural advances have the potential to benefit many farmers on the frontiers of biodiversity loss if employed correctly. Moreover, we are increasingly seeing the genetic modification of crops and cultivars, which has many controversial benefits and drawbacks. Cell phones, money transfer apps, micro-financing services, and accessible weather forecasting are other technology-based tools that are helping millions of farmers and marketers in developing countries; the more efficient and fair their farming is, the less natural habitat will be lost. We will also see greater food security and social stability as a result.

Environmental Justice & Well-Being
The emergence of rapid, real-time global communication and networking at all levels of society will make innovative technologies more accessible and should act as a vigilant watchdog on those who commit crimes against the Earth in the future. Technologies that help ensure that most people are well-fed, healthy, and enjoying democracy and justice will all contribute to a more stable social and political environment  Simple technological advances, such as needleless vaccinations and innovative designs for outhouses, may help bring a major reduction in disease in many parts of the world, making for a better quality of life and enhanced stability.

Saving Biodiversity
New tools for those trying to stem the hemorrhaging of biodiversity offer an important contribution. Unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) are currently counting elephants, rhinos, whales, and orangutans, mapping forest loss and fire damage, and tracking poachers, whalers, and loggers around the world. GPS, remote camera technologies, portable solar panels, bar-coding to control the wildlife and tropical timber trade, inexpensive ultralight aircraft, and comprehensive online databases of invasive species have all helped customs agents, protected area managers, and conservationists maximize limited resources and manpower.

Waste Management
Technology that can better reduce the most harmful waste products―like greenhouse gases, chlorofluorocarbons that destroy stratospheric ozone, radioactive waste, and toxins and other harmful compounds like endocrine-disruptors―are certainly useful if significant volumes can be cleaned up to markedly improve conditions for the entire biosphere, in general. For example, nanoparticles are being tested for their ability to absorb pharmaceutical compounds in drinking water and carbon dioxide at power plants— a trick gleaned from sea urchins that use nickel to turn a seawater’s carbon dioxide into shell. Recent proposals to build enormous arrays to trap waste plastic in ocean gyres have also garnered much attention and represent a concept advocating action at an appropriate global scale.

Source:


David J. Olson has 25+ years of global development management and communications experience on five continents and in four languages. After serving as a Peace Corps volunteer teaching agriculture in Togo, he founded a grass-roots network in Mali and managed health social marketing programs in Paraguay, Bangladesh and Zambia for PSI, founding non-profits in Zambia and Paraguay that have become leading NGOs. The five programs he started or helped start accounted for 17.3% of PSI's health impact worldwide in 2012. At PSI in Washington, David managed external relations, pioneered advocacy with the U.S. government, developed the external relations capacity of African, Asian and Russian affiliates and managed relations with major U.S. and European media. He served as director of Policy Communications at the Global Health Council from 2009-2011. He now runs his own global development communications firm, Olson Global Communications.
source:

Read More

Royal Academy - "Values in Architecture - Design, Ethics and Innovation" by Ian Ritchie Architects, London

Audio Stream of an Article Presented by Arch. Ian Ritchie, London at Royal Academy

Read More

Mapungubwe Interpretation Centre, South Africa

Location: Limpopo, South Africa (South Africa)

Architect: Peter Rich Architects, Johannesburg, South Africa

Client: South African National Parks.

Set in a spectacular but remote veld landscape, Peter Rich Architects’ Mapungubwe Interpretation Centre exemplifies contemporary African architecture. Photography by Obie Oberholzer 

The confluence of the Shashe and mighty Limpopo rivers mark the area where the borders of South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe meet. Here, vast tracks of veld with rifts of beautiful native trees such the fever tree and the remarkable baobab alternate with valleys, flat-topped hills, jagged horizontal ledges and groups of rounded stony hillocks. 

This is the landscape of the Mapungubwe National Park, classified as a World Heritage Site because of the important archaeological discoveries made here. Graves containing artefacts from the 9th to 12th centuries indicate that the site was occupied by traders with Egypt, Persia, India, Malaysia and China. 

In 2005 South African National Parks held a competition for the design of an Interpretation Centre on a plot set away from the main archaeological site. Johannesburg-based Peter Rich won. Rich has a boundless passion for architecture in general and for indigenous African architecture in particular - its cultural significance, and how buildings interrelate and integrate with their environment (AR March 1995). His design was also declared the Building of the Year at last year’s World Architecture Festival (AR December 2009). 

