As we move closer to the final project, I’ve found myself paying closer attention to the details of the systems we discuss in class as I think about how I might employ them in my studio project. Thus far, the most intriguing to me has been the idea of a double layered facade that. The concept of using two distinct layers of material that can be operated independently presents a level of human interaction that isn’t present in most building skin systems. Their complexity levels can vary drastically, which I believe is what is so intriguing about them. A fairly simply system could be deployed such as the one above, where the inner layer can be operated to exclude or accept warm outside air, in order to combat heating and cooling costs throughout the year. For many cases, this is plenty, as this system adequately reduces the buildings dependence on conventional HVAC systems and therefore lowers its energy consumption drastically.
However, double skin systems can extend in complexity essentially to the limits of imagination. Above is an image from inside the double skin facade of the Donnelly Center in Toronto, Canada. Created in partnership between Behnisch Architekten and Stuttgart architectsAlliance, the structures southern face consists of a double layered glass and aluminum facade that envelopes a series of walkways, allowing the inhabitant a unique experience of the building and view outside onto the city of Toronto.
The practicality of applying a system of this sort to my studio project is not yet clear, as WG Clark’s studio sites are quite limited and seem to call for small, contained structures without much of the exterior armature that is exhibited by double skin facade systems. However, I feel that it would be possible to apply it in limited amounts and possibly in conjunction with other non-standard heating and cooling methods in order to reduce the energy consumption of my building and, hopefully, add to the experience and aesthetic of my studio project.
Systems, Sites and Buildings 2012 | UVA ARCH 3230 