Skin of Architecture: Double-skin 4

Source: betterbricks.com

GSW, Berlin, Germany, 1999 designed by Sauerbruch Hutton Architekten

Colorful automated shading panels in the west double skin cavity manage solar heat gain and daylighting. Natural ventilation is brought in through east double skin facade, through the interior spaces, across specially design corridor openings, and is vented to the west. The west facade cavity serves as a solor flur drawing air up and out utilizing automated top and bottom control flaps to provided seasonal and weather control. -- betterbricks.com

A detailed case study from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, UC Berkeley

Source: Forster + Partners

London City Hall, London, UK, 2002 designed by Foster + Partners

City Hall includes a series of green features, including an unconventional building form to minimize heat gain and loss by reducing the exterior surface areas, as well as a stepped profile to the south to self-shade in the summer. Although the outer plane of the double skin facade is all glass, the inner wall contains significant less glazing area. The building uses natural ventilation and a geothermal system rather than air conditioning to maintain a comfortable interior. -- betterbricks.com

it expresses the transparency and accessibility of the democratic process and demonstrates the potential for a sustainable, virtually non-polluting public building.  -- architect's web site

Source: betterbricks.com

Upper Secondary School, Copenhagen, Denmark, 2007 designed by 3xn Arkitekter

The operable exterior shading devices--colored glass fins with graphic lettering--create this building's signature facade and provide dynamic shading to balance daylighting with solar heat gain. Behind the glass fins, operable windows provide natural ventilation. -- betterbricks.com

Source: ieee.org

KfW building, Frankfurt, Germany, 2010 designed by Sauerbruch Hutton Architekten

The 15-story glass tower glows with natural light and offers windows that open—a comfort that can wreak havoc with energy efficiency. But the Westarkade's first-of-a-kind "pressure ring" facade and sophisticated, sensor-rich control scheme promise to consume no more than 100 kilowatt-hours of energy per square meter per year. That would make it a world-class energy miser, using half as much energy as a conventional office building in Europe and as little as a third of the U.S. average.  -- ieee Spectrum

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