The project not only provides unusual and imaginative exhibition spaces for disseminating the intricate history of successive civilisations who have occupied this area from the 9th century until the present, but it also raises awareness of the vulnerability of the local ecology and the importance of its preservation. All this comes underpinned by a strong social dimension. Unemployed local people were taught and inspired to use the surrounding earth and rocks to make building materials and employ these in construction.

The Largest Vaulted Space

Visible from its entrance gate, the Mapungubwe Centre is approached through a valley from where the outcrop of new buildings merges naturally into the southern slope of a rocky plateau. From here, there is a view to a hill about 1km away, where the original archaeological site was discovered and excavated. The clever analysis of the site and the way it is structured to accommodate the programme becomes more apparent as you move from the entrance in the valley to the plateau 14m above. 

From here, the whole complex is revealed and linked visually to the archaeological site on the hill beyond. As you experience the sequence of changing directions, the orientation and variety of structures, from lightly covered walkways to vaulted spaces, all punctuated by open courtyards landscaped with rocks, plants and pools, you can only marvel at the ingenious organisation of a complex and historically potent site. 

A series of equilateral triangles structures the landscape and the way the buildings address it. 

The triangles are designed around an axis linking the centre’s entrance and the archaeological excavations. This axis traverses the site, running parallel with the hilltop ridge and rivulet below. It is not obviously articulated, but nonetheless provides a subconscious appreciation of the ordered way in which the buildings are grouped and the informal flow of outside spaces and planned landscape elements between them. 

Rich was aware of the significance of the triangle in local Venda culture; a common arrangement is three dwellings placed in an equilateral triangle and linked with low walls. He had also seen isolated triangles carved into stones at the nearby archaeological site.

Site Plan

Arriving at the parking area (tactfully obscured by a hillside spur), you move past an outdoor introductory exhibition to cross the open veld to a group of shade-providing trees with views of the south elevation. A sloping bridge brings you to the reception cairn, which is punctured by an oculus so the sun’s light bathes the interior. A free-standing vault generously spans the space between the ablution and restaurant facilities. 

From the reception area a darkened passage curves around the cairn to an inclined, elevated walkway with a slatted timber floor and mesh screen balustrade. Shaded by tall trees on either side, you reach a heavy, stone-clad sloping buttress marking the threshold to the crypt-like exhibition areas. In these spaces vaulted tiled soffits exhibit the faces of people who have been part of the historic continuum of Mapungubwe. 

Peter Rich carries his sketchbook with him wherever he goes, so it is no surprise that he has cultivated an acute awareness of the light and shade, shapes and patterns of the world around him. With its alternating veld, valleys, stony ledges and rounded stony hills, Mapungubwe is a fascinating landscape. 

The introduction of synergic buildings into this terrain prompted Rich to consider the use of timbrel vaults - ancient structures originating in the Mediterranean region 600 years ago and still in use today by the Catalans. Shaped by natural structural forces, large vaulted spans can be achieved with minimal roof thickness. Local materials were used to make the brick vaults and because of the simplicity of the construction, unskilled labour could be employed. This had the advantage of being both economical and providing work for local people.

Exhibition Hall

In collaboration with two structural engineers (John Ochsendorf of MIT and Michael Ramage of Cambridge) Rich devised a timbrel vaulting system consisting of three vault types. 

He describes these as ‘a rectangular or square vault taking the natural distribution of horizontal compression forces via the hyperbolic parabola through buttresses to the ground’, ‘a circular timbrel dome’ and ‘a shallow pitched vault spanning between horizontal structural supports’. 

The vaults resemble a system of caves, which is culturally significant. Caves were regarded here not only as places of refuge and shelter but were also used ritually, in rainmaking ceremonies. Large areas cut out of the vaults admit a soft, almost sacred half-light to the exhibition areas inside. These openings are protected from glare by polycarbonate sheeting and eucalyptus stalks, and from baboons with iron grilles based on the pattern of kanniedood plants growing in the courtyards below. 

