China’s push for green buildings and the development of “Eco-Cities” is really taking shape. New York architect Kevin Kennon has announced the final plans for a 90,00 square meter (about 968,700 sq ft.) eco-friendly office tower in Tianjin, China.
The 200 meter (about 656 ft.) tall high rise, called Tian Fang, will be home to both office spaces and a high-end shopping center that will sit nestled in and amongst green spaces that occupy the entire city block. The building’s design was commissioned for Tianjin’s “Eco-City” project and incorporates clean energy technologies as well as a green aesthetic that, according to this statement, “mimics the form and growth of bamboo forests.”
Not to be confused with Langfang’s Eco-Smart City, which we’ve covered in recent months, the nearby city of Tianjin’s own “Eco-City” project is another one of China’s several efforts in green building development. The eco-city in Tianjin is meant to be a 30 square kilometer city full of sustainable communities that shows off the latest in energy-conscious building.
The Tian Fang tower will generate about 20% of its energy on site using a combination of solar panels, wind turbines and hydrogen fuel cells, while another 20% of the tower’s energy use will be saved using conservation efforts. According to the report, several solar and wind studies were conducted and subsequently used in the design of the building to maximize use of daylight and available wind resources for natural building lighting and convection based heating and cooling.
The building’s shape and use of glass is a deliberate move to merge form and function. Kennon based Tian Fang’s design on 14X14 meter square blocks and staggered them so that the building has 18 corners instead of just 4. Not only does this approach afford more highly coveted “corner office” real estate but, as the building’s columns rise, their shapes allow the building to maximize its exposure to the sun and port more light into the building’s more than 50 atriums.
The building is scheduled to be completed sometime in 2013. When it is finished, it should draw 40% less energy from the city’s grid than similar buildings in the area.
