| Vol. - No. | Vol.6 - No.4 |
|---|---|
| Date | Dec., 2017 |
| Title | Editor's Note |
| Author | Bob Forest, Gordon Gill |
| Institutions | Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture |
| Abstract |
As a basis for the enclosed papers, we start with our Firm's own approach to sustainability and carbon. At Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, we believe that a system based approach to design, with an understanding that all systems are connected, is a valid approach to a broader understanding of carbon reduction and life cycle as it relates to cause and effect. The life cycle approach to energy and sustainable design is critical and through this combined understanding, the process is one that is scale-able and applicable to any context anywhere in the world. As such, the principles and pluralistic approach to sustainable design is capable of analysing and solving Country wide issues, City wide Master plans and Buildings as they relate to the greater global context. We believe that good design is enhancing performance whether it be at the City scale or the Building scale. Formally, when we speak of Form Follows Performance, this is what we mean. Working toward an inclusive understanding of issues related to performance can be a confounding and challenging process. As practitioners, the acceptance that we live in a fully connected universal system of cause and effect is critical to our success but can also lead to efforts that are open ended and unresolved. The discipline of Architects and Planners to literally draw boundaries in order to understand where we are today with respect to sustainable design is as critical as understanding the true knock on effects of the very solutions we propose. Solutions which only solve systems within themselves are not true solutions. Solutions which look beyond themselves and apply a pluralistic approach to their environment stand a much greater chance of being genuinely useful as long term agents for change and improvement. As Architects, Planners and Engineers continue to advance the state of performance in design, it is important to take stock of where we are as a profession in order to understand the advances and challenges that stand before us. The following collection of papers was assembled in order to understand just that. Specifically, we are interested in the results as they relate to performance and carbon emissions; how they are considered and how they affect the user. Where have we, as a profession, advanced and where do we need to focus on such topics as building carbon performance as they relate to MEP and Structural systems? What is the impact of density on carbon through the vehicle of tall buildings? Can tall buildings have a greater, more positive effect on the carbon equation due to their global status and visibility in Architecture? How does cost affect design solutions and can we recalibrate the cost equation for buildings using carbon metrics? What is the effect of building and carbon reduction on the Planning of Cities? How are they related and how does it change the way we think about Planning? Is Net Zero Carbon possible? A question and a term that is banded around quite often. What is the result of these efforts and approaches on the user? Does it improve personal performance and health and how exactly is this measured or accounted for? These and other questions were the catalyst for the collection of papers in this edition. Some of the answers as well as more questions are presented here. The intent of this edition is to continue the dialogue in a critical and positive manner. Our collection of papers come from a wide variety of international firms and cover the pressing issues regarding performance and sustainability facing the construction industry today. We start with looking at the context for sustainable design. The building occupants. JLL's Bob Best gives us an introduction to the context of wellness and human occupant comfort. Market factors and how sustainable buildings can improve productivity are discussed and frame the perspective for specific building performance discussions. We then deal with the heart of sustainable buildings and their MEP systems. How does a supertall building MEP system operate in a sustainable manner? How can supertall MEP systems push sustainability and meet occupant needs? These are questions that Interface Engineering's Craig Burton discusses in his paper. He also highlights how energy benchmarking mandates have placed a spotlight on energy efficiency and are shifted views to long term performance. AS+GG's Juan Betancur then discusses how a tall building can be designed to be sustainable and push the boundaries with a solar façade in response to the building's context. He does this through a case study for the FKI Tower in Seoul, Korea and its unique BIPV Solar façade. Using the same FKI Tower as a case study, Thornton Tomasetti's John Peronto highlights the tower's structural challenges with and unique collaborative design techniques. He illustrates structural and architectural integration resulting in improved building performance. We could not discuss sustainability and tall buildings without discussing costs. RLB's Stephen Y.F. Lai tackles the difficult question of how costs play a role in sustainable design. He explores how green building design can be within reach from a cost perspective by highlighting a case study of the Nanning China Resources Centre East Office Tower in China. His paper is also interesting as it shows how China is advancing sustainable design strategies at a critical time when half of the supertall buildings in the world are being constructed there. We also need to look beyond buildings. We need to look at performance of tall buildings holistically and how they affect our cities. WSP's Bill Price illustrates the need for tall buildings and integrated city systems and takes specific examples from London as discussion points. He shows us how to consider tall buildings in the City context. Finally, as energy efficiency is being pursued by most designers at present we ask what is the next carbon equation. We look at some of our own studies and AS+GG's Dr. Chris Drew questions how carbon emissions are being reduced and once operational carbon is reduced how embodied carbon plays a role. We hope that this compilation of thoughts inspires readers to seek out performative solutions and push the boundaries of sustainable design. Thank you. Bob Forest. Gordon Gill. |
| Keyword | |
| PP. | PP.1~2 |