the living skyscraper

Draft

Rabeia Alhadi

Accepted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements For the Degree of Master of Architecture

At The Savannah College of Art and Design

____________________________________________________________________________________________________/__/__ Scott Dietz Date Committee Chair

____________________________________________________________________________________________________/__/__ Mohamed Elnahas Date Committee Member ____________________________________________________________________________________________________/__/__ Malcolm Kesson Date Committee Member

The Living Skyscraper

Mashrabbia; A Kinetic Envelope Represents Islamic Culture and Improves

Building Energy Performance

A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the Architecture In Partial Fulfilment for the Requirements of

Degree of Architecture

At The Savannah College of Art and Design

By

Rabeia M. Alhadi

June/2011

Dedication

To my father, Mahmoud A. Elfaitory, and my mother, Nabawia A. Eljerjawi,

t o whom I owe everything I have accomplished in my life,

and to my brothers and sisters, for all their love and support.

Acknowledgements

I would like to express my gratitude to the Libyan Ministry of Education for its financial support, without which this research would never

have been possible. I was fortunate in having Prof. Scott Dietz as my committee chairman at SCAD. I am most grateful to him for encouraging

and advising me throughout my work, as well as for his advice, comments and valuable discussions during the preparation of the final

submission of this thesis. I am also very grateful to Prof. Mohamed Elnahas, my faculty advisor, for his advice and comments on my thesis prior

to submission. My thanks are also due to Prof. Malcolm Kesson, my topic consultant, for his comments and guidance throughout my work on

this thesis. I would also like to extend my gratitude for editorial help rendered by Mrs. Zeba Siddiqui for her valuable and ongoing assistance.

Many thanks also go to the staff of the SCAD Library for their assistance.

Outside the academic arena, my deepest thanks go to my family and in particular my husband, Mohamed A. Elmughrbi. Its various

members never stopped encouraging me to finish this thesis and they continued to bear with me throughout the period of my work because of

my academic interests.

Finally, I thank my Creator for His grace, for having such helpful people around me, and for the privilege of being able to complete this

research.

Table of Content: List of Figures

Abstract

Part One: 1.1 Theoretical Context

1.2 Arguable Position

1.3 Design Objective

1.4 Design Strategy

1.5 Expected Outcome

1.6 Active Research& Relevant Resources

1.6.1 Environmental effect on Islamic culture and its

relation to architecture

1.6.2 Case Studies

Part Two: Context Analysis 2.1 Digital Context 2.1.1 Introduction 2.1.2 Kinetic Envelope Systems 2.1.3 Parametric Design of BIM 2.1.4 Design parameters for kinetic skins 2.2 Social and Cultural Context of Skyscrapers

2.2.1 History and Technology 2.2.2 Sustainable Skyscrapers 2.3 Context Analysis of Tripoli City, Libya 2.3.1 Background

2.3.2 Brief History 2.3.3 Economy 2.3.4 Demography 2.3.5 The Geology, Soil and Topography

2.4.6 Climate 2.4.7The residential land use change in Tripoli. 2.3.8 Architectural and Urban Fabric of Tripoli, New versus old Part Three: Site Analysis 3.1 General Information 3.2 Site Description 3.3 Land-Use Map 3.4 Circulation Map 3.5 Sun Path 3.6 Prevailing Wind 3.7 Views from the Site to Its Surroundings 3.8 Views to the Site 3.9 Environment Simulations 3.9.1 Solar Radiation Analysis 3.9.2 Shadow Study 3.9.3 Wind Study Part Four: Programming 4.1 General Overview of Needs and Desires 4.2 Tripoli’s Traditional Street Component 4.3 Program Summary 4.4 Program Distribution 4.5 Program precedents

4.6 Program Quantitative Summary and Proportions 4.7 Conclusion Part Five: 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Islamic Geometric Patterns 5.3 Types of Islamic Patterns 5.4 The Proposed Mashrabbia Patterns 5.5 Dynamic Mashrabbia Environment Simulations 5.6 Project Schematic Design Part Six: Design Development

6.1 Dynamic Mashrabbia Pattern Development 6.2 Building Orientation 6.4 Building Design Development 6.5 Dynamic Mashrabbia Evaluation

6.5.1 Solar Radiation Analysis 6.5.2 Building Energy Performance Analysis

6.5.3 Dynamic Mashrabbia Benefits Part Seven: Design Development

7.1 Dynamic Mashrabbia Details 7.1.1 Dynamic Mashrabbia Behaviour during Daytime 7.1.2 Detailed Mashrabbia Design 7.1.3 Dynamic Mashrabbia Effect on Interior Spaces

7.2 Building Skin Layers and Ventilation system 7.3 Design Development 7.4 Conclusion

Bibliography

1

List of Figures:

Part One: Fig. 1.1: The old city of Tripoli, Libya

Fig 1.2: Courtyard House

Fig 1.3: Mashrabbia

Fig 1.4: Geometric Patterns of Tessellate Panels

Fig 1.5: Interior rendering of the Court yeard by Foster+ Partners

Fig 1.6: ABI's Strata System

Fig 1.7: Detail of ABI's Strata System

Fig 1.8: Perme System at Aldar Central Market

Fig 1.9: Abu Dhabi Investment Council Headquarters Towers

Fig 1.10, Investment-Council-Headquarters-Towers-Concept-Design

Fig 1.11: Investment-Council-Headquarters-Towers-Ground-Design

Fig 1.13: Façade Layers

Part Two: Fig. 2.1: The kinetic façade of Arab World Institute, Paris

Fig. 2.2: Arizona State University's Bio-design Institute in Tempe

Fig. 2.3: (GSW) headquarters building

Fig. 2.4: Design parameters for kinetic skins

Fig. 2.6: The BIX electronic skin by Peter Cook

Fig. 2.5: A/B-sampling data from sensors and information portals

Fig. 2.7: Sullivan's Wainwright Building

Fig. 2.8: Sears Tower

Fig. 2.9: Lift: Taipei 101 tower, right: Burg Dubai

Fig. 2.10: Menara Mesiniaga, Kuala Lumpur, 1992, T. R. Hamzah &

Yeang

Figure 2.11: Swiss Reinsurance Headquarters, London, U.K., 2004,

Foster and Partners

Fig.2.12 : The Solaire, Battery Park, New York City, 2003

Figure 2.13: Pearl River Tower, Guangzhou, China, 2010

Fig. 2.14: Tripoli city’s skyline

Fig. 2.15: Tripoli links between European and African cities

Fig. 2.16: Oil exports from Libya

Fig. 2.17: Temperature and rainfall averages, Tripoli, Libya

Fig. 2.18: Tripoli residential land use between 1960-2005

Fig. 2.19: The main entrance to the Medina, known as Bab Al-Hurriyah

(the Freedom Gate) the earliest fortified wall around the town was built in

the 4th century

Fig. 2.20: Marcus Aurelius arch

Fig. 2.21: Karamanli Palace

Fig. 2.22: Right: The main hall of Gurji mosque, Lift: Islamic Inscriptions

in the mosque

Fig. 2, 23: The Red Castel, Tripoli, Libya

Fig. 2.24: The modern shore of Tripoli reflecting the contrast between the

old and new buildings of the city

Fig. 2.25: The style of high-rise buildings in modern Tripoli

Fig. 2.26: Residential high-rise buildings in modern Tripoli

Fig. 2.27: Commercial and Residential high-rise building in the modern

part of Tripoli

Fig. 2.28: Right, Alfateh tower. Lift: Abulaila tower

2

Fig. 2.29:10-story residential building is under construction. (Picture: Sep.

07, 2010)

Fig. 2.30: Hydra Tripoli Tower

Fig. 2.32: The new skyscrapers of Tripoli (some of them are under

construction): dwarfing Boulayla and Alfatah towers.

JW.Marriott Hotel (bottom right)

Fig. 2.31: Medina Tower, Tripoli, Libya

Part Three: Fig. 3.1: The proposed site, Tripoli, Libya, North Africa

Fig.3.2: Zooming further to the site

Fig. 3.3: Tripoli’s district heights map

Fig. 3.4: Land-use map

Fig. 3.5: Circulation map

Fig. 3.6: Sun path of Tripoli city

Fig. 3.7 Prevailing wind, Tripoli, Libya

Fig. 3.8: Views from the site

Fig. 3.9: Views toward the site

Fig. 3.10: Summer solar radiation study result

Fig. 3.11: Winter solar radiation study result

Fig. 3.12: Summer shadow study result

Fig. 3.13: Winter shadow study result

Fig. 3.14: Pressure study result

Fig. 3.15: velocity study result

Part Four:

Fig. 4.1: An example of Tripoli’s narrow traditional streets

Fig. 4.2: One of Tripoli’s medina streets

Fig. 4.3: Handicrafts in the old city of Tripoli

Fig. 4.4: Concept diagram

Fig. 4.5: A rendering of Medina Tower

Fig. 4.6: Some views of Medina Tower

Fig. 4.7: Program proportions

Part Five: Fig. 5.1: The Root Two proportion systemFig. 5.2: Root Three proportion

system

Fig. 5.3: The Golden Ratio proportion system

Fig. 5.4: Islamic mashrabbias pattern case studies

Fig. 5.5: The various opening stages of Pattern

Fig, 5.6: Pattern I Environment Simulation Result, 20-foot depth space

Fig. 5.7: Pattern I Environment Simulation Result, 30-foot depth space

Fig. 5.7: Pattern II Environment Simulation Result, 20-foot depth space

Fig. 5.8: Pattern III Environment Simulation Result, 30-foot depth space



Fig. 5.11: The site

Fig. 5.12: First floor zoning

Fig. 5.13: Second floor zoning

Fig. 5.14: Section A-A

Fig. 5.15: Building elevations

Fig. 5.16: Perspective

3


Part Six:

Fig. 6.1: Dynamic mashrabbia pattern ( Maya software)

Fig. 6.2: Best building orientation study result, Tripoli, Libya (Ecotect

software

Fig. 6.3: Distributing the dynamic mashrabbia on the towers( Revit

software)

Fig. 6.4: Site plan

Fig. 6.5: Basement floor plan

Fig. 6.6: First floor plan

Fig. 6.7: Second floor plan.


