How architects, engineers and the construction industry are developing solutions to maximise transparency while meeting energy performance targets.
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How are architects, engineers and the construction industry as a whole developing solutions to maximise transparency while meeting energy performance targets? Why does transparency still matter today? And how can we manage and strike a balance between the tensions of optimum façade performance and embodied carbon?
Industry professionals gathered at the Schüco showroom in Milton Keynes recently to explore the evolving landscape of façade design. Presentations focused on achieving transparency in structures while also meeting stringent energy performance targets, and addressing concerns related to embodied carbon.
Sanna Wennberg, associate partner at Simpson Haugh, started off the day by discussing the importance of transparency in architectural design, with a focus on glass usage for sustainability and human-centric design. She delved into the challenges of balancing transparency with privacy, highlighting the transformative impact of bringing natural light and transparency into living and work spaces, and giving an in-depth insight into the performative aspects of the double-layered skin at One Blackfriars in London. Wennberg described how, when working on 4 Angel Square in Manchester, the studio experimented with reflective materials and settled on glazed tiles for precast panels, producing a mesmerising effect in different lighting conditions.
Stefan Trifonov, head of engineering at Schüco UK, focussed on daylight management challenges, emphasising the need to adapt to varying sunlight angles and advocating for effective horizontal sun shading over traditional vertical fins. With this in mind, he was keen to note the similarity in aesthetic principles popularised in the 1950s by Mies van der Rohe and the International Style, and today.
Using 70 Great Bridgewater Street in Manchester as an example, Trifonov explained how the unitised façade system employed had mullions designed to accommodate a stainless steel plate that can support architectural fins while eliminating thermal bridging within the façade.
Up next was Aneel Kilaire, associate facade consultant at Ramboll, who put forward the challenges in meeting operational energy, overheating, and acoustic targets for residential developments. In a critique of the current regulations, Kilaire noted the conflicts between the Approved Documents: Part L (conservation of fuel and power) and Part O (overheating) and questioned the effectiveness of standards in balancing energy savings and embodied carbon.
In many cases, he argued, the additional embodied carbon in a project is not paid back after 25 years – something which led to the question: as the grid decarbonises, will it ever be paid back? In the wake of these points, Kilaire called for a more holistic approach to building regulations and use of digital tools that can optimise the multi-faceted parameters of façade design and specification.
National specification manager at Schüco UK, Stuart Hosier examined the company’s approach to carbon control and presented the four stages of this process: Design to Decarb, Built to Decarb, Operate to Decarb, and Recycle to Decarb. Here, the Built to Decarb stage emphasises material choice, design, fabrication, transportation, and installation in reducing embodied carbon in facade systems.
Three aluminium grades from Schüco, including low and ultra-low carbon options, were introduced, with Hosier exploring the sustainability gains achieved through innovative design and recycling. Expanding on this, he highlighted Internet of Facades (IoF) and how material and component tracking within systems can allow Schüco to track material EPDs, as well as service and maintenance regimes, among other aspects. With material retention a key component of this move, Hosier brought the audience’s attention to the renovation of a Schüco office building in Bielefeld, Germany, where the façade was removed, with 28 tonnes of aluminium being collected, 98.3 per cent of which was recycled for re-use.
Ben Knight, director at dMFK Architects, highlighted key projects, namely Salters Hall, Chancery House, and York House – all in London. Salters Hall, a 1970s building by Basil Spence, underwent refurbishment with replaced façades, added extensions, and a new entrance pavilion. The design integrated neoclassical elements and a brise soleil- inspired glazed entrance, and maintained the original architecture. Detailed drawings and images showcase the transformation, focusing on both aesthetics and functionality, while respecting the building’s heritage, highlighting how the elements can bring further daylight in and maintain the character of the building.
At York House, a unique brick lattice façade emphasises the ‘evolution’ of the original architecture. The presentation underscored meticulous design, coordination, and construction processes, highlighting the intersection of design and technical execution required to make the façade system work and integrate with the original structure. Focusing on the latter, the architectural transformation of Chancery House was detailed, emphasising the importance of reimagining existing structures through retrofitting. Here, various façade options, from stick systems to deep fin stick systems, were explored, influenced by the building’s pre-existing terracotta and clay brick aesthetics.
Across all the case studies, challenges such as an understated entrances and poor visual connections were commonplace, and were addressed through renovations maximising natural light, creating visual connections, and incorporating new communal spaces.
The last presentation was from Mark Stonell, associate director at Buro Happold, who noted the shift from traditional building envelopes to contemporary glass configurations, driven by advancements in materials and energy demands. While the glass box configuration has been popular, new challenges, such as energy consumption, embodied carbon targets, and fire integrity, require a return to more solid configurations.
To maintain transparency in façades while addressing these challenges, he suggested adopting passive and active techniques, such as double-skin facades, closed cavities, and dynamic and static shading. New materials and technologies, like nanogels, fibre resins, and electrochromic glass, were also put forward as tools to achieve transparency while managing solar gain.
Stonell presented St Thomas Hospital, University of Birmingham Library, Sensor City for John Moore’s University, and 10 Broadway, all of which demonstrate effective combinations of glazing, shading elements, and innovative techniques to achieve transparency while meeting energy performance targets.
Like Kilaire, Stonell was keen to note the evolving challenges related to net-zero targets and Document L, emphasising the need for rigorous thermal analysis and parametric tools to meet increasingly stringent requirements. Practical steps, such as Grasshopper analysis for curtain wall design, were discussed to achieve transparency within budget constraints.
More to come
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