Tall buildings

1. Sustainable tall buildings
121925501011-Shamitha K.
121925501006-Sowjanya BL.
121925501015-Sravya S.

2. Sustainable tall building :
• The sustainable design of tall buildings is the
design that makes the building operational at
minimum cost by minimizing energy
consumption and use of resources .
• The cost of energy and natural resources
used by tall buildings at the stages of
construction, use, and demolition, is higher
when
compared to low-rise buildings.
• The sustainable design of tall buildings can
be regarded as a solution to this problem. On
an international scale, tall buildings are
evaluated
in the framework of international
certification systems which have various
sustainability criteria classifications.
• These systems contribute to minimization of
environmental impacts of buildings

3. Divided in to 3 categories
◦ Ecological sustainable design of tall buildings
i. Sustainable sites
ii. Water efficiency
iii. Energy and atmosphere
iv. Material and resources
◦ Economical sustainable design of tall buildings
i. Efficient use of resources
ii. Low operating cost
◦ Sociocultural sustainable design of tall buildings
i. Indoor environmental quality
ii. Innovative and design process

4. Ecological sustainable design of tall buildings
◦ Sustainable design for tall buildings includes construction materials that are sensitive to the environment,
reusable and renewable, that minimize energy consumption, use renewable and local resources thus reducing
the use of nonrenewable natural resources, create healthy indoor areas, use solar power, natural ventilation
and natural illumination, and do not require frequent maintenance and repair.
◦ The emphasis for tall buildings should be placed on effective usage of construction site, water, natural
resources, materials and energy in the context of ecological sustainable design
◦ In this context, ecological sustainable design criteria can be classified as "sustainable sites", "water efficiency",
"energy and atmosphere" and "materials and resources".

5. Economical sustainable design of tall buildings
◦ Economical sustainable design consists of designs that are created within the framework of low cost, high efficiency,
healthy development and improvement
◦ When considering a sustainable low-rise or tall building, cost analyses covering the construction, use, maintenance,
repair, operation, and demolition phases, should be carried out at the design stage.
◦ Economical design is more significant in case of tall buildings compared to low-rise buildings, because tall buildings
consume more material, energy and water. Economy of a tall building depends on construction materials, energy,
labor and operating costs used in all phases beginning from the design stage until demolition of the building
◦ In this context, economical sustainable design criteria can be classified as "efficient use of resources" and "low
operating cost".
Ensure use of recyclable building materials
Selecting material that can be used for long term
Cost reduction by providing energy and resource efficiency in manufacturing
Reduction of transportation costs to side by selecting local materials
Economically designing the building cost with cost analysis

6. Sociocultural sustainable design of tall buildings
◦ Sociocultural sustainability can be defined as the implementation of methods for protecting human health and
enhancing comfort conditions.
◦ Tall buildings should be taken into consideration along with the surrounding environment, and innovative
applications should be included to create a high quality indoor setting by providing healthy and comfortable living
space, and by keeping the users in touch with the outside environment.
◦ In this context, sociocultural sustainable design criteria can be classified as "indoor environmental quality" and
"innovation and design process".

7. SUSTAINABLE SKYSCRAPERS
◦ A sustainable skyscraper is the building, whose design team have achieved a balance between environmental,
economic and social issues at all stages, including design, construction, and operation.
◦ A sustainable tall building can also be defined as the one which emits no pollution to air, considers its land and
water, and can contribute positively to the local community whilst be economically occupied throughout its time-
life. However, incorporating sustainable aspects in tall buildings is a challenge.
1. Orientation on Plan: Daylight and Passive Solar
2. Building Shape and the Effects of Wind
3. Floor Plate Depth and Ceiling Height
4. Floor Slab Thickness and Thermal Mass
5. Façade
6. Combined Heat and Power
7. Photovoltaic
8. Wind Energy

8. Orientation on Plan: Daylight and Passive Solar
◦ The orientation of the building and the shape of its plan allow the
maximum advantage of using daylight. The fabric of the façade
and the area given to windows are also of ultimate concern both in
determining the thermal insulation of the exterior walls, and in
gathering light.
◦ While an individual tall building can be ideally suited to capturing
the heat and light energy of the sun, a second or a third tower
constructed in its shadow would be adversely affected.
◦ For example, the dark shadows cast across the Bow building,
Calgary, Canada (fig.10), in the morning by the surrounding
buildings, may affect its running costs. However, optimizing its
orientation is essential to its sustainable development.

9. Building Shape and the Effects of Wind
◦ The shape and profile of a tall building determines its
performance in wind. Shape not only affects the loading on
the structure, but also has an impact on conditions in the
surrounding streets and buildings.
◦ Good aerodynamic design has a beneficial impact on the
structural frame of a tower in terms of materials, and on the
comfort of pedestrians at ground level.
◦ For new towers in the City, wind analysis and modelling are
valuable design tools in optimizing the shape and form of the
exterior.
◦ The shape of the World Trade Center Towers, Bahrain (fig.11)
will create an accelerated airflow for the jumbo blades to
generate electricity with wind turbines and to reduce the
consumption of fossil fuels.

10. Wind Energy
◦ Energy can also be generated by a wind turbine, which benefits
from the relatively high wind speeds at altitude.
◦ Turbines could be an integral part of the building Fabric or be
mounted between buildings, or even to be placed on the top of
buildings. In all instances the central economics of either losing
space and / or having to reinforce structure need to be considered
as well as the other costs and benefits of using a wind turbine
system.
◦ The idea is to capture a huge wind resource for generating
electricity by on-site wind turbines. Wind turbines can exploit higher
wind speeds around tall buildings or at the top and can be designed
for low noise emissions.
◦ Burj al-Taqa (Energy Tower), Dubai , is a super green skyscraper,
which includes 200-foot wind turbine that will sit atop the building.

11. Floor Plate Depth and Ceiling Height
◦ The width of a building, usually referred to as floor plate depth, has a critical impact on its economic, social and the
environmental performance.
◦ The ratio of net internal area to gross internal area can be increased with a deep floor plan. This ratio decreases with height as a
greater area is given to cores in tall buildings.
◦ In terms of running costs, however, energy for lighting, can be greatly reduced by the use of daylight.
◦ Useful daylight penetrates 3-6 m inside a building from the windows, and shallower floor plates maximize the use of daylight.
The width of the building and the height of the ceiling also affect the level of lighting.

12. Floor Slab Thickness and Thermal Mass
◦ In principle, this involves direct absorption of heat into the floor slabs when there is sunlight and a release at cooler
periods.
◦ While passive solar gains can be the need for heating a buildings in winter, vicecersa in summer can create the need
for cooling.
◦ Through design, fabric energy stored in the building structure can be removed at night by natural ventilation,
reducing energy consumption in cooling systems.
◦ Control over the radiant heat entering or leaving the building can be provided by external moveable shutters

13. Façade
◦ Another area where the fabric of a building can be used to control the internal
conditions is the façade. Double glazing with argon-filled cavities, triple-glazing
and glass coatings can decrease energy consumption.
◦ Air tightness of the façade is a major issue for tall buildings where pressure
differentials from higher winds at the top of a building can cause problems with
controlling internal temperatures and draughts.
◦ Double skin facades offer several advantages, such as acting as buffer zones
between internal and external conditions, and reducing heat loss in winter and
heat gain in summer.
◦ Natural ventilation can be drawn from the buffer zone into the building by
opening windows in the inner façade. This type of double skin glazed façade
used in the RWE Headquarters which is encased in a double glass skin.
◦ Outside is a single layer of strengthened safety glass, while the inner glazing is
heat-insulated white glass, allowing daylight to be maximized. A 500mm void
between the layers of glass acts as a thermal buffer.25

14. Combined Heat and Power
◦ Over the last two decades, photovoltaic systems (PV) have evolved rapidly and proved to be an efficient system and
practical solution for the sustainable supply of energy in buildings.
◦ It mainly converse the solar energy to electricity, which is a potential opportunity for future skyscrapers.
◦ PV technology is proven and available and its performance can range from 50-50 W/m² of the PV area depending
upon the type of cell, which allows the transmission of daylight.
◦ The application of PV can be significant for high-rise buildings since they provide an opportunity for a clear path of
direct sunlight above other buildings, as well as collecting energy in diffuse light.
◦ In addition, solar PVs can provide an excellent opportunity for aesthetic and environmental innovation.
◦ Panels can replace roofs, and wall cladding systems can cover existing unsightly concrete buildings, provide rain
coverings and act as roof lights .
◦ A good example is the Lighthouse, an innovative green skyscraper in Dubai .It will have 4000 photovoltaic panels on
the south facing façade in addition to three enormous 225 kilowatt wind turbines (29 meters in diameter). It aims to
reduce its total energy consumption by up to 65% .