Simple ideas have often been the driving force for the evolution of human kind, like the idea of the sails that allowed Greek ships to cruise all over the Mediterranean sea. Today, in an era of complex energy problems we also need simple solutions to difficult problems. To provide a new look to the tower we have to think more about the environment and the energy consumption that we would spend to climatize a building. It is therefore envisaged that to protect from the sun and to give an old building a new impressive look an intelligent skin composed of a number of colorful umbrellas is constructed. The umbrellas are fixed to a new high performance glass facade and Corian panels and according to the sun position the umbrellas mechanically open or close to provide shadows to the internal spaces. The ever changing sun creates an ever changing facade and at night, when all the umbrellas are open and are flooded with artificial light, the building continues to be a true and new city landmark.
For the main tower block it is envisaged to create a facade very responsive to the climate elements and which is composed of a mixture of high performace glass and Corian panels with insulation in front of the slab area. The umbrellas are standardized in size to be all the same with the canopy made of self cleaning fabric like Tyvec with a low transparency factor to minimize solar gain during peak time. The two lower blocks where the entrance hall, shops and coffee shop are located do not have the umbrellas and more emphasis is given to hard materials. For the windows on the ground floor we propose glazing to allow for transparency which is necessary for shop activity. For the upper floor we propose full height Corian black panels separated by 30 cm of glass panels to break the solid wall and allow for the external light to come in during the day and for artificial light to flow out during night time.
2009 International Competition 3rd Prize Winner
