Integration Facade Design and Building Operations

The Atlantis project is two-sided open suitable for all seasons and is close to nature

by installing rooftop solar power system.

In the present scenario, the world is adopting energy harvesting building concepts and renewable re-generating power at a rapid rate. India is also emerging in the global arena as a leading generator of renewable energy; the government is offering 30% of the capital subsidiary for residential and commercial rooftop solar customers to encourage higher green energy adoption.

The government has set-up a target to achieve 175GW capacity of renewable energy by the end of 2022. Taking this immense growth into consideration, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy through its National Solar Mission of India has set a target of 40 GW power through rooftop solar by 2022. Though this target may seem ambitious, it is still achievable. There are ample sources of renewable energies available in the environment if utilised rationally can be used to convert into electrical energy for powering a variety of circuits. Energy harvesting is useful as it offers a means of powering electronics where there are no conventional power sources. Apart from solar energy, there are various other ways in which electricity can be generated like wind energy & thermal energy. Now the architects are designing the buildings by keeping the focus on combining sustainable energy and habitability. The innovation lies in the fact that in contrast to the bulky windmills that are used universally to harvest wind energy, the special façade elements, mounted perpendicular to the surface of the façade are made of sustainable/recyclable plastic which is highly flexible. More movement allows more compression that in-turn creates more pressure or force which is converted to electric charge through the principle of Piezoelectricity.

TRIPAT GIRDHAR

Founder & Principal Architect, The Design Studio

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

The Design Studio, a leading Architecture and Interior Design firm based in Chandigarh, was established by Tripat Girdhar in 2009. The firm’s inventive designs not only reinterpret India’s architectural roots and traditional acumen in a contextual vocabulary but also dwells Indian architecture on a world stage. The firm creates a versatile body of work ranging from architecture and interiors of residences and corporate offices to retail and hospitality spaces. The Design Studio is an architectural, engineering and interior design firm with prominence in the verticals of urban planning, commercial, residential, educational and industrial architecture. It comprises a team of over 18 dynamic architects and engineers and currently working on projects across 6 Indian States and also handling assignments internationally including Australia & New Zealand.

Integration Facade Design and Building Operations

Max Super-Speciality Hospital, Vaishali, New Delhi

Building costs are spiralling, and global climate change is looming large. In an attempt to curb long-term operational costs and create efficient building systems, architects and building owners are now on the lookout for optimising every part of a building – including the envelope, the mechanical systems to interior finishes. .

A building’s envelope constitutes a large part of the system. In energy-intensive buildings such as hotels, offices, and hospitals, building envelopes contribute to as much as 55-60% of the total energy usage (Commision n.d.). This data provides valuable insight into how a building’s energy footprint can be checked whilst creating a high-performing assembly. As a result, stakeholders are required to lay an unprecedented degree of emphasis on building façade, its optimisation and integration with occupants’ needs. By definition, a high performing façade or façade element is one that encapsulates sustainable energy use only as one of the several essential factors. The US Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 defines high performance as something that integrates and optimises on a life-cycle basis, includes energy conservation, environment, provides safety, security, durability, accessibility, cost-effectiveness and ease of operation (Act 2007).

To achieve this, we must begin by looking at a building from a perspective where the façade is observed as an integral component of this complex whole. In doing so, the relationship of the façade with the occupancy type, duration, cost and serviceability, etc. becomes probe-worthy. Hence, the Basis of Design (BOD) for an optimal façade should not only focus on sustainability but

Educliff Global School, India

La Midas Wellness Centre, Gurugram, Haryana © Noughts and Crosses LLP 049

also on creating a ‘high-performance design assembly’.

In order to enable this, we need to delve into the following three areas synchronously:

l FAÇADE, ENVIRONMENT AND

THE ECOLOGY

Essentially, the façade is the first interface of the building with the environment, its adversities and challenges. Based on the site’s location, the building envelope should be capable of dynamically modulating the climatic extremes such as temperature fluctuations, wind pressures, seismic forces etc.

At a macro level, the material constituents that make up the façade assembly should be selected based on their embodied energy along with their life-cycle impacts. Further, it is also crucial to analyse how the façade interacts with other ecosystem components, avoiding adversities such as bird strikes, blinding glare etc., through appropriate fenestration sizes, design and treatments.

l FAÇADE, ITS COMPONENTS,

THE BMS AND BEYOND

A building is a complex structure that should be designed and operated as an integrated system. This essentially indicates that the building must be designed to create and enable an integrated supply-chain workflow. For example, glazing and fenestration system manufacturers must work towards curtailing energy losses due to processes like thermal bridging etc. They should subsequently operate in tandem with structural designers

Another view of La Midas Wellness Centre, Gurugram, Haryana © Noughts and Crosses LLP 049 and system suppliers to provide solutions like creating thermal storage systems wherever needed. This can help in ensuring synchronisation with HVAC systems to incorporate any natural ventilation strategies and lighting design to allow optimal daylight synthesis. All these systems further need integration with the central BMS (Building Management System) to effectively utilise all these systems. Additionally, glazed buildings of the twenty-first century should passively transition from ‘energy losers’ to ‘energy suppliers.’ With viable energy-saving and generation potential, buildings must ultimately send back excess energy to the supply grid and utility infrastructure through strategies such as load shedding and demand response programs.

l FAÇADE AND THE BUILDING

OCCUPANTS

Typically, most of us spend up to 90% of our time indoors. Buildings, and therefore architects, in general, are bestowed with an intrinsic responsibility to foster the health and wellbeing of all its occupants. While it might sound paradoxical to ensure