Fig. 6.9: Top: South elevation. Down: West elevation

Fig. 6.10: Top: East elevation. Down: North elevation

Fig. 6.11: Project perspective

Fig. 6.12: Project perspectives

Fig. 6.13: Solar radiation study result (Vasari software)

Fig. 6.14: Building energy analysis result (Vasari software)

Part Seven: Fig. 7.1: Dynamic mashrabbia behaviour during daytime

Fig. 7.2: Dynamic mashrabbia detailed design

Fig. 7.3: Dynamic mashrabbia effact on interior spaces at different

opening stages

Fig. 7.4: Building’s skin layers, left: during moderate climate and at

nights, right: during hot climate.

Fig. 7.5: Building perspective

Fig. 7.6: Site plan

Fig. 7.7: Basement levels plan


Fig. 7.9: Second floor plan


Fig. 7.12: North elevation at about 4:00 pm

Fig. 7.13: West elevation at about 4:00 pm

Fig. 7.14: East elevation at about 10:00 am.

Fig. 7.15: South elevation at about 10:00 am



Fig. 7.19: Close perspective to the dynamic mashrabbia

Fig. 7.17: The sky gardens

Fig. 7.18: The café

Fig. 7.16: The main entrance of the project and the main courtyard

4

The Living Skyscraper Mashrabbia; A Kinetic Envelope Represents Islamic Culture and

Improves Building Energy Performance

Rabeia M. Alhadi

June, 2011

Abstract During the last couple of decades, Tripoli, like any other

major city has grown exponentially. Nowadays it requires

thousands of new homes per year; a situation that has created a lot

of controversy as urban planners propose skyscrapers and

Tripolians drastically refuse to change their beloved city.

With the growing populations in Tripoli, high-rise buildings are

becoming an important part of the city life. However, the new high-

rise buildings should accommodate the local style of life.

This thesis investigates how the use of new materials,

technologies, and the digital revolution can express the local

culture and make a building harmonizes with its surrounding

environment to take full advantage of the available natural

resources and provide an acceptable climate for its occupants.

The main aim of this design is to create an innovative and next

generation sustainable tower designed specifically for Tripoli city by

taking advantage of cutting-edge technologies while respecting the

traditional way of living that reflects the area’s cultural roots.

The approach of this design is to develop a bio-inspired kinetic

envelope system which has the interactive access to the

surrounding environment. This kinetic façade is inspired by the

traditional Islamic mashrabbia and has the ability to responce and

adjust according to the sun movement to minimize undesirable

environmental impacts. A new Parametric Design method in

Building Information Modeling (BIMPD) and computational

simulation is used in this design.

5

Part One Topic Research

6

1.1 Introduction (theoretical Context)

Recent years have seen an unprecedented growth in the

construction of tall buildings, with more, and taller, skyscrapers

being constructed than at any other time in history. Certainly on an

international scale, the past several years have been the most

active and dynamic in the history of tall buildings.1

In particular, cities in developing countries seem to ignore

the local climate, culture and context and instead simply ‘import’ the

However, too

many tall buildings continue to be designed in one of two

inadequate ways: either as vertical extrusions of an efficient floor

plan, or as iconic pieces of high-rise urban ‘sculpture’. In both

cases the only relationship with the urban setting is a visual one,

with the tall building usually dominating. This has led to the

syndrome of tall buildings as ‘isolationist’ architecture – stand-

alone, non-site specific models that are readily transportable

around the cities of the world.

1 Anya Kaplan-Seem, As Economy Sank, Skyscrapers Soared Ever Higher http://archrecord.construction.com/news/daily/archives/090407skyscrapers.asp

Western model of the air-conditioned, rectilinear glass box. This

pattern of gleaming glass skyscrapers springing up in the tropics,

deserts and other extreme climates has led many to denounce the

tall building as inherently anti-environmental. In short, these tall

buildings are contributing to the degradation of both global (climate

change) and local (cultural) environments.

It does not, however, have to be this way. Tall buildings

have the opportunity to reinvent themselves as a typology for a

sustainable urban future – featured centres of life, work and play

with innovative functions, technologies and environments to face

the challenges of the future climate-changed world. This new

typology needs to be inspired not only by environmental issues, but

also by the cultural and vernacular traditions of the location they

are placed in. This is especially important in maintaining the cultural

integrity and continuity of any urban domain, but especially in

developing countries where the embrace of Western models is both

enthusiastic and rapid. In short, tall buildings need to be inspired by

place – both culturally and environmentally. This thesis seeks to

7

explore an alternative design approach for tall building to create

high-rise building that embrace its location and is inspired by the

climatic, cultural and contextual aspects of place.

1.2 Arguable Position

During the last couple of decades, Tripoli, like any other

major city has grown exponentially. Nowadays it requires

thousands of new homes per year; a situation that has created a lot

of controversy as urban planners propose skyscrapers and

Tripolians drastically refuse to change their beloved city. Tripoli is a

city of low buildings that recognizes street life and human scale as

one of its most important aspects. The few high-rise buildings

located in the city’s downtown have been criticized and almost no

one believes that skyscrapers could be the solution to their housing

problem. The modern recently-built multiple story apartment blocks

that do not accommodate privacy or access to nature have

compelled many people to seek their unique style of life at the

outskirt of Tripoli, despite the fact that they still need to return to

the inner of the city for their daily work.

“Tripoli's population of 1.6 million is growing by

approximately 2.2% per annum but the city is a little struggling to

handle such growth. The rapid growth of the city requires a new

approach to its urban structure, the layout and organisation of

housing, employment location and eventually traffic management."

(said CBRE report)2

With the growing populations in Tripoli, high-rise buildings

are becoming an important part of the city life. However, the new

high-rise buildings should accommodate the local style of life. This

thesis investigates how the use of new materials, technologies, and

the digital revolution can express the local culture and make a

building harmonizes with its surrounding environment to take the

full advantage of the available natural resources and provide an

2 CB Richard Ellis’(CBRE) Report on the Libyan real estate market July, 2010, http://www.libyaonline.com/news/details.php?id=13972, accessed on November 20, 2010.

http://www.libyaonline.com/news/details.php?id=13972�

8

acceptable climate for its occupants. This thesis explores what role

traditional Islamic architecture can play in digital architectural

design of a tall building and discusses how solar control and natural

ventilation systems can be integrated into kinetic facade systems to

minimise the environmental impacts. Sun shading should be

considered as an integral part of fenestration system design that is

adapted into the facade design.The product of this thesis is a

mixed-use skyscraper in Tripoli city, Libya, representing the Islamic

culture and coping with the region hot climate.

1.3 Design Objective

The objective of this project is to design a self-reliant

building that appropriately respects and recognizes its surrounding

site while subtly reflecting Islamic culture. The main aim of this

design is to create an innovative and next generation sustainable

tower designed specifically for Tripoli city by taking advantage of

cutting-edge technologies while respecting the traditional way of

living that reflects the area’s cultural roots. In this design, the focus

will be on the skin of the tower, which will introduce a kinetic facade

that minimizes undesirable environmental impacts by integrating

solar control, daylight and natural ventilation systems, and

encompassing a wide range of strategies resulting in an energy

efficient building design. Such facade systems minimize

overheating and excessive solar gain during summer and hot

seasons.

1.4 Design Strategy:

This project proposes a possible solution by creating a

community-like skyscraper that takes Tripoli’s street life to the sky.

This community offers residents the opportunity to live according to

their traditional life style which incorporates an Islamically-

acceptable level of privacy and desired access to nature. The

design will be generated and moulded by the surrounding

environment, and some of the parameters that will be employed in

distinguishing the building are natural lighting, shade and stable

9

conditions in the harsh climate through the design of a dynamic

skin that has the ability to adapt, mutate and adjust according to the

local climate. The approach of this design is to develop a bio-

inspired kinetic envelope system which has the interactive access

to the surrounding environment like solar radiation, daylight, etc. A

new Parametric Design method in Building Information Modeling

(BIMPD) and computational simulation will be used in this design.

The design of this skin will be inspired by the traditional

Islamic architectural element Mashrabbia (a wooden screen with

different patterns used to provide privacy and allow air movement),

and will almost play the same role of Mashrabbia in providing

shade, privacy, and a more comfortable internal environment. It will

also incorporate a photovoltaic panel system in the Mashrabbia to

provide energy self-sufficiency.

The project will be a mixed-use development with housing,

suq (shopping center), public library, gym, parks, a madrassa

(education center) and even a primary health center. It will be

designed according to green building techniques, and aims for

urban sustainability.