External terraces are shaded by horizontal slats to create areas reminiscent of the traditional African gathering space, or kgotla. The shaded areas and covered walkways bind together the landscaped spaces between the buildings which are planted with the indigenous species of the surrounding veld, so nature seems to flow through the structures. 

Passing through the sequence of different spaces, vaguely aware of the triangular ordering system as you ascend through the building, you finally arrive at the generous vaulted exhibition area at the building’s summit. Curving in two directions, the lofty, undulating vaults bear lightly on the side walls. Coloured light falls through the glass panels on the south wall and the famous Golden Rhino, one of Mapungubwe’s most precious treasures, shines in its own impressive display cabinet.

Exterior and Interior of the Center

A sense of serenity prevails, unifying artefacts, architecture and nature. Peter Rich’s orchestration of space and light resonantly connects the building with site and history, evoking wonder at the memory of so many civilisations that walked the earth before we did.

dome shaped roof is made from tiles that have been constructed with local soil

View of the Site

Site Plan

Cross Section View

Drawing of the theatre

Cross Section View

Architect: Peter Rich Architects, Johannesburg, South Africa

Structural and civil engineer: Henry Fagan & Partners

Structural engineers (timbrel vault design): John Ochsendorf, Michael Ramage 

Construction supervision: Peter Rich, Heinrich Kammeyer, Franz Prinsloo

Social programming: Lineo Lerotholi

Empowerment and poverty relief programme: Anne Fitchett 

Cost consultant: DH Construction Techniques

Contractor: Ousna Bouers

Site size: Total combined floor area: 1’130 m2 - Total site area: 2’750 m2

Read More

What does Climate Change Have to Do With Health Care? ~ Gary Cohen

In the last six months, we have witnessed Superstorm Sandy flooding New York City, New Jersey and surrounding areas, a massive Midwest drought impacting 40% of the US corn crop, and unprecedented air pollution from burning fossil fuels that forced Chinese authorities to tell Beijing residents to stay in their homes.  When we think about climate change, we are no longer thinking about polar bears stranded on melting ice caps. Climate chaos has come home and its impacts are being felt all around the world.

What health scientists are telling us is that climate change will bring increased asthma, more virulent allergens, medical emergencies from heat stress, the spread of water- and vector-borne diseases and increased severe weather events. The Lancet, Britain’s premier health journal, calls climate change “the biggest global health threat of the 21st century.”

Given these dire warnings, one would expect that the healthcare sector would be prepared for the coming public health storm. Nothing could be further from the truth. When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, the hospitals were completely flooded along with everyone else. But because they all had their electrical equipment as well as their back-up generators in the basement, , they lost all power. And because none of the windows in the hospital were operable, hospital staff had to break all the windows in the hospitals’ upper floors to get air into the facility.

Five years later during Hurricane Sandy, a similar story occurred. Both Bellevue Hospital and New York Langone Medical Center had to be evacuated because all their electrical systems were in the basement. At NYU Langone, millions of dollars of medical research specimens were destroyed because of lack of consistent refrigeration. It took Bellevue more than ten weeks to clean up the mess and reopen its doors to patients.

We are learning the hard way that the healthcare sector’s understanding and ability to respond to climate change is still in a primitive stage of development.

What, then, should the role of healthcare be in dealing with climate change?

First, hospitals need to focus on preparedness and resilience in their design and operations so they can be critical players in responding to extreme weather events, rather than being one of the victims. Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston is one example of a hospital that has taken the reality of climate change to heart. The hospital, which is scheduled to open in April 2013, employs on-site power generation, operable windows to provide natural ventilation and has put all the mechanical/electrical equipment on the roof of the facility. These innovations are part of the overall business strategy of Partners Healthcare (Spaulding’s owner) which has added climate change to its top “business risks” category.

The second critical role for health care should be to model the transition to a post-fossil fuel economy. In the U.S., health care represents 18% of the entire GDP, and is likely to increase to more than 20% when health care reform is in full swing. In other industrialized countries, health care represents 10% of the economy.  Given its enormous economic clout and its healing mission, health care is well positioned to “model” the transition away from our addiction to fossil fuels, which not only contributes to global climate change but also has local pollution and public health impacts. Reliance on coal, for example, contributes dramatically to increased asthma and respiratory diseases while fracking for natural gas contaminates local groundwater and vents toxic chemicals into the community air. Health care has a mission-related imperative to lower its own extensive carbon footprint and lead the effort to a secure and sustainable energy economy.

