TYPICAL FLOOR PLAN
HVAC With HVAC being one of the largest single consumers of energy in a building , their mechanical engineers spent a great deal of time designing a highly efficient and effective system . There is a very sophisticated , multi-functional central aircooled chiller that is positioned on the roof of the building . This chiller can produce ice , chilled and hot water and can recover heat .
Adjacent to the chiller are a series of ice storage tanks . At night , when the system is not running at its peak ( and when the outside air temperature is cool ) the plant produces and stores ice that is then used to reduce the load on the system during the day . Together with this , the reticulation on each floor is designed on the principle of perimeter cooling / heating which forms an air curtain and cools / heats the air immediately adjacent to the façades where most of the buildings thermal heat gain / loss is experienced .
Solar Energy 294 Photovoltaic Panels were installed on 700m 2 of the roof . They are expected to produce 147,000KWh of energy per year or roughly 12 % of building ’ s total energy consumption .
Insulation Of course , one of the most effective ways to manage a building ’ s energy consumption is to ensure that it is properly insulated . Energy models were run right at the beginning of the project ’ s design phase . This was a very effective tool in understanding the affect of the local climate on different areas of the building .
Double-glazing together with air-tightness tests were employed to ensure that we designed the building relative to its specific micro-climate . The end result was not only a drastically reduced load on the building ’ s systems but also vastly improved comfort levels for the building ’ s end-user .
Water Consumption Reducing water consumption was also critical in ensuring the overall efficiency of the building . The plumbing system is designed with low-flow fixtures and fittings which manage the volumes of water consumed by the building . This is supplemented with a rainwater harvesting system . Rainwater is collected from the roof of the building via a Geberit Pluvia System and is stored in 5 x 5,000l JoJo tanks in the basement .
Conclusion The building was delivered in just 13 calendar months largely thanks to a very effective and collaborative working relationship between Client , Professional Team and Contractor . The end product was a highly sophisticated building that delivered on the requirements of the brief while remaining uncompromising on quality .
SOUTH WEST ELEVATION
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