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High-Performance Double Skin Façade Buildings
Climatic-Based Exploration
Mona Azarbayjani
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eBook - ePub
High-Performance Double Skin Façade Buildings
Climatic-Based Exploration
Mona Azarbayjani
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About This Book
This book provides a comprehensive theoretical platform for the use and construction of double skin façade projects. The DSF concept has been used mostly in European buildings; however, its success in other climates should be addressed. Increasing numbers of buildings are featuring double skin façade technology in the US; however, still relatively few have been studied for their performance in operation.
This book gives architects a practical guide to analyze and evaluate the actual performance of double skin façade buildings in different climatic contexts. It is important for high-performance buildings to have tools to evaluate a design's predicted performance to achieve specific sustainable goals. To determine that the application of DSF in different climates will provide better thermal comfort, building simulation tools analyze various thermal comfort parameters through studies of the façade and compare them with the actual building's performance data. The book takes the reader on an on-site tour of eight DSF buildings around the US. Interviews with the buildings' architects and engineers, owners, and users offer additional perspectives and insights into the construction and performance of these developments in building design.
This will provide architects with a comprehensive understanding of the challenges and opportunities in integrating double skin façades into their projects.
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CHAPTER 1 Introduction
DOI: 10.4324/9781315718750-1
There is a great deal of interest in using double skin façade (DSF) strategies in new and retrofitted buildings in Europe as it provides many possibilities for energy efficiency and, at the same time, creates better thermal comfort. How-ever, the lack of performance assessment results in less popularity of implementing DSF in the US.
This book will trace the evolution of the double skin façade systems from early instances in the US (the Occidental Chemical Building 1982) to today’s advanced configurations. The primary purpose is to provide an overview of various theoretical backgrounds regarding different aspects of building façade systems (building science and aesthetics) and their impact on building performance. First, a general definition of a double skin façade system is presented. Then a brief history, which describes the façade's evolution from early concepts of DSF to the present, is highlighted. The following section explains different DSF typologies and classifications regarding airflow driving force, façade divisions, airflow modes, and the presentation of previous work. The final section over-views seven different case studies’ thermal performance considerations and envelope performances. The energy performance results help designers make better and more informed decisions for the type of façades that they are incorporating. The last chapter discusses the future of the building envelopes and describes examples of dynamic façades.
Detailed analysis of case studies in different climates on existing structures was completed in the US, with an evaluation of their performance compared to a curtain wall system being demonstrated. The list of buildings studied is as follows:
- Cambridge Public Library, new addition - Boston, MA.
- John E. Jaqua Academic Center for Student Athletes - Eugene, OR.
- The Richard J. Klarchek Information Commons, Loyola University Chicago, IL.
- The Medical School’s Biomedical Science Research Building (BSRB) Ann Arbor, MI.
- Seattle Justice Center - Seattle, WA.
- Eli and Edythe Broad CIRM Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at USC.
- Occidental Chemical - Niagara Falls, NY.
- Manitoba Llydro Place - Winnipeg, Ontario.
The architects of each project and the owner have been interviewed, and all the data have been collected. To understand the performance of each project, these projects were modeled and analyzed by an energy modeling tool, and their actual performance was compared with their projected performance. The DSF concept has been used primarily on European buildings; however, its success in other climates of the US needs to be addressed. This book gives architects a practical guide to analyze and evaluate the actual performance of double skin façade buildings in a different climatic context. High-performance buildings need to have tools to assess a design’s predicted performance in order to achieve specific sustainable goals. Although the number of buildings featuring double skin façade technology has increased, there are still relatively few buildings which have had their performance studied in operation.
In this book, the application of DSF in different climates will provide a better understanding of the performance of the façade through using building simulation tools. It analyzes the energy performance and thermal comfort parameters through studies of the façade and compares them with the as-built/actual building’s performance data.
It presents three significant contributions to the evaluation of the performance of DSF buildings:
- A methodology for assessing the energy and comfort performance of DSF buildings through energy analysis and airflow modeling was developed based on 3-dimensional analysis.
- Models to simulate the specific DSF typology and couple the envelope level results to a building simulation program.
- A framework for comparing and evaluating the façade solution for different climatic contexts.
The book takes the reader on an onsite tour of the seven DSF buildings around North America. The author also interviews the architects and speaks with engineers, owners, and users to get additional perspectives. By evaluating and understanding the buildings, architects discover the challenges and opportunities in integrating double skin façades. Finally, it discusses a vision for the future of building envelopes and addresses a number of questions related to the façade's technology. Emerging technologies present opportunities to fundamentally shift current expectations of building envelope functionality to building component systems. The envelope can be transformed in response to occupants’ needs while meeting the energy demands of buildings. Recent envelope systems include dynamic façades, providing the opportunity to consider individual comfort needs rather than collective comfort in the design process.
Overview
Reduction of energy consumption has emerged as a major challenge in the US. The search forbetter approaches in improving thermal comfort conditions and the energy efficiency of buildings is intensifying. Currently, low-energy building design features include lighting and controls, ventilation systems, and an improved building envelope. Lighting energy can be effectively reduced in several ways: through the use of natural daylighting, high-efficiency fixtures and controls (such as occupancy sensors that turn lights off when there is no movement), and photosensors that reduce light output as needed to maintain a minimum level. These technologies, combined with architectural details like light shelves, highly efficient glazing facades, and external shading, can increase natural daylight while reducing energy consumption associated with artificial light.