1.5 The Expected Outcome

As the first green skyscraper in the city, the project will play

a crucial and irreplaceable role in improving the Libyan way of life

by redefining what we understand as a skyscraper and initiating

new architectural knowledge incorporating a sense of economic,

environmental and cultural responsibility.

The project also will enhance the local neighborhood by

adding additional living space with other commercial and cultural

facilities.

At the same time, the project will propose a possible

solution for coping with hot- climate architecture utilizing advanced

building technologies with vernacular architectural elements. The

resulting system will intelligently provide thermal comfort, natural

energy and reduce energy usage of HVAC system according to

outdoor climate condition, which creates an “Acclimated Building”.

10

The expected long term achievement of this project is an innovative

design approach integrating BIMPD and biomimicry for thermal

comfort and developing building energy efficiency.

1.6 Active Research and Relevant Resources

1.6.1 The Islamic cultural response to high-rise buildings

The brilliant Egyptian architect, Hassan Fathy had explained

very perfectly “Old Islamic houses have filigreed windows and

central courts, for example, to admit light without glare, coolness

without air conditioning. The same principles could easily be

incorporated even into high-rise buildings” (CNN, 1974).

For generations, Islamic culture has exhibited various

fundamental principles of sustainable ways of living. It is the

intention of this design to revive and utilize these fundamental

principles into the modern design of a contemporary multi-story,

mixed-use tower in Tripoli city. However, the idea of high-rise

buildings brings a new scale into Islamic architecture. Moreover,

high-rise buildings also require the application of new technologies

and expertise in every aspect of the design and construction, and

require a thorough understanding of the life style and culture of the

region in which they are to be located.

1.6.1 Environmental effect on Islamic culture and its

relation to architecture

The heritage of the traditional Arabic architecture has

influenced and developed in response to three main factors: the

region’s hot and humid climate, social and religious aspects, and

local availability of building materials. In general, its main features

are simplicity, functionality, durability and suitability for climatic

environments and social life.3

In response to the hot and humid climate, four architectural

elements are visible. First, buildings were constructed close to each

other. This type of high-density structure created narrow alleys,

which were shaded for most of the day. The narrowness of the

3 Robert Hillenbrand , Islamic Architecture: form, function, and meaning, 1994.

11

alleys caused the wind to increase in velocity as it breezed through,

creating a comfortable pedestrian zone (Fig 1.1).

Fig. 1.1: The old city of Tripoli, Libya

The second element is the courtyard house, in which most

of the rooms, which may have shaded verandas, face inward

toward the courtyard, which was in the center of the house (see Fig

1.2). The existence of the courtyard generates wind movement

inside the house by allowing hot air to ascend, while cooler air to

replaces it from the surrounding rooms. Such courtyards also

reduce cooling loads in the hot climates. At night, cool air comes in

lowering the temperature in the thermally massive courtyard walls

and floor. These elements hold the coolness throughout the hot

day, which represent natural and environmental sustainability (Fig.

1.3).4

Courtyards could be included in a single house or multiple

houses could share the same open space to take advantage of

protected outdoor space. Courtyards may be of different sizes and

accommodate multiple functions. In addition to providing privacy

and stable conditions in the harsh climate, they may function as a

central hall to connect the different rooms of a single house, a

space where extended family, neighbors or guests, gather,

providing a ‘main street for a neighborhood, gathering or common

space for families.

5

In these days, although the location of the courtyard is

more likely to be at the edges of the house, it is still one of the

major characteristics of the Arab house.

4 Ibid. 5 Ibid.

12

Fig 1.2: Courtyard House

Wooden screens (mashrabbia), were also widely used in

Arab houses. They allow cool breezes to enter through the wooden

lattices, thereby enabling the entry of air currents, which reduce the

temperature; reflected heat, solar radiation, and the intensity of

traffic noise (see Fig 1.3). 6

6 Ibid.

Fig 1.3: Mashrabbia

The effect of religion and social interaction on local

architecture can be observed in two ways. Firstly, the Islamic

religious teachings encourage privacy and modesty, and courtyard

houses fulfil this condition by providing an inward-looking house

whose privacy cannot be breached from the street. All the first floor

rooms opened onto the courtyard, while the exterior walls were

mostly solid , apart from some small ventilation openings at a

considerable height, thereby preventing pedestrians from looking

13

inside. Mashrabbias were also used in the second floor to provide

privacy by reducing visual glare. A zigzag entrance to the house,

where the main gate was faced with a solid wall to provide privacy

The term “muhalla,” meaning neighborhood or locality is

also very important in Islamic architecture. Each neighborhood has

its own character, often marked by a gate. Within the demarcated

area, various sorts of buildings such as a mosque, hamam, and

shops of various kinds to meet most of the residents’ needs would

be found.7

1.6.2 Case studies:

- Modern adaptation of the traditional Mashrabbia for

privacy and solar protection.

Here, some examples of modern building’s components

design that brings back the concept of Islamic and Middle Eastern

mashrabbia presented in the terms of modern technology. Although

the modern mashrabbias work in different manner, nevertheless

7 Ibid.

they still plays the same role of the traditional one, providing shade,

privacy, and stable conditions in the harsh climate.

1- Tessellate Panels at Simons Center for Geometry &

Physics

State University of New York at Stony Brook , Long Island, NY,

2010

Project team: Architect: Perkins Eastman

Fabricator: A. Zahner Co.

Adaptive Building Initiative created a dynamic installation for

the Stony Brook Foundation’s new Center for Geometry and

Physics.

The installation serves both as the building's artistic

centerpiece and as a functional piece of shading seamlessly

integrated within its south-facing glass façade. To achieve the

requirements of the building program, ABI installed a floor-to-ceiling

composition of Tessellate panels, each with a geometric pattern—

mirroring the research focus of the building’s resident scientists and

14

mathematicians. As these patterns align and diverge, the visual

effect is of sparse geometric patterns—hexagons, circles, squares,

and triangles—that blossom into an opaque mesh (see fig 1.4). The

result is a kinetic surface that spans 122 square meters and imbues

the building with the functional capacity to dynamically change its

opacity.8


8 Adaptive Building Initiative, http://www.adaptivebuildings.com/simons-center.html, accessed on Nov 12, 1010.


http://www.adaptivebuildings.com/simons-center.html�

15

Tessellate is controlled using location-based sensory data

to respond to light and weather conditions and fully integrates into

the building management system. For instance, when high levels of

direct light are detected, the metal panels diverge, and their

patterns completely overlap, blocking the sun’s rays. The sensors

are programmed in a variety of ways to maximize energy efficiency

and savings.9

Façade:

Adaptive Shading Coverage: 124 sq. m.

Materials: Waterjet-cut steinless steel, glass

Dimensions: 5.6m Wide x 6.7m Tall

2- Strata System at City of Justice (AP + TSJ)

Architect: Foster + Partners

Ciudad de Justicia, Madrid, Spain, 2006-2011, Strata

The new Campus of Justice in Madrid is the largest single

site dedicated to law courts in Europe. Following the master plan, 9 Ibid.

Foster + Partners has designed two distinctly circular buildings,

Tribunal Superior de Justicia (High Court) see fig 1.5, and

Audiencia Provincial (Appeals Court).

Fig 1.5: Interior rendering of the Court yeard by Foster+ Partners

Both buildings were designed to minimize unwanted solar gain,

while allowing natural daylight inside. As a key part of this

environmental strategy, ABI systems were used to develop a

customized shading scheme. Each building will use ABI's Strata

system; when extended, the system will cover the triangulated roof

16

grid. When retracted, their profile will 'disappear' into the structural

profile of the roof (see figs 1.6, 1.7).

During the day, the primary function of the system will be

sun shading. A custom algorithm combining historic solar gain data

with real-time light-level sensing will control the shading units.10

Fig 1.6: ABI's Strata System

AP:

- 20,000 sq. feet of shading area

- System Geometry: Hexagonal

- Number of operable units: 257

TSJ: 10 Ibid.

- 7,000 sq. feet of shading area

- System Geometry: Parallelogram


- Materials: Aluminum, Steel

- Control System: Each unit driven by a servo motor with custom

array control

Fig 1.7: Detail of ABI's Strata System

3- Perme System at Aldar Central Market, Central Market , Abu

Dhabi, UAE , 2006-2010.

Architect: Foster + Partners

Abu Dhabi's historic Central Market has been transformed

into a dynamic new quarter with markets, shops, offices,

apartments and hotels. One of the oldest sites in the city, Central

17

Market is a reinterpretation of the traditional marketplace and a new

civic heart for Abu Dhabi. The project comprises a combination of

lower-rise, ecologically sensitive levels of retail roof gardens

forming a new public park—and three towers.

Using the Adaptive Building Initiative's Perme system,

Hoberman Associates developed several exterior shading roofs in

three public squares within the retail complex. The kinetic design

works off an operable grid. In its covered configuration, the shading

roof resembles a traditional coffered Islamic roof. When retracted,

the roof becomes a slender lattice that complements the Foster

team's designs for fixed shading (see fig 1.8).11

- Adaptive Shading Coverage: 3,000 sq. ft.


