MAAD: 4th Prize Barcelona Skyscraper 2011

Previously the primary light source was the daylight, nowadays we use electric light. Previously if we wanted a fresh air we just open a window, but now the mechanical ventilation is available. If we want a good temperature in a room, we now turn into air conditioning or central heating. Now we spend a large amount of money in this installations, and a bigger budget to run and sustain these machines. This is a unsustainable solution, both economically and ecologically.

Tiago Sales Passos Property

  

What if this hybrid could be our urban lab for a new wave of skyscrapers? Not based on accumulating machines but rather designing buildings and selecting materials so the inherent properties of the architecture would provide the necessary qualities?

Our design is a prototype for a structure that could meet the demands of this particular climate zone´s energy consumption. Commercial buildings are the largest consumers of electric grid power, yet over 50% of the energy generated to supply a building is lost during transmission from the power plant. What if buildings generated their own power on-site with no loss over transmission lines, or better yet even more than they actually need?

We integrate solar panels, photovoltaics, wind turbines, rain collectors, geothermal energy, cross ventilation, greenhouse and a vegetal facade into the skyscraper design from the outset, we hope to achieve a "sustainable aesthetic" that is both beautiful and productively practical.

Programmatically the hybrid is divided into different activities, where the main activities are living and working. Normally they take place in identical settings, but they have different needs! Housing uses energy heating, and offices on cooling. Housing needs the sun on the terrace and passive solar heat gain in the wintertime, offices needs the daylight, but hates sunlight. So, instead of putting both in the same template, we suggest to design the framework to the respective activities.

Tiago Sales Passos Property

We tilted the housing toward north, now they are optimized for passive solar heat gain, and at the same time sunlight is guaranteed for the terraces of all apartments from morning to evening. While offices, who need daylight, hates direct sun on their faces or on their computer screens. So we gave attempted to create a building volume that maximizes daylight but minimizes overheating and glare.

Tiago Sales Passos Property

_Team


_Tiago Sales Passos MAAD

_Vasco Antunes MAAD
Bernardo Sousa
Diana António