Shadow and light analysis

Climate: sun paths

Adaptability.

Buildings and the built environment were conceived throughout the 20th century as machines, tools with targeted functions to solve specific problems. However the 21st century, the current global pandemic and the contemporary topics of environmental degradation, economic inequality and systemic racism have underlined the importance of social equity, empathy and morality in built environment discourse. The challenge for Architectural and planning practice today is that of shifting together with the speed of society.

This shift has also been seen in how people live office environments and debates have started regarding how these spaces should change to accommodate users. There have been discussions regarding the possible global move towards smart working and virtual offices however the importance of face-to-face interaction and communication has come to surface when exploring the emerging Gen Z. This generation, our generation, will be entering and becoming an integral part of the world’s workforce and studies have proven this generation’s need for cooperation and collaborative thinking. It is by using a generation and community as a design strategy that we hope our project will impact productivity as well as wellbeing and human development. As explained above the driving factor was that of having community as a design strategy and by doing so we created an environment that could easily be adapted to various functions. The key aim was that of allowing for each individual to have access to services and options to create an environment that serves their needs.

Networking events and workshops are becoming vital for individuals to gain various and diverging skills and we wanted to create a series of large open spaces that could be quickly and easily transformed for different uses at different times. At the same time

The hope is that the building can adapt and be adapted to follow technological and social change however this cannot be predicted.

Adaptation Timeline.

Complete change in the structural form of the building.

Allowing for a complete change in services and infrastructure provision based on the times technological improvements. 45 years

Different functions integrated in the project. Catering for different societal needs.

Open plan, various environments to cater for people that are productive in different environments. 10 years 20 years

Proposed Configuration Foreseeable Changes Infrastructural Changes 100 years

Structural Changes End of Life

Furniture:

Most of the floors have been created to allow for flexibility as well as adaptability in order to change the function of the spaces

Layout (3-30 years):

The spaces are laid out to allow for change in the layout of most areas. In open office spaces we have planned for wooden thermal sliding panels that would help with thermal comfort in winter times if closed as well as allowing for more open space for different other functions.

Services (7-15 years):

By laying liquid gypsum over the preexisting concrete slab we wanted to create a building in which the heating and cooling systems were well integrated in the design.

Building Skin (20+ years):

Our design was concerned with creating a smart facade that followed the environmental requirements of the climatic zone. By creating a double skin facade all around the building we hoped to cope with the harsh winter conditions and allow for low levels of passive heat loss. The facades are however different on all sides as they follow specific strategies to protect from glare as well as over heating in summer times.

Prefabricated Facade Bays.

Prefabricated facade ‘bays’ can be fixed to the existing column and slab structural framework.

Prefabricating the bay panels will allow for a faster and simpler construction process reducing energy inputs and improving the embodied energy of the materials used. Prefabrication also means that the bays can be adapted to future changes in the building use with the components potentially able to be deconstructed and used elsewhere and new prefabricated bays installed.

Connection With Nature.

For integrating nature in the design the central atrium and roof garden provide areas of greenery throughout the built space and enough room for everyone using the building to have access to that space when required. The natural spaces are also the focus of the social space giving office workers and the public a chance to find a source of nature and social space combined in the city. The central atrium has a balcony combined with a green wall, this will add a highlight of green to the office overall and provide an attractive social space. The plants used on this wall will also have a secondary benefit of being de-humidifying and to an extent managing the levels of humidity in the atrium and social spaces.

The green wall is detailed on page 25 and the selection of plants means that maintenance will be reduced compared to a ‘traditional’ green wall.

Alpine Roof Garden.

Balconies on south facade.

Green Wall Balconies around central Atrium.

Natural Stack Ventilation. Natural ventilation can be controlled by the user through opening the internal windows and shutters to each of the rooms and office spaces. In the more open-plan spaces such as the ground floor and 6th floor the ventilation is largely maintained through the central atrium and narrower atriums either side, these provide stack ventilation and allow light to penetrate from the roof all the way down the centre of the building. The solar gains on the top floor are moderated by the more open-plan space allowing the air to flow more freely and out of the roof lanterns (which can also be mechanically operated to manage the air-flows)

North Facade with view on the city and the St. Laurence river.

North Facade with unrestricted view from the main atrium onto the surrounding city and natural elements.

Green Wall.

The function of the green walls is not only that of integrating nature within the built environment but also that of creating an healthier environment. The green walls act as air filters, de-humidifiers and decontaminants and allow for evaporative cooling. It was important the that choice of plants followed the function of the wall. By selecting species in the epiphytes family such as ivy, ferns and mosses that absorb moisture from the air rather than their soil, we designed a system that is fully integrated in out natural ventilation strategy.

The central atrium represents an important focal point for stack ventilation and exhaust air, by introducing purifying plants we aimed to create a healthier environment for building users.

In summer time, in addition to purifying the air, the plants will act to maintain a stable humidity level, lowering the temperature and therefore the need for mechanical cooling.

Species list:

- Plants from the Epiphytes family that absorb moisture from the surrounding and purify the air from pollutants - Peace Lily -remove acetone, alcohol and other pollutants - Boston Fern - removes benzene, xylene, and formaldehyde - Mosses - dehumidifier - English Ivy - removes formaldehyde, benzene, and trichloroethylene and other volatile organic compounds