- Materials: Aluminum, Steel

- Control System: Each unit driven by a servo motor with

custom array control

Adaptively Benefits

11 Ibid.

- Ventilation and airflow control

- Dust and debris protection

- Reduced solar gain and glare

- Shading control

- Privacy control

18

Fig 1.8: Perme System at Aldar Central Market

The following case studies were selected as examples of

skyscrapers whose architects attempted to mediate between the

modern building typology and the local identity.

4- Abu Dhabi Investment Council Headquarters Towers

Architects: Aedas+Arup architects

Height: 476 ft (145m), Client: Abu Dhabi Investment Council

Location: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE)

Site area: 11,500sq m

Number of floors: 29 floors

Total ground floor area: Over 32,000sq m

Area of Curtain Wall: 67,500m2

Curtain Wall System: Unitized and Stick Curtain Wall

Fig 1.9: Abu Dhabi Investment Council Headquarters Towers

CONCEPT: The design of the towers considers both traditional

Islamic architecture as well as sustainability. It includes and utilises

sustainable techniques, including a state-of-the-art computer

operated shading system. The designers have also striven to fuse

Islamic architecture with the modern design, basing the entire

19

structure of the building on a mixture of two-dimensional circles and

three dimensional spheres. The entire structure is designed to

reflect a single geometric theme. "Our concept for the Abu Dhabi

Investment Council headquarters was generated from a

mathematically pre-rationalised form which was in turn derived from

Islamic principles,” said Aedas deputy chairman Peter Oborn. “It’s a

thoroughly modern building rooted in tradition.”12(see Fig. 1.10)

Fig 1.10, Investment-Council-Headquarters-Towers-Concept-Design

12 Wordpress Theme, Architecture View , http://www.architecture-view.com/2010/10/24/gorgeous-investment-council-headquarters-towers-for-abu-dhabi/, accessed: Nov 20, 2010.

Use: Commercial office use, as well as facilities for a full-service

restaurant, café, a fully configured auditorium for up to 150 people,

a multi-use conference space, and prayer rooms for the building’s

estimated 2,000 office workers.13

Fig 1.11: Investment-Council-Headquarters-Towers-Ground-Design

13 Ibid.

http://www.architecture-view.com/2010/10/24/gorgeous-investment-council-headquarters-towers-for-abu-dhabi/�


20

DETAILS

Fig 1.13: Façade Layers

Both towers are covered from top to bottom with a dynamic

‘mashrabbia’ screen, which opens and closes in response to the

position of the sun (see Fig. 1.9). The mashrabbia comprises over

1,000 translucent moving elements on each tower and is controlled

by specially designed computer software. It will reduce solar gain

by an estimated 20%, and provide 80% to 90% of the shading on

the building.14

The mashrabiya is made of a translucent fabric mesh

(PFTE), providing occupants closed. The honeycomb design is not

only practical in terms of shading, but is also very resilient and

difficult to damage.

15

These sustainable initiatives will lead to an estimated 20%

reduction in electricity consumption, due to a reduced in the need

for air conditioning and lighting, a 20% reduction in CO2 emissions

and a 15% in cooling plant capital cost.

16

14 Ibid. 15 Ibid. 16 Bridgette Meinhold, Inhabitat, Solar-Powered Crystalline Towers Unveiled for Abu Dhabi, http://inhabitat.com/solar-powered-crystalline-towers-unveiled-for-abu-dhabi/abu-dhabi-investment-council-headquarters-towers-13/?extend=1, accessed: Nov 20,2010.

http://inhabitat.com/solar-powered-crystalline-towers-unveiled-for-abu-dhabi/abu-dhabi-investment-council-headquarters-towers-13/?extend=1�


21

Part Two Context Analysis

22

2.1 Digital Context:

2.1.1 Introduction

How to make buildings acclimate to the climate has been

the challenge of architecture for Thermal comfort. Reducing the

outdoor high temperature differences is still the significance of

building energy efficiency. In particular, there are many locations

with great daily or seasonal variation in climatic temperature. The

temperature can swing around 40 C° degrees from winter to

summer and around 10 C° degrees from night to day17

17 Z. Xie, H.-X. Cao, “Asymmetric Changes in Maximum and Minimum Temperature in Beijing”, Theor. Appl. Climatol. 1996, vol. 55, pp. 151-156

. Currently,

the common strategies for addressing this wide temperature range

of climate are the HVAC (Heating, Ventilating and Air-conditioning)

systems. Much energy of HVAC system is needed in these

locations for indoor thermal comfort. There are lots of studies

focusing on the high-tech or high-efficient HVAC system to save

energy. However, we believe the fundamental point is the building

design rather than external treatment like the HAVC system. That is

why many design standards and handbooks are used for

recommending building orientation, materials and other design

strategies for reducing the energy usages of HVAC systems. Since

this thesis suggests design of a bio-inspired dynamic envelope

system responding to solar radiation and local climate conditions,

and in order to explore the envelope system, this research reviews

important literatures related to biomimetic design in architecture

and kinetic/interactive building envelope applications.

2.1.2 Kinetic Envelope Systems

The optical and thermophysical properties of building

envelopes are one of the most important design parameters

affecting indoor thermal comfort and energy conservation18

18 Gul Koc¸ Zerrin Yilmaz, “Building form for cold climatic zones related to building envelope from heating energy conservation point of view,” Energy and Buildings, 2003, vol. 35, pp. 383–388.

.

Regarding the interactive or kinetic envelope, it belongs to the

issue of kinetic architecture that initially was first demonstrated by

the literature “Kinetic Architecture” wrote by William Zuk and Roger

H. Clark in 1970. It shows a systematic knowledge about kinetic

23

architecture, also proposed a combination between natural

organisms and buildings19. Building envelopes tend to be smarter

with more moving parts, and the main trend driven by kinetic

envelopes is sustainability and indoor comfort20. Also, some

practices and research consistently justify that interactive

envelopes can offer promising energy savings and indoor comfort

21 22 23

There are many examples among which the following ones are

worth mentioning. Consider, for instance, eye adaptation that the

pupil controlling the amount of light entering the eyes

.

24

19 William Zuk, Roger H. Clark, Kinetic Architecture. New York: 1970

. This was

contributed to design camera shutters and then inspired an

interesting façade of Jean Nouvel’s design, Arab World Institute in

Paris (Fig.2.1). The kinetic envelopes will control the amount of

20 Sullivan, C. C., “Robot Buildings. Pursuing the Interactive Envelope,” Architectural Record, 0003858X, 194: Issue 4 21 Thanos Tzempelikos, “Integration of Dynamic Facades with other Building Systems,” Automated Buildings Magazine, 2007, May. 22 Sullivan, C. C. 23 Thanos Tzempelikos 24 Carlos Ernesto Ochoa, Isaac Guedi Capeluto, “Strategic decisionmaking for intelligent buildings: Comparative impact of passive design strategies and active features in a hot climate,” Building and Environment, 2008, pp.1829–1839.

incident sunlight according to the outside daylight illumination

conditions. In the result, the indoor lighting environment will be

balanced and save the electrical lighting energy.

Fig 2.1: The kinetic façade of Arab World Institute, Paris

Another example involves automated shades which have the

attributes of highly transparent and relatively unarticulated building

enclosures. At Arizona State University's Bio-design Institute in

Tempe (Fig 2.2), researchers used interior aluminum louvers

controlled continuously by photocells and sun-tracking embedded

computation instead of the large expanse of window walls at Gould

Evans and Lord Aeck Sargent Architecture. A manual override

24

accessible through occupants' computers allows personal

adjustments to be made25.

Fig 2.2: Arizona State University's Bio-design Institute in Tempe

In addition, the envelope systems of the Gemeinnützige

Siedlungsund Wohnungsbaugesellschaft (GSW) headquarters

building(Fig. 2.3), designed by Sauerbruch & Hutton Architects,

demonstrate the views that the envelopes of buildings may like the

skins of living organisms to breathe, change form, and adapt to

variations in climate26

25 Sullivan, C. C.

. Its kinetic envelop systems offer the

naturally ventilation for 70 percent of the year, and provide

26 Michael Wiggington, Jude Harris, “Breathing in Berlin,” Architecture Week 2003, 0903, pp. E1.1.

extremely good daylight to the office floors through shading

systems and much reduce the need for electrical lighting.

Fig 2.3: (GSW) headquarters building

Current intelligent kinetic systems arise from the

isomorphic convergence of three key elements: mechanical

engineering, embedded computation and responsive architecture.

Based on morphology and biology about tissue systems which

include three basic types- nervous tissue, connective tissue and

25

skin tissue, at the architectural counterpoints, the interactive/kinetic

envelope systems can be also arose from the isomorphic

convergence of three key elements: sensor / monitor systems,

embedded computation and kinetic components. Sensor/monitor

systems like the biological nervous tissue are to sense and record

indoor air condition parameters involving pollutants, air flow rate

and etc. Next embedded computation deemed as connective tissue

analyzes the data received from the sensor/monitor systems

through embedded programs given by designers or users, and in

turn the kinetic components related to the skin tissue can adjust

their configurations, shaping or composing according to the

commands from embedded computation. Multiple building tissues

of envelopes are grouped together and carry out a specific

acclimated function for outside and inside air condition signals, and

then form an integral kinetic system, which can be deemed as an

interactive/kinetic building organ27

27 Bettig B., J. Shah, “Derivation of a standard set of geometric constraints for parametric modeling and data exchange,” Computer-Aided Design, 2001, vol.33, pp.17–336.

.