The use of glass and transparent materials is not a new technique, and in fact, has become an attractive envelope option primarily in high-rise buildings. Large windows and all-glass exteriors are popular due to the natural light and views to the outside they provide, but this attractive design element has pitfalls, in particular, solar heat gain.
Solar heat gain that occurs when sunlight strikes the windows and passes through them creates discomfort and increases the cooling energy consumption, since air conditioning is needed to sustain a comfortable environment indoors.
The building façade plays an essential role in achieving high-performative buildings. Energy-consuming systems required for providing fresh air to meet indoor air quality requirements can be reduced or eliminated using passive or hybrid technologies. Hybrid ventilation, or the use of natural and mechanical systems to cool and ventilate buildings, offers opportunities to take advantage of external conditions but requires a backup system to maintain the indoor environment when these conditions are not adequate.
Figure 1.1 Interior Thermal Comfort
Climate influences the feasibility and usage period of natural ventilation as a means of cooling. Buildings in temperate climates can use natural ventilation for most of the cooling season, which is usually from May through October. In climates with a broader temperature range, including hot summers, passive cooling is still possible, but greater attention to detail and design must be paid. The location of the building affects performance as well.
The majority of energy in built environments is used in heating, cooling, and ventilating occupied spaces. The situation is even more critical for commercial buildings.
In office buildings, the use of natural ventilation techniques can be a potential design-strategy component. Heating and cooling loads could be decreased by incorporating energy-efficient technologies, control schemes, and improved building-envelope design. Designers and engineers can continue improving the building envelope and façade treatments to reduce heat loss and solar gain through the windows, decreasing heating and cooling requirements and minimizing differences between indoor air and surface temperatures that may cause occupants’ discomfort. The increased use of thermal mass to temper indoor air temperature has become more widely used in commercial building design. In hot summer continental climates like Chicago, the energy consumption required to cool and ventilate a building can be reduced by incorporating natural ventilation into the building design during the shoulder seasons, though it is not often done. In most climates suitable for natural ventilation, only a handful of buildings have this type of system.
The challenge for designers is to improve building performance while providing a more comfortable and healthier place for users. Fortunately, there are numerous methods and techniques that can be employed to achieve these goals.
Figure 1.2 SHGC and U-Value Comparisons of Different Façade Systems
Heating and cooling loads can be decreased by incorporating energy-efficient technologies, control schemes, and improved building-envelope design. Designers and engineers can continue improving the building envelope and façade treatments to reduce heat loss and solar gain through the windows, decreasing heating and cooling requirements and minimizing differences between indoor air and surface temperatures that may cause occupants discomfort.
Developing new façade technology is necessary for more environmentally friendly and energy-conscious building design. While a great deal of interest exists in learning how to integrate double skin façade systems in our buildings, there is little knowledge or demonstration of how this system performs in the US.
This book attempts to analyze the DSF configurations in different climatic contexts of the US in terms of energy and thermal comfort. The main objective is to explore the design and construction practices that promote energy efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and comfort in built projects around the US.
History
Figure 1.3 Stieff Factory and the Birth of the Curtain Wall System
Figure 1.4 Double Skin Façade
European architectural trends mainly drive the concept of DSF, and it dates back to when many central European houses utilized box-type windows to increase thermal insulation [1], In 1849, Jean-Baptiste Jobard, then director of the Industrial Museum in Brussels, described an early version of a mechanically ventilated multiple skin facade. He mentioned that in winter, hot air could be circulated between two glazings, while in summer, cold air could be used [2]. The Stieff Factory was built in response to the increasing international demand for felt toys. Teddy bears and toys were the reason behind the construction dimensions of 100ft long, 40ft wide, and 13ft high, with the exterior materials being a double-glazed façade with a flat roof. This structure provides natural daylighting while considering the cold climate and strong wind velocity in the area.
After the construction of these factory buildings, the double skin façade developed and traveled to Russia, where it was used in the communal housing building of Narkomfin (1928). Later, Le Corbusier started using two membranes with a gap in between, while integrating mechanical systems.
There was little progress on the double skin façade construction until the early 1980s. During this period, green buildings gained attention, and multi-layered glass façades, as a solution, influenced architectural design decisions.
A DSF was assumed to be energy efficient and environmentally friendly, providing a 40 to 60 percent reduction in energy consumption, external noise reduction, and natural ventilation, even in skyscrapers (Oesterle et al., 2001). Aside from an aesthetic consideration, such concepts are often chosen particularly in high-rise buildings - for shading devices, protection from high wind pressure, and the possibility of natural ventilation due to lower pressure in the façade cavity.
Double skin façade is more common in Europe than in the US due to higher energy prices in Europe and stricter energy codes; however, after early 2000, double skin façades became integrated into higher-end office buildings. The context for using double skin needs to be significantly studied, as high humidity and temperature will not be an appropriate environment for this concept.
Single vs. Double Skin Façade
A single skin façade in typical buildings consists of different functional layers, including cladding, structure, insulation, etc., which separates the building interior from the exterior. In the nineteenth century, the emergence of curtain walls, which did not have a load-bearing function, made it possible ...