Project Description: Low-rise, low-energy office building for 100 people with stack ventilation, cross ventilation, and operable shading systems on the south building façade. 

Floor plan with cellular offices on the north side and open plan on the south side 

A key feature of this building is the integration between natural ventilation and daylighting strategies. The floor plan (shaded in yellow in the picture to the left) is divided into open-plan and cellular offices allowing cross ventilation in the open plan arrangement while the 4.5-meter-deep cellular offices are located on the north side with single-sided natural ventilation. A shallow open-office plan is coupled to a highly glazed façade. A wave-form ceiling structure is used. At the high point of the wave, a clerestory window allows daylight to effectively penetrate the space. A duct providing space conditioning and ventilation was placed within a hollow core at the low point of the wave-form structure. 

For shading, translucent motorized external glass louvers (Colt International) are controlled by the building management system and can be overridden by the occupants. The glass louvers can be rotated to diffuse direct solar or to a horizontal position for view. 

Cross section through the ventilation stack (left) and the glazed façade (right).

A stack ventilation system was designed as an alternative ventilation strategy for the open plan offices during extreme cooling conditions. Vertical chimneys were designed to draw hot air through the duct in the wave-form structure as well as through bottom-hung, hopper, etched windows. The exterior of the stacks are glazed with etched glass blocks, allowing daylight admission. Low-resistance propeller fans were mounted at the top-floor level, to provide minimum ventilation and to flush internal heat gains during the night. 

Reference 

Edwards, B. editor. 1998. Green buildings pay. London: E&FN Spon.

Question/Information: eslee@lbl.gov