2.1.3 Parametric Design of BIM (BIMPD)

Most issues related to parametric design is for exploring,

representing or optimizing geometric shapes rather than capturing

and describing real architectural needs related to environments or

occupants 28 29 30. However, the term “BIMPD” is a new and

different area and includes 3D knowledge-rich parametric modeling

information from geometry to shape, from materials to

constructions and from occupancy activities to environmental

conditions. Lee and Sacks 31

28 Ibid.

extended BIM to domain knowledge

and explored the ability of an object in BIM to respond to internal or

external stimuli (i.e., change its form in response to changes in its

context) through complex constrains defined by users or

environmental conditions. On the other hand, BIM can utilize

external software to access necessary parameters for building

29 B. Bruderlin, D. Roller (Eds.), Geometric Constraint Solving and Applications, Springer, Berlin, Germany:1998. 30 J.Y. Lee, K. Kim, “Geometric reasoning for knowledge-based parametric design using graph representation,” Computer-Aided Design, 1996, vol. 28, pp. 831– 841. 31 Ghang Lee a, et al, “Specifying parametric building object behaviour (BOB) for a building information modeling system,” Automation in Construction, 2006, vol.15, pp. 758 – 776.

26

energy performance analysis. Schlueter & Thesseling 32

The BIM-based design with parametric methods presents the

possibility of kinetic building configuration for indoor thermal

comfort according to constraints like the relation between solar

radiation and changes of multilayer envelopes. These

configurational changes will be driven by the biologic conceptual

manipulation of spatial/configurational, physical/behavioral and

material/constructional aspects of design. Also, this process allows

discussions of design ideas and analytical tests combined with

existing computational techniques like EnergyPlus at multiple

points during the design process. The BIMPD method ultimately

results in an iterative design process supporting kinetic

conceptualization, materialization, and construction information.

developed

a prototypical tool DPV integrated into a BIM authoring tool

(Autodesk Revit) enabling the instantaneous energy simulation and

the visual representation of outputs.

32 Arno Schlueter, Frank Thesseling, “Building information model based energy/exergy performance assessment in early design stages,” Automation in Construction, 2009, vol.18, pp.153–163.

2.1.4 Design parameters for kinetic skins

According to Rickey and Dorin in indicating where

design decisions of kinetic skins occur and the range of parameters

that may require consideration. This preliminary outline is intended

to identify the general range of factors to be considered, rather than

the prescription for any particular design approach. A flaw of all

generalist models is that the specificity of each project makes some

aspects redundant. However, as a means to articulate the

ontological shift that occurs when considering kinetic process as an

outcome rather than a design aid, the scope of decisions occur

around three interconnected groups of parameters. As the diagram

below suggests these are:

1- Choice of input or sampling;

2- The manner in which these samples are processed by

the control system;

27

3- The tectonic or constructional logic and appearance of

the skin33.

Fig 2.4: Design parameters for kinetic skins

On sampling:

What data will constitute the physical and what Anders

has termed ‘virtual space events’ of the interactive skin and how

will these be captured or sampled? A range of physical sensors are

available, tuned to environmental data, physical movement or

requiring direct interaction. These can be complimented by data

networks that allow access to remote data. Architecture has a long

33 JULES MOLONEY, BUIILDING SKINS AS KINETIC PROCESS, The University of Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia.

tradition as a form of public art and there exists an opportunity to

sample a range of cultural inputs as well as environmental stimuli.

Environmental input would necessarily be related to the local, while

cultural input could sample both the global and the local. The

design of the input mechanism will obviously be dependent on

application, but considering this in terms of a full set of possibilities

makes explicit that this is a design parameter and specification

excludes or includes opportunities34

On control:

.

If there is some form of mediation between input and

resultant affect, how might this meet aesthetic as well as

performative criteria? There may be an opportunity for auto-poesies

in which the aesthetic is to a degree, emergent. Alternatively the

personal aesthetic of the designer may be embedded in a similar

manner to, for example, such proportional systems as used by

Palladio or Le Corbusier. Thus the control system would be located

within the spectrum of top-down, in which particular criteria are

34 Ibid.

28

‘directed’ and bottom-up approaches where parameters are set for

the evolution of behaviour35

On tectonics:

.

What technology is available to implement an interactive

skin? Typically, composition in architectural design is based on a

tectonic approach in which the aesthetic is largely based on

fabrication methods, articulation of joints, and materials. As

evidenced by the Arab Institute façade by Jean Nouvel, this attitude

to engendering aesthetics can be extended to environmental

control systems. Similarly the example of the BIX electronic skin by

Peter Cook et al indicates the tectonic design of electronic displays

can in itself be important (Fig 2.6).

35 Ibid.

Fig 2.6: The BIX electronic skin by Peter Cook

The interactive skin can be manifest in either physical or

electronic form and both require detailed design in terms of their

physical appearance as well as their performance. We can make a

broad distinction between passive systems with minimal

‘mechanics’ such as the wind walls of artist Ned Kahn (Fig 2.5-E)

and more complex mechanical systems such as the Agesis

Hyposurface (Fig 2.5-F).

29

Fig 2.5: A/B-sampling data from sensors and information portals; C/D-visual programming

interface controlling prototype facade (Janssen and Kramer); E-tectonic wind wall (Ned

Kahn); F- agesis hyposurface (Gaulthorpe et al)

In order to evaluate and develop this conceptual model for

the design of kinetic skins, the next stage will be to undertake a

taxonomy of available technology using the ‘sampling / control /

tectonic’ categories. It is anticipated this will produce a useful

design resource, but also act as a research methodology, flushing

out gaps for the development of new design approaches and

technology36

2.2 Social and Cultural Context of Skyscrapers

.

2.2.1 History and Technology

The term "skyscraper" was first used during the 1880s,

shortly after the first 10 to 20 story buildings were built in the United

States. Combining several innovations: steel structure, elevators,

central heating, electrical plumbing pumps and the telephone,

skyscrapers came to dominate American skylines at the turn of the

century37

36 Ibid.

.

37 Dirk Stichweh, New York Skyscrapers, Prestel: Munich, Berlin, London, New York, 2009

30

An early development was Oriel Chambers in Liverpool.

Designed by local architect Peter Ellis in 1864, the building was the

world's first iron-framed, glass curtain-walled office building. It was

only 5 floors high as the elevator had not been invented. Further

developments led to the world's first skyscraper, the ten-storey

Home Insurance Building in Chicago, built in 1884–1885. The

architect, Major William Le Baron Jenney, created a load-bearing

structural frame. In this building, a steel frame supported the entire

weight of the walls, instead of load-bearing walls carrying the

weight of the building. This development led to the "Chicago

skeleton" form of construction38.

Sullivan's Wainwright Building in St. Louis, 1891, was the

first steel-framed building with soaring vertical bands to emphasize

the height of the building , and is, therefore, considered by some to

be the first true skyscraper39

38 Ibid

(Fig 2.7).

39 Ibid

fig 2.7: Sullivan's Wainwright Building

Most early skyscrapers emerged in the land-strapped areas

of Chicago, London, and New York toward the end of the 19th

century. Height limits and fire restrictions were later introduced.

London builders soon found building heights limited due to a

complaint from Queen Victoria, rules that continued to exist with

few exceptions until the 1950s. Concerns about aesthetics and fire

safety had likewise hampered the development of skyscrapers

31

across continental Europe for the first half of the twentieth century

(with the notable exceptions of the 26-storey Boerentoren in

Antwerp, Belgium, built in 1932, and the 31-storey Torre Piacentini

in Genoa, Italy, built in 1940). New York City developers competed

among themselves, with successively taller buildings claiming the

title of "world's tallest" in the 1920s and early 1930s, culminating

with the completion of the Chrysler Building in 1930 and the Empire

State Building in 1931, the world's tallest building for forty years.

The first completed World Trade Center tower became the world's

tallest building in 1972 for two years. That changed with the

completion of the Sears Tower (later renamed the Willis Tower) in

Chicago in 1974(Fig. 2.8), which became the world's tallest building

for several decades40

40 Ibid

.

Fig 2.8: Sears Tower

From the 1930s onwards, skyscrapers also began to appear

in Latin America and in Asia. Immediately after World War II, the

Soviet Union planned eight massive skyscrapers dubbed "Stalin

Towers" for Moscow; seven of these were eventually built. The rest

of Europe also slowly began to permit skyscrapers, starting with

Madrid, in Spain, during the 1950s. Finally, skyscrapers also began

to be constructed in cities of Africa, the Middle East and Oceania

(mainly Australia) from the late 1950s.

32

In the early 1960s structural engineer Fazlur Khan realized

that the rigid steel frame structure that had "dominated tall building

design and construction so long was not the only system fitting for

tall buildings", marking "the beginning of a new era of skyscraper

revolution in terms of multiple structural systems." His central

innovation in skyscraper design and construction was the idea of

the "tube" structural system, including the "framed tube", "trussed

tube", and "bundled tube". These systems allowed far greater

economic efficiency, and also allowed efficient skyscrapers to take

on various shapes, no longer needing to be box-shaped. Over the

next fifteen years, many towers were built by Khan and the

"Second Chicago School", including the massive 442-meter (1,451-

foot) Willis Tower.41

A landmark skyscraper can inspire a boom of new high-rise

projects in its city, as Taipei 101 has done in Taipei since its

opening in 2004 (Fig. 2.9). Large cities currently experiencing

skyscraper building booms include Miami in the United States,

41 Ibid

London in the United Kingdom, Shanghai in China, Dubai in the

United Arab Emirates which now the location of the tallest building

in the world, Burj Dubai, about 2000 ft.42 (Fig. 2.9).