Reducing hospital dependence on fossil fuel energy through conservation efforts improves resilience – the less energy that hospitals require, the longer they can operate during and after extreme weather events. An alternative source of power independent from the electrical grid also helps in weather emergencies; while all hospitals have diesel generators, much of this infrastructure has proven to be vulnerable and inadequate for prolonged grid outages.

During Sandy, hospitals that had on-site power generation continued to provide critical care to their patients, and offered safe haven for those hospital patients that were evacuated from flooded areas. Known as co-generation (or Combined Heat and Power), this technology not only dramatically improves the hospital’s energy efficiency and saves money, but it also turns out to be a critical climate resiliency strategy. Kiowa County Hospital, destroyed by a massive category 5 tornado in 2007 that damaged 95 percent of the town of Greensburg, Kansas, has been reconstructed with a 100 percent renewable wind energy system.  According to FEMA, renewable energy infrastructure has performed well in extreme weather events, demonstrating that sustainable design and increased resilience go hand in hand.

The third central role of the health care sector is in education and advocacy around climate change policy. Health care professionals, especially doctors and nurses, enjoy an unprecedented role as positive messengers for health in society. As we begin to calculate the enormous health care and social costs of climate change, health care professionals are in a position to educate their patients about the public health impacts of climate change and help prepare them for these impacts, and also become potent spokespersons for policies at all levels of government that would rein in climate change. As Margaret Chan, director general of the World Health Organization, has stated, “the health sector must add its voice – loud and clear – and fight to place health issues at the center of the climate agenda. We have compelling reasons for doing so. Climate change will affect, in profoundly adverse ways, some of the most fundamental determinants of health: food, air, and water.”

Climate change will bring us many more heat waves, hurricanes and droughts in the years to come.  We need to engage the health care sector in climate change mitigation so they can help communities be prepared to weather these crises and help lead us to a healthier and more sustainable future. Who else is going to play this role?

~ Gary Cohen

Gary Cohen is Co-Founder and President of Health Care Without Harm and Practice Greenhealth. He is a member of the International Advisory Board of the Sambhavna Clinic in Bhopal, India, established to help heal people affected by the Bhopal gas tragedy. He is on the board of the American Sustainable Business Council and Health Leads.

This article was published as part of a special series for World Health Day and in advance of the 2013 Skoll World Forum. 


Source: [...]

Read More

"Bullit Center" at Seattle - A Building Not Just Green, but Practically Self-Sustaining

"The Bullitt Center will be the greenest commercial building in the world, firmly planting Seattle at the forefront of the green building movement.Map locating the Cascadia Center.

This six-story, 50,000 square-foot building will be located at the intersection of Capitol Hill and the Central District in Seattle, Washington.

The goal of the Bullitt Center is to change the way buildings are designed, built and operated to improve long-term environmental performance and promote broader implementation of energy efficiency, renewable energy and other green building technologies in the Northwest.

The building is seeking to meet the ambitious goals of the Living Building Challenge, the world’s most strenuous benchmark for sustainability.

For example, a solar array will generate as much electricity as the building uses and rain will supply as much water, with all wastewater treated onsite.

By creating a place where every worker has access to fresh air and daylight, the Bullitt Center will create a healthy, human environment that is more pleasant and more productive than most commercial buildings."

Source [...]

When an office building here that bills itself as the world’s greenest officially opens later this month, it will present itself as a “living building zoo,” with docents leading tours and smartphone-wielding tourists able to scan bar codes to learn about the artfully exposed mechanical and electrical systems.

Tenants have already begun moving into the six-story Bullitt Center, in advance of its grand opening on Earth Day, April 22. With the final touches nearly complete on the 50,000-square-foot office building at 1501 East Madison Street, at the edge of the city’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, its occupants are about to embark upon an unparalleled — and very public — experiment in sustainability.

Once settled in, they will be guinea pigs in a $30 million living laboratory distinguished by its composting toilets, strict energy and water budgets and a conspicuous lack of on-site parking. To earn its environmental bragging rights, the Bullitt Center must complete a rigorous one-year certification process called the Living Building Challenge, which requires both water and energy self-sufficiency, among a list of 20 demands.

