Wednesday January 18, 2006

The skyscraper that produces more energy than it consumes

peakoil.com -> europaconcorsi.com :

Plans for a 69-storey skyscraper that can produce more energy than it consumes and promises to set new standards for sustainable architecture have been unveiled. Chicago-based Skidmore, Owings & Merrill has designed the Pearl River Tower, a corporate headquarters planned for Guangzhou, China, that harvests wind and solar energy. The design is among three finalists in an international design competition for a corporate headquarters for a major Chinese company.

Pearl River Tower's sculpted facade directs wind to a pair of openings on the building's mechanical floors. The travelling winds push turbines which generate energy for the building's heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems. Energy consumption is reduced by maximizing natural day-lighting, reducing solar gain in air conditioned spaces, retaining rainwater for gray-water usage and using the sun to heat the hot water supply. Stack venting, radiant slab cooling and caisson heat sinks work to chill the building. AC current is generated by solar collectors on the facade.

- Edited out some of the hyperbole. I'm kind of sceptical about the "producing more energy than it consumes" part, I'll believe it when it's actually built, up and running :)

(2006-01-18 12:32:34 SGT) [Energy] Permalink

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