Fig 2.9: Lift: Taipei 101 tower, right: Burg Dubai

The 21st century is now bringing together, new elements:

smart skin, responsive materials, parametric design in curtain wall

technology, customization and digital fabrication. Tall buildings will

42 Ibid

33

use “smart skins” that will respond to changes, environmental and

emotional. Smarter programmable elevators will distribute traffic

more efficiently vertically and travellators will do the same

horizontally, between the lobbies of clustered skyscrapers43

2.2.2 Sustainable Skyscrapers

.

In 1983, the UN established the World Commission on

Environment and Development in an attempt to resolve the

conflicts arising out of the aspirations of the developed and

developing worlds. In 1989 they published “Our Common Future” or

the Brundtland Report44

43 Ibid

, which launched the concept of

“sustainable development” and was reinforced in 1992 at Earth

Summit in Rio. It called for “Development which meets the needs of

the present generation without compromising the ability of future

generations to meet their own needs.” Sustainable architecture is

environmentally conscious, energy-saving, and utilizes responsive

and renewable materials and systems. Ecological and

44 Wced, Our Common Future. World Commission on Environment and Development, Oxford University Press, Oxford, U.K. WILLIAMSON, T., RADFORD. A., and BENNETTS, H., (2003).

environmental concerns have expanded beyond the issue of the

consumption of non-renewable energy sources. Sustainability

essentially aims for ecological balance45

High Performance Tall Building:

.

Environmental awareness extends to both the urban

environment and the context in which a tall building is placed as

well as its interior environment. The issues of outdoor microclimate

and indoor air quality as well as the potential toxicity of materials

and chemicals used in building components, systems, and

furnishings are also of concern to the building users. In a broad

sense the term “green” is often used for a sustainable, which

essentially describes design, construction and maintenance

practices that minimize or eliminate the negative impact of a

building on the environment and on the users. Tall buildings are

massive consumers of energy. They are the dominant elements in

urban architecture due to their scale and purpose, and should be

45 NewmanMAN, P. Sustainability and Cities: The Role of Tall Buildings in the New Global Agenda. Proceedings of the CTBUH Sixth World Congress, Melbourne, Australia, 2001, pp. 76-109.

34

the focus of sustainable design. A high performance tall building is

one that achieves the peak efficiency of building functions while

meeting the requirements of optimum performance employing

green technologies. Some overall benefits of high performance

design are: energy efficiency, design flexibility, resource

conservation, indoor environmental quality, etc.46

Design Factors

.

The principal design factors that are crucial for achieving a

high performance tall building are site context, environment,

structure and use of materials, energy consumption, use of water,

ecological balance, community development, etc. and the design

factors assume different forms, such as conceptual, schematic,

physical, economic, environmental, and socio-cultural47

Strategies for Achieving Sustainability in High Rise Buildings

.

The following are a few strategies that can be adopted to

accomplish sustainable tall buildings. Passive Solar Gain: 46 DONALDSON, B. and LIPPE, P. Process and Integration, Lessons Learned: High Performance Buildings. The Durst Organization. New York, NY, 2000. 47 Mir M. Ali and Paul J. Armstrong, Overview of Sustainable Design Factors in High-Rise Buildings, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2008.

Maximum advantage can be taken of daylight by shaping the plan

arrangement of a building to suit the activities within. The fabric of

the façade and the area assigned to windows is of ultimate concern

in gathering sunlight. The form and the orientation of the building in

relation to the seasonal paths of the sun across the sky has a

significant impact on the thermal value and performance48

Structure and Material Preferences: There is a relationship that

needs to be investigated in each building—particularly tall building

in which the structural framework is enormous. For example, the

core provides structural stability and its positioning is important for

sustainability

.

49

48 Deshmukh, N., Energy Conservation of Moderately Tall Office Buildings, Master’s Thesis, School of Architecture. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, 1992.

. To capture cold night air in desert-like climate and

harvesting it as cooling energy during occupied hours, a massive

concrete structure can be employed. Also, a steel framed structure

can be made of recycled content. Steel and reinforced concrete

buildings are typically the materials of choice.

49 Beedle, L.S., ALI, M.M., and ARMSTRONG, P.J., The Skyscraper and the City: Design, Technology, and Innovation. Edwin Mellen Press. Ceredigion, U.K and Lewston, NY, 2007.

35

Façade Technology: Daylighting and shading are usually the key

aspects to façade design for typical green buildings. The façade

covers over 90 to 95 percent of the external building surface area in

a tall building, that is, the roof area is almost insignificant compared

to façade areas. Thus, the energy gain or loss for a tall building

depends very much upon the materiality and technology employed

in the façade treatment50

Combined Heat and Power: A highly efficient technology for

energy saving in densely built-up urban areas is the Combined

Heat and Power (CHP) system. CHP is the simultaneous

production of power, heat and, occasionally, chilled water for air-

conditioning, and is also known as co- or tri-generation. CHP

avoids transmission losses as electricity is generated close to the

point of use.The result of using CHP systems is a cost saving and

reduction of CO2 emissions of over 30 percent with respect to

generation from coal-fired power stations and over 10 percent with

respect to gas fired combined cycle gas turbines. CHP technology

.

50 Ibid

can be applied as well to the considerable loads of individual tall

buildings or groups of tall buildings where the electricity load and

annual cooling requirements are similar. A typical distribution of

total energy output from a CHP system is shown in Table 151.

Table 1: Energy Output Distribution of CHP System

Rainwater harvesting collects the rain onto roofs, then stores it in

a tank, intended for eventual use. The recycled water is used for

toilets, washing machine and outside tap use. Grey water recycling

is another process in which water from bath, shower, and hand

wash basin is reused. This “grey water” is more suited to residential

tall buildings in which sufficient amounts are generated regularly for

reuse in toilets, washing machines and outside tap52

.

51 Smith, P. P. (2007). Sustainability at the Cutting Edge: Emerging Techniques for Low Energy Buildings. Elsevier. London, New York et. al 52 Ibid

36

Building Management Systems

Innovative building technologies such as computer-based

smart or intelligent building systems can play a major role in

managing the energy usage. The increasing reliance on computer

technology and automated systems can be directed toward

achieving a sustainable functioning of skyscrapers. The Building

Management System (BMS) is a centralized control system to

manage the operations of the various building systems such as fire

protection, security, communication networks, elevators, HVAC

systems, etc. The environmental data collection and control system

is usually incorporated within the BMS which can also be used to

control more passive features like opening windows and shading

devices. The component of the BMS that deals with energy-related

services is controlled by the Building Energy Management System

(BEMS), also known as the Energy Management and Control

System (EMCS), which may in some circumstances function

autonomously. The control system need not to be located on-site

and the supervision of the system can be centrally for multiple

building complexes or for a number of similar buildings in outlying

areas53

Case Studies

.

A new generation of sustainable tall buildings is

challenging conventional high-rise building practices and setting

trends for future projects incorporating innovations in materials and

intelligent building systems. Menara Mesiniaga: Ken Yeang and T.

R. Hamzah were among the first architects to apply ecological

principles to their “bioclimatic skyscrapers.” The Menara Mesiniaga

in Subang, Malaysia (Fig. 2.10), designed in 1992, presents an

early model building for the physical translation of ecological

principles into high-rise architecture54

53 Ibid

.

54 Abel, C. Sky High: Vertical Architecture. Royal Academy ofArts. London, 2003.

37

Figure 2.10: Menara Mesiniaga, Kuala Lumpur, 1992, T. R. Hamzah & Yeang.

The fifteen-story tower expresses its technological innovations on

its exterior and uses as little energy as possible in the production

and running of the building. Instead of a continuous facade, the

building open and closes in sections arranged in stages around the

tower. It has an exterior load-bearing structure of steel with

aluminium and glass, and a crowning superstructure for the roof,

planned as a future support for solar cells. The interior and exterior

structure of the tower is planned around climatic considerations and

its orientation toward the daily path of the sun. Deep incisions and

suspended aluminum sunscreens on the south facade ward off the

direct rays of the noon and afternoon sun into the interior55

Swiss Reinsurance Headquarters: Foster and Partners

developed new technological, urban planning, and ecological

design concepts in the Swiss Reinsurance Headquarters building

(see Figure 3) constructed in 2004 in London. The steel spiral

“diagrid” structure creates an aerodynamic form that provides the

lowest resistance to wind and diminishes demands on the load-

bearing structure, as well as the danger of strong downward winds

in the area around the building. The net-like steel construction of

the load-bearing structure lies directly behind the glass façade and

allows support-free spaces right up to the core. The most

innovative element in the inner structure is the inclusion of

triangular light shafts behind the facade, which spiral upwards over

the whole height of the building. These light and air shafts are

interrupted every six stories by an intermediate floor, to minimize

the development of drafts and noise.

.

55 Ibid

38

Figure 2.11: Swiss Reinsurance Headquarters, London, U.K., 2004, Fosterand Partners.

The slimming of the building’s profile at its base reduces

reflections, improves transparency, and increase daylight

penetration at ground level. The aerodynamic form of the tower

encourages wind to flow around its face, minimizing wind loads on

the structure and cladding, and enables the use of a more efficient

structure. Natural air movement around the building generates

natural ventilation within the building56

The Solaire: Located at Battery Park in New York City, the Solaire

(see Figure 5) is the first residential high-rise building in the U.S. to

integrate green features in a comprehensive way (Carey, 2006). It

is a 27-story, 293-unit luxury apartment building located on the

Hudson River developed by the Albanese Organization and

designed by Cesar Pelli & Associates. Its sustainable features

include PV panels incorporated into the building’s facade, a planted

roof garden, and fully operational blackwater treatment system. It is

based on guidelines developed by the Battery Park City Authority,

which address five areas of concern: 1) Enhanced indoor air

.

56 Foster, N. Modeling the Swiss Re Tower, Architecture Week, www.architectureweek.com, 2005.

http://www.architectureweek.com/�

39

quality; 2) Water conservation and purification; 3) Energy efficiency;

4) Recycling construction waste and the use of recycled building

materials; and 5) Commissioning to ensure building performance57.

Figure 2.12 : The Solaire, Battery Park, New York City, 2003

57 Carey, H. L. The Solaire: Green By Design. Battery Park City Authority, New York, 2006.

The Pearl River Tower: The Pearl River Tower (Fig. 2.13) is a

990-foot (300-meter) tall “net-zero energy” mixed-use building,

Guangzhou, China. Designed by Adrian Smith and Skidmore,

Owings & Merrill, it has a curved glass façade that directs air flow

through narrow openings in the facade that drives large, stainless

steel wind turbines to generate electrical energy. The building’s

aerodynamic shape, was developed in collaboration with Rowan

Williams Davis & Irwin, Inc. of Ontario, Canada using the RWDI-

Skin suite of proprietary analysis tools, including its Virtual wind

simulation modeling (RWDI Group, 2007)58.

Figure 2.13: Pearl River Tower, Guangzhou, China, 2010 58 Rwdi Group, Promotion brochure, Spring, SLOCOMBE, D.S. , Environmental Planning: Ecosystem Science and Ecosystem Approaches for Integrating Environment and Development. Environmental Management. 17(3), 2007, pp. 283-303.

40

2.3 Context Analysis of Tripoli City, Libya

2.3.1 Background

Fig. 2.14: Tripoli city’s skyline

Tripoli is the largest and the capital city of Libya, North

Africa. It has a good strategic geographical position and a profound

history. Tripoli lies at a latitude of 32◦ 56 north, and a longitude of

13◦ 10 east and is on the south coast of the Mediterranean Sea in a

central position. It forms a vital link between the eastern and

western cities of the Arab world and between European and African

cities 59(see Fig 2.1).

Fig 2.15: Tripoli links between European and African cities

2.3.2 Brief History

Tripoli’s history reflects the history of the country. It has

known ups and downs but its historical architectural monuments

are a testimony to the great Libyan civilisation. Tripoli was founded

59 Temehu, Tripoli: The Bride of The Mediterranean, www.temehu.com/Cities_sites/Tripoli.htm

41

by the Phoenicians in the first half of the first millennium B.C. under

the name of Oea. Among the Greeks Oea, together with the

colonies of Sabratha and Leptis Magna, was called Tripolis (in

Greek, “three cities”), a name that was retained for Oea. In 105

B.C., it was conquered by the Romans. In the fifth century A.D., it

was conquered by the Vandals, and during the sixth and seventh

centuries it was part of the Byzantine Empire. In the seventh

century it became part of the Arab Caliphate. From 1551 to 1911,

Tripoli was part of the Ottoman Empire. In October 1911, the city

was captured by the Italian Army, which remained there until 1943,

when British troops took over. Until Libya’s declaration of

independence (1951), Tripoli was one of the centers of the national

liberation struggle. It was a capital of the Kingdom of Libya from

December 1951 until Sept. 1, 1969, when it became the capital of

the Libyan Arab Republic60

60 Ibid.

.

2.3.3Economy

Tripoli is the country’s principal commercial, industrial, and

financial center. It is a port, and it is a highway junction. The city

has an international airport. About 75 percent of Libya’s industrial

enterprises are concentrated in Tripoli. The Libyan economy

depends primarily upon revenues from the oil sector, which

contribute about 95% of export earnings, about one-quarter of

GDP, and 60% of public sector wages. Libyan oil and gas licensing

rounds continue to draw high international interest; the National Oil

Company set a goal of nearly doubling oil production to 3 million

bbl/day by 201561

GDP: $74.72 billion (2010est.)

.

GDP growth rate: 8.5%

Industries: petroleum, iron and steel, food processing, textiles, handicrafts, cement

Agriculture: wheat, barley, olives, dates, citrus, vegetables, peanuts, soybeans; cattle.

61 About Libya, http://www.lipoexpo.com/1st/libya.html, accessed on Des. 12, 2010

http://www.lipoexpo.com/1st/libya.html�

42

Exports: crude oil, refined petroleum products, natural gas62

Fig 2.16: Oil exports from Libya

2.3.4 Demography: The Tripoli metropolitan area (district area)

has a population of 1,682,000 (Feb, 2010 est.)63

62 Ibid

.

2.3.5 The Geology, Soil and Topography

Geology: Tripoli’s land consists different layers, the most important

one is the sand rock which is on the top. It’s allows rain water to

drain and gather under the ground and creates wells64

Soil: The soil of Tripoli is suitable for agriculture

.

65

Topography: The city of Tripoli rises 49 feet above sea level and

mostly flat

.

66

2.4.6 Climate: Tripoli gets under the influence of the subtropical zone.

The climate of Tripoli is Mediterranean with hot dry summers, cool

winters and some modest rainfall. Weather can be variable,

influenced by the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean Sea which

moderates daily temperature ranges. The percentage of humidity is

between 53%-72% and it is higher in the summer. The temperature

in Tripoli is between 8 -18 Celsius in the winter, and sometimes

becomes 46 Celsius in the summer. Rainfall in Libya is pretty low.

.

63 True Knowledge, Tripoli’s population in 2010, http://www.trueknowledge.com/q/tripoli's_population_in_2010, accessed on December 14, 2010. 64 Ibid 65 Ibid 66 Hosam Bsimam, The Old City of Tripoli: (Tripoli, 2006).

http://www.trueknowledge.com/q/tripoli's_population_in_2010�

43

Much of the rain occurs in winters. The average annual

precipitation is less than 100 mm67.

Table 2: Weather average conditions of Tripoli, Libya

The following bar chart shows the years average weather

condition readings covering rain, average maximum daily

temperature and average minimum temperature for Tripoli, Libya.68

67 Ibid

68 BBC Weather, http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/world/city_guides/results.shtml?tt=TT00033

Fig 2.17: Temperature and rainfall averages, Tripoli, Libya

2.4.7 The residential land use change in Tripoli.

The residential area in the city of Tripoli had been on

increase between 1969 and 2005. In 1969 the residential land use

was at 1,126.8 hectares or 7.6% of the total city area. This figure

climbed in 1980 to 4,573.3 hectare or 30.8% of the total area, and

to 6,783.3 hectares or 45.7% in 200569

69 GEOGRAFIA Online, Malaysian Journal of Society and Space 4 (71 - 84) 2008, Changes in residential land-use of Tripoli city, Libya: 1969-2005

.

http://pkukmweb.ukm.my/geografia/images/upload/7.2008-osama%20kh%20ali-english-1.pdf

http://pkukmweb.ukm.my/geografia/images/upload/7.2008-osama%20kh%20ali-english-1.pdf�


44

Fig 2.18: Tripoli residential land use between 1960-2005

2.3.8 Architectural and Urban Fabric of Tripoli, New versus old

Al-Madina (The Old City of Tripoli)

The northwestern part of Tripoli is the Old City, or Madina,

which was rebuilt during the second half of the 16th century. It is

located on a rocky cape and is walled on two sides. (See Fig. 2.6)

In the south and southeast is the New City, with public and

commercial buildings, as well as residences.

Fig. 2.19: The main entrance to the Medina, known as Bab Al-Hurriyah (the Freedom Gate) the earliest fortified wall around the town was built in the 4th century.

The Madina or the historic city of Tripoli, now occupies the

site of ancient Oea which was built by the Phoenicians in the

seventh century BC. In 46 BC Tripoli was captured by the Romans

who developed the city and built many temples, markets and public

baths surrounded by residential buildings. The Ottoman presence

that followed lasted until 1911, and most of the existing mosques

and public buildings were constructed during this period. Suburbs

began to spring up outside the walls at the end of the 19th century.

The ramparts were damaged during the Italian presence and when

it was bombed during the Second World War. The old city of Tripoli

45

was designed along the lines of other Arab cities. Its narrow streets

are often covered and vaulted to shore up the walls of adjoining

houses70

The Islamic walled city or Madina possesses important

environmental and aesthetic characteristics. In the Madina both

resident and visitor alike can experience and enjoy the city's most

significant architectural values, its design, style, building materials,

skilled workmanship, beauty and uniqueness. A variety of buildings

and other features of the Madina serve to remind people about the

past, providing insight into the culture and history of previous

generations. These features show the different activities of people

who lived and worked in the Madina many centuries ago. In

addition to its distinctive architectural values, the Madina has a high

spiritual and symbolic significance based upon its history. Sense of

place and continuity through time are well expressed. The Madina

still hosts many special, long-standing cultural events and

.