Provided that the building clears a few remaining regulatory hurdles, all its water will be supplied by rainwater collected in a 56,000-gallon cistern before being filtered and disinfected. A rooftop array of photovoltaic panels, extending beyond the building like the brim of a graduation mortarboard, will produce an estimated 230,000 kilowatt-hours a year, hopefully just enough to break even for a building that is 83 percent more efficient than the city’s typical commercial site.

The project’s backers, led by the environmentally minded Bullitt Foundation, hope to demonstrate that a carbon-neutral office space can be commercially viable and aesthetically stunning without saddling its occupants with onerous demands. And they are determined to make their strategy and performance so transparent that it can be easily copied.

Instead of tucking the mechanical and electrical rooms out of sight, for example, large plate glass windows will showcase the engineering, while quick response codes tag points of interest so tourists can use their smartphones to learn about individual elements, according to Chris Rogers, the chief executive and partner of the developer, Point32.

A kiosk in a double-height exhibition space will also let visitors access real-time measurements like the building’s indoor air quality, energy consumption, photovoltaic power production and water levels. The Bullitt Center, in fact, will be one of the planet’s most closely monitored commercial buildings, allowing managers to single out energy hogs down to the level of individual plugs, said Robert B. Peña, an associate professor of architecture in the Integrated Design Lab at the University of Washington.

If the building is still the highest-performing one of its kind 10 years from now, said Denis Hayes, president and chief executive of the Bullitt Foundation, the experiment will have failed.

The Living Building Challenge’s imperatives go far beyond those of the better-known LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification. Its yearlong vetting process is designed in part to avoid the embarrassment suffered by some LEED certified buildings, where seemingly efficient buildings have proven to be much less so after the buildings have been completed and undergone energy audits.

While a number of states, counties and municipalities provide tax credits and fee reductions for LEED structures, only a few municipalities have followed suit so far for the newer Living Building Challenge. Nevertheless, proponents say that avoiding energy and water utility bills for 250 years, the expected life span of the Bullitt Center, offers its own compelling financial incentives.

The Living Building Challenge has 143 registered projects in 10 countries. Its process is so demanding, however, that only three buildings in the United States have been fully certified so far; the largest of those is an eighth the size of the Bullitt Center.

So much potential energy savings has already been wrung out of the building in its construction that nearly half of the expected electricity use will depend on what’s plugged into the outlets. Every tenant will be expected to abide by strict annual usage budgets or pay for overages, but extra-fine electrical circuits and detailed outlet metering can help diagnose problem spots down to, say, a malfunctioning printer.

Mr. Hayes is keenly aware that the building’s success depends upon its attractiveness to tenants, and his development team is promoting several distinctive features, including the fact that it may be the first heavy-timber midrise building erected in Seattle since the 1920s. The timber and steel frame uses native Douglas fir certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. The exposed wood ceilings on the 13-foot-high upper floors also contribute to an airy loftlike feel, with exposed steel cross braces and 10-foot-high windows that maximize daylight.

  Another signature feature, a glass-enclosed stairwell that Mr. Hayes has named the “irresistible stairway,” rewards climbers with panoramic views of downtown and Puget Sound. The behavioral carrot, aimed at promoting both health and energy conservation, has been juxtaposed with the stick of a slow and less conveniently sited elevator that requires key card access. With advertised lease rates of $28 to $30 a square foot, the building is in line with comparable properties.

It helps that a group of enthusiastic early adopters has already leased more than two-thirds of the available office space. That group includes several organizations and companies heavily invested in the project’s success: PAE Consulting Engineers, the building’s lead engineering firm; the developer Point32, which will manage a 40-desk co-working space; the Integrated Design Lab, which played a major consulting role and will have both office space and a 40-seat classroom; and the International Living Future Institute, which since 2006 has run the Living Building Challenge.

The pioneering spirit resonates strongly with other tenants-to-be like Michele Gomes, co-owner and chief creative officer of Interchange Media Art Productions, a video and television production company.

Ms. Gomes and her business partner are leasing two desks on the fourth floor co-working space, a “huge move up” from her company’s current office in a windowless and perpetually cold basement, she said. Even more important, Ms. Gomes is eager to work among peers who have similar sustainability values. “To have like-minded people sharing the same space, to me that’s going to be extremely inspiring,” she said.

Intentional Futures, a technology and software-focused design and engineering studio founded by former Microsoft executives, has leased the 7,900-square-foot fifth floor. Ian Sands, a co-founder and managing partner, said the 20-employee company had outgrown its office directly beneath a local broadcaster’s helipad and was looking to tap into the creative energy emanating from the city’s bustling Pike-Pine Corridor.

Although Mr. Sands admires the decision to forgo a traditional garage, he said the lack of on-site parking, coupled with Seattle’s inadequate mass transit, could create commuting headaches for employees who live in the city’s eastern suburbs and who may “have to figure out other methods or places to park nearby because they will have to drive.”

Mr. Hayes said the decision to not have on-site parking generated “spirited conversation” during the design phase. Instead, a space about the size of a three-car garage will be reserved exclusively for bicycles, while commuting bicyclists can wash away the morning sweat in one of the rainwater-fed showers on each floor.

Steve Whitney, the Bullitt Foundation’s program officer, said he had adapted to his new work space by buying a second bike.

On a partly cloudy afternoon in early March, Mr. Whitney, Mr. Hayes, and three other Bullitt Foundation employees gathered in a glass-walled conference room in their sixth floor office to offer some admittedly biased first impressions.

Less than a week after moving from a nearly windowless brick carriage house, the employees were still amazed by the spectacular views, ample natural light and almost distracting quiet. The composting toilets, though, remained a source of curiosity even for them, and early discussions have centered on the pulse of foam that cascades down the inner rim of each funnel-shaped bowl to expedite its delivery to the waiting composters below.

Two weeks later, Mr. Peña led a tour group of corporate real estate professionals through the bowels of the Bullitt Center to check out the business end of the 24 toilets. Two rows of five bright blue aerobic composters, each the “size of a Fiat 500,” he figured, were busily doing their thing — so efficiently that the first compost extraction would not be required for another 18 months, when the resulting mulch will be commingled with other compost from King County.

But do they smell? Mr. Peña invited his tour group of 20 to inspect the boxy composters up close and determine for themselves: they did not. The aerobic process is odorless, provided that the building’s maintenance workers ensure proper ventilation and regular mixing.

Ultimately, Mr. Peña hoped the building’s novelties would become invisible as the occupants adjusted. “As much as I like to think of this building as a living laboratory, I think for the commercial tenants in this building, we also want it to be just as normal as possible,” he said.

For the Slide show Click HERE

Source [...]

                        

Images: Source [...]

Read More

Tjuvholmen Icon Complex - Oslo, Norway

Introduction

The Tjuvholmen development commissioned by Selvaag Gruppen / Aspelin-Ramm Gruppen in Oslo is located southwest of the centre of the city and is a continuation of the Aker Brygge development built in the 90’s. The site of the Tjuvholmen project is one of the most beautiful places in Oslo. The project will transform the formerly closed harbour into a public area connecting the Fjord and the centre of the city.

The RPBW project is on the western part of this development and consists of cultural programmatic elements as part of an agreement with the City of Oslo.

The project includes 3 different buildings under a unique glass roof, one for Offices and Art exhibition and two exclusively for the Art Museum, the landscape design with bridges over the new canals and a small Sculpture Park.

The urban design creates a visual link between this cultural platform and the City centre of Oslo, developing the visual axis from Aker Brygge to the new complex. The integration of Art related activities in all three buildings and the mix with offices and leisure activities, makes the complex a vibrant part of the new urban fabric that will attract a very broad public.

The Design

Overlooking the fjord, it seems inevitable to continue the sightline from the city along the Aker Brygge promenade to the far end of the new development. The entire promenade along the sea will be 800m long. Almost half of that length will consist of the new promenade of the project. The promenade will start at the bridge on the dock at Aker Brygge and continue along Strandhagen over to Skjaeret until it ends at a floating dock, from where a ferry may depart to other destinations along the inner Oslo Fjord.

The promenade along the canal will provide to the visitors the visual contact with the sea and nature, as an important experience of the journey.

On Skjaeret, the promenade is embraced by the building complex and the location of the art building along the canal, instead of along the sea as proposed by the city’s zoning plan, creates an active dialogue between the 3 buildings.

Between the art museum and the sea a softly undulating sculpture park fills the rest of Skjaeret and finishes in a sandy beach, protected by the wind and from the waves.

It will be an open space for children and their parents to play and swim, to enjoy nature and the sea. A café is planned alongside the beach with a facade that can be opened during good weather to enjoy views of the park and the wind gusts from the fjords as well as to extend the relatively small internal area of the café.

Across the canal over a wide bridge that links the two opposite banks, visitors will find the entrance to the other exhibition spaces at the quay level.

A wide stair between them leads up to an urban Piazza where café’s, shops and entrances to other functions find their place.

Visitors will be able to continue along the quay of the canal to the tip of the new development which allows a spectacular view out over the Fjord, but also back to the centre of Oslo.

The Roof

The roof is a curved surface which covers all three buildings to emphasize their interaction as a cultural destination and the architecture of the complex.

The design strongly identifies the project. Its curved shape, formed by laminated wood beams, crosses the canal between the buildings. The beams are supported by slender steel columns, reinforced with cable rigging, which refer to the maritime character of the site.

The roof geometrical shape is derived from a section of a toroid and it slopes down towards the sea.

On Skjaeret, the roof almost touches ground in the Park, over a small water pond that prevents people to climb on the glass.

The roof surface is fully glazed and a ceramic fritting gives the glass the right solidness and the right transparency where needed. Some of the exhibition spaces, the museum lobby as well as the office atrium will receive daylight through the roof.

The edges of the roof extend generously outwards to reinforce the lightness of this glass plane and while obstructing daylight to a minimum, giving protection from rain and wind.

Exhibition Spaces

The project will have different kinds of exhibition spaces: visiting the museum will be a cultural journey going from one space to the other. This journey includes all three buildings on both sides of the canal and will bring the visitor through a series of 10 rooms, each with a different ceiling height, material and shape.

The exhibition spaces of the Art Museum on the north side of the canal will house the permanent contemporary art collection. which expands at ground level under the office building.

This part is an open flexible space, extending under the Tjuvholmen Allee and the main stair between the quay level and the upper Piazza. In this area also educational activities of the museum will take place.

The building on Skjaeret, on the south side of the canal, will be for the temporary exhibition. The main exhibition space consists of two floors: one floor at ground level and one on the mezzanine, with natural light from a spectacular skylight in the roof. On the second floor a generous roof terrace will allow for the placement of sculptures outside. A small cafè is located next to the lobby and its terrace extends to Park and the beach.

Office Building

The office building along the Tjuvholmen Allee, has four floors and a mezzanine under the roof. A naturally lit atrium in the centre of the building connects the office floors. All floors will be rented to one tenant, which was very much involved the layout of the offices. The conference rooms as well as the common areas for the occupants are on the upper floors, taking best advance of the views and the terraces on these floors.

Materials

The materials for the new buildings are few in order to emphasize the unity of the complex and are subdued to emphasize the roof as the most important architectural element.

The roof structure will be made of laminated wood beams, sometimes with steel elements, supported by steel columns. The glass of the roof has a dotted pattern, resulting in a light colour, a white ceramic frit that covers the whole surface reducing the transparency of the glass by 40%.

The facades have glazed areas on the ground floor where the public view is desired. The glazing is executed with low iron glass, as much as possible without coatings to enhance the transparency and to minimize the discoloration of the light into the exhibition spaces.

The office glazing and less public facades may need coatings, with internal shades for glare control.

External sun shades on the facades, will make them more dynamic and will bring some color to the monochromatic wood facade.

The lobby to the temporary art space is completely glazed and allows the visual contact with the park and the sea, even from the Piazza on the Tjuvholmen Allee.

Naturally weathered timber was selected for the opaque parts of the façade (Aspen), which in a short time acquires a soft silver-grey color due to its exposure to the weather, The wood planks have a particular shape and the gaps between the planks increase where ventilation of the buildings is required.

The use of wood as a material for structural elements, for the bridges, exterior paving and in the interiors, follows Scandinavian traditions. The use of wood is also a reference to the materials used for boats, while the slender steel elements in the bridges and the columns relate to the masts in the Oslo harbour, anchoring the building complex even more in its location.

Architects: Renzo Piano Building Workshop

Source( Images):

Source( text):

Read More