When it comes to reducing solar energy input into buildings, external sun shading systems are one of the most efficient measures. In most cases, fixed or operable shading devices are placed in front of the glazed areas. A clever alternative is the use of the building geometry itself for sun-shading. Here are some examples.
Niterói Contemporary Art Museum, Brazil
Brazilian archiect Oscar Niemeyer (1907 - 2012) can be regarded as a true virtuoso of building envelope design. During his career which lasted for more than 70 years he explored all varieties of facades and sun shading systems especially for hot climates. The Niterói Contemporary Art Museum is one of his more recent projects. It was completed in 1996.
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| The Niterói Contemporary Art Museum sits like a landed UFO on a cliffside at Guanabara Bay, Brazil (2) |
The sloping glazed facades reduce the solar radiation input drastically. The solar transmission is further reduced by the use of dark-tinted absorption glass. In addition, the sloping facades face towards the sea and offer a nice panoramic view of the sea shore below the museum.
The roof is exposed to most of the solar radiation. Its white colour reduces the heating of the roof surface by increasing the transmission and at the same time reducing the absorption of the solar radiation. The mechanical area below the roof serves as a buffer zone between the outside and the main floor of the museum.
The roof is exposed to most of the solar radiation. Its white colour reduces the heating of the roof surface by increasing the transmission and at the same time reducing the absorption of the solar radiation. The mechanical area below the roof serves as a buffer zone between the outside and the main floor of the museum.
Hanoi Museum, Vietnam
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| The Hanoi Museum combines several sun-shading strategies (3) |
This building is located in the Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. It was designed by German architects GMP and completed in 2010. The cantilevering floors serve as shading devices for the floors below. The top floor has protruding horizontal aluminium louvres. In addition, all glazed areas are covered with perforated elements who resemble the traditional Arabian Mashrabiyas (see also this post).
Two examples from the seventies
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| The Tempe Municipal Building has the shape of an inverted pyramid (4) |
The City Hall of Tempe, Arizona dates back from 1971 and was designed by architects Michael Goodwin and Kemper Goodwin.
The basic design of an inverted pyramid is quite obvious in this case.
Like all examples shown in this post, the roof is exposed to the bigger part of the solar radiation. The sloping facades are protected from the midday sun by the protruding building top. In addition, the inclination of the facade reduces the sunlight transmission through the glazing.
Like all examples shown in this post, the roof is exposed to the bigger part of the solar radiation. The sloping facades are protected from the midday sun by the protruding building top. In addition, the inclination of the facade reduces the sunlight transmission through the glazing.
The Dallas City Hall was designed by I. M. Pei and completed in 1978. The concepts of stepped and non-stepped inverted pyramids are combined in this building.
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| Dallas City Hall by I. M. Pei (5) |
Buildings shaped like an inverted pyramid seem to have been quite popular in the seventies because of their strong formal expression. In these two cases - both located in the south of the U.S. - their shape has without doubt a positive impact on the energy consumption of the air conditioning, too.
Another example of an inverted pyramid is the St. Petersburg Pier
in Florida, USA. Although you can't really tell by looking at the building, it was completed more than 40 yeaers ago, in 1973 (architect: William B. Harvard, Sr.). Unfortunately, there seem to be plans to demolish the "Pier" and replace it with a new building (9).
(1) "Niterói Contemporary Art Museum" by Rosino, CC-BY-SA-2.0 (altered: reference number added)Update (2015-04-08)
My colleague from the old days (thanks, Mihail!) has pointed me to two other examples that match well with those shown here. |
| Slovak radio building in Bratislava (6) |
The Slovak Radio Building was designed
by architects Štefan Svetko, Štefan Ďurkovič and Barnabáš Kissling and completed in 1983 (the project started already in 1967). The British "Telegraph" has included the building in its list of the 30 ugliest buildings in the world (7). Together
with buildings by Frank Gehry and MVRDV, which also appear in this
list, the Slovak Radio is not even in bad company...
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| St. Petersburg Pier, Florida/ USA (8) |
References
(2) "Niterói Contemporary Art Museum" by Rosino, CC-BY-SA-2.0
(3) "Hanoi Museum, Hanoi, Vietnam" by Daaé, public domain
(4) "The Tempe Municipal Building in Tempe, Arizona" by Visitor7, CC BY-SA 3.0
(5) "Side view of City Hall" by Daniel Lobo, CC BY 2.0
(6) "Slovak Radio" by Dushan Hanuska, CC BY 2.0 (altered: cropped)
(7) cf. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/property/pictures/9126031/The-worlds-30-ugliest-buildings.html?frame=2875010
(8) "st-petersburg-pier-1024x768-2653" by Texx Smith, CC BY 2.0
(9) cf. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Petersburg_Pier
Do you know other examples of building geometry and sun-shading combined? Leave a comment!
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