70 The World Heritage Center, UNESCO ,http://portal.unesco.org/culture/es/file_download.php/3e14cf4c9202cf4efa37a11a6e2135a0Newsletter+no9.htm, accessed on December 13, 2010

celebrations throughout the year which also link people with their

heritage.

The unique space design in the Islamic Madina cannot be

found in other medieval or historic cities. The space is well defined

and organized with attention to privacy and community, its ancient

designers recognizing its inhabitants' cultural and social needs.

These values make the city worthy of being conserved and

promoted for today's use71

Marcus Aurelius Arch

. Among Tripoli’s ancient architectural

landmarks are the Marcus Aurelius triumphal arch (A.D. 163–164),

the Karamanli Palace (1736), the Gurgi Mosque (1833), and the

Castle, or Citadel (first centuries A.D.; rebuilt in the 14th, 16th, and

20th centuries).

The arch is dating back to 163-164 AD, and it’s served as

entrance to the city. It was the only one of Oea. The arch contains

71 Temehu, Tripoli: The Bride of The Mediterranean, www.temehu.com/Cities_sites/Tripoli.htm, accessed on Dec. 13,2010.

http://portal.unesco.org/culture/es/file_download.php/3e14cf4c9202cf4efa37a11a6e2135a0Newsletter+no9.htm�


http://www.temehu.com/Cities_sites/Tripoli.htm�

46

fine decorations, showing Apollo and Minerva. Now-empty niches

contained statues of Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus72

.

Fig 2.20: Marcus Aurelius arch Karamanli Palace

Karamanli palace is dating back to the early 19th century,

built by Yusuf Karamanli. Some rooms on the 1st floor have been

turned into exhibits with dolls acting out everyday life. The

Karamanli family ruled Tripoli through most of 18th and half way

through the 19th century. With their fall, the house became 72 Liberty International, Libya, Tripoli, www.liberty-international.org/libya/excursions-tripolitania/, accessed on Dec. 13, 2010.

consulate for the Italian state of Tuscany. The house was restored

during the early 1990s and became known as Tripoli Historical

Exhibition73.

Fig 2.21: Karamanli Palace,

Gurji Mosque:

The mosque of Gurji is Located west of Marcus Aurelius' , it

was built by Mustapha Gorji in 1834 AD, who was the head of the

port. The building includes a school and a tomb (or a grave) of the

founder. The project completed the maintenance and restoration of

73 Ibid

http://www.liberty-international.org/libya/excursions-tripolitania/�


47

this architectural group in the year 1994. The building is considered

one of the best examples of Islamic stone carvings and floral motifs

in the capital74 (Fig. 2.22).

Fig 2.22: Right: The main hall of Gurji mosque, Lift: Islamic Inscriptions in the mosque

The Red Castel:

The castle of Tripoli, known as Assai al-Hamra or the Red

Castle, has been the fortress of many lords of this region through

the centuries. It was briefly the stronghold of Christian knights in

the 16th century, only to be expelled by Muslim pirates. It is

74 Ibid

assumed that the first fortress was built in the 7th century, to

protect against the Muslim Arab invasion of Libya.

Fig 2, 23: The Red Castel, Tripoli, Libya

At least until the 17th century, it appears that all sides of the

fortress were surrounded by water. Much of the present structure

dates back to the 18th and 19th centuries, the plan is distinctly

Ottoman and includes a mosque, harem and numerous courtyards.

Additions by each ruling group in Tripoli give the building an

eclectic but beautiful style (Fig 2.23). The castel is today used by

the Jamahiriya Museum75

Modern Tripoli

.

In the face of rapid economic development, population

growth, people's increasing needs and changing lifestyles, large

75 Ibid

48

concrete buildings and busy streets dominate the new part of the

city. The old city is nearby (Fig. 2.24, 2.25), but these roads and

structures have a distinctly modern feel. Buildings are popping up

at a furious rate, in an effort to draw investors and demonstrate

Libya's success as an independent, self-sufficient nation.

Fig. 2.24: The modern shore of Tripoli reflecting the contrast between the old and new

buildings of the city

Fig. 2.25: The style of high-rise buildings in modern Tripoli

The modern city of Tripoli has been heavily influenced by

the global city type. Dominant urban features include commercial

city centers, multistory residential buildings, large shopping malls,

wide boulevards, an extensive network of highways, and sprawling

new suburbs. However, the residential concrete and glass boxes

that have been built in the modern part of the city don’t

accommodate the local life style, inconsequence, nobody likes to

live in these undesired boxes, and people who occupy these blocks

49

are either immigrants or needy people, who cannot afford their own

houses because of the high land cost. This kind of unintended

ignorance of the city context and the local culture leads the city to

lose its unique identity.

Fig. 2.26: Residential high-rise buildings in modern Tripoli

Fig2.27: Commercial and Residential high-rise building in the modern part of Tripoli

The most notable pieces of contemporary architecture in

modern Tripoli can be found on Tripoli's waterfront in the

northwestren part of the city, close to the port and the old

madina. Alfateh tower, a 26-floor office building was built in

1998, and it is one of the most famous towers in the city.

Alfateh tower was the tallest building in the city until 2010,

when the tower of Abulaila was built as a 34 - floor investment

tower.

Fig. 2.28: Right, Alfateh tower. Lift: Abulaila tower

50

Projects in progress:

The following are some pictures that show some of Tripoli’s

ongoing high-rise buildings style, most of these projects are still under

construction, and they are representing the new generation of Tripoli’s

architecture. Most of these buildings continue to be designed as vertical

extrusions of an efficient floor plan and some of the modern ones are

iconic pieces of high-rise urban ‘sculptures’, and no one of them is

inspired by place, culture, or environment.

Fig. 2.29:10-story residential building is under construction. (Picture: Sep. 07, 2010)

Hydra Tripoli Tower

Location: Tripoli

Use: mixed-use tower includes: retail, hospitality, and offices76


.

Status: Under construction

Fig. 2.30: Hydra Tripoli Tower

Medina Tower high rise development in Tripoli

Location: Tripoli/Libya

76 Walid El-Tigi / Yasser Fathy, Hydra Properties unveils Tripoli Towers in Libya, zawea.com, Zawya, http://www.zawya.com/story.cfm/sidZAWYA20081124090455/Hydra%20Properties%20unveils%20Tripoli%20Towers%20in%20Libya, accessed: Des 04, 2010

http://www.zawya.com/story.cfm/sidZAWYA20081124090455/Hydra%20Properties%20unveils%20Tripoli%20Towers%20in%20Libya�


51

Use: Mixed-use includes apartments, a health club, offices, retail

space, conference and food and beverage facilities77

Site area: 12,500 square metres

Status: under construction

.


Fig. 2.31: Medina Tower, Tripoli, Libya

77 Sidell Gibson Architects, Medina Towers, Tripoli, http://www.sidellgibson.co.uk/projects/hotels-and-overseas/medina-towers-tripoli.php, accessed on Des. 10, 2010.

New proposed skyscrapers on the sea front of the city

Fig. 2.32: The new skyscrapers of Tripoli (some of them are under construction): dwarfing Boulayla and Alfatah towers.

JW.Marriott Hotel (bottom right)

http://www.sidellgibson.co.uk/projects/hotels-and-overseas/medina-towers-tripoli.php�

52

Part Three

Site Analysis

53

3.1 General Information

Location: Tripoli, Libya, North Africa

Latitude: +32.83

Longitude: +13.08

Time zone: UTC+2 hours

Fig 3.1: The proposed site, Tripoli, Libya, North Africa

3.2 Site Description:

The chosen site of the living skyscraper is around

19400sq.ft. (18600sq.m.) of land on the northwest part of Tripoli’s

waterfront. The site was carefully selected to serve the main goal of

the project--that is, to provide residents with an opportunity to live

according to their unique, traditional lifestyle, The site is located in

the heart of Libya’s capital, facing Tripoli’s coastline and at the

junction of the old city of Tripoli (medina) and its modern area.

Being close to the old city is intended to provide its

residents with great cultural access. The site and the projected

skyscraper will be visible from both the modern city and from the

ancient site. From either of these two vantage points, the living

skyscraper utilizes the opposite area as a background and faces

the other. Consequently, besides bridging the past and present, the

living skyscraper will establish a dialogue between these different

eras. The choice of this site is an appropriate way of connecting the

new building with its source of inspiration. Moreover, the stunning

54

view of Tripoli's waterfront afforded by the site is an additional

incentive for the choice of the site.

The tower will be constructed in Tripoli’s central business

district a short walk’s distance from the city's main square, as well

as the Gold Market. It will be 10 minutes away from Matiga Airport,

20 minutes away from the international airport, and within walking

distance of public transportation to all the city’s localities.

Fig3.2: Zooming further to the site

The selected site is placed in the high-rise building district in

the current land-use map of the city of Tripoli (Fig. 3.3).78 At

present, the site is under excavation in preparation for the

construction of the new tower (Fig 3.7).

Fig 3.3: Tripoli’s district heights map

78 Tripoli City Centre’s Urban and Architectural Charter, Tripoli urban fabric map, http://www.iau-idf.fr/index.php?id=615&etude=717, accessed on Jan 10, 2011.

http://www.iau-idf.fr/index.php?id=615&etude=717�

55

3.3 Land-Use map

Since the site is located in Tripoli’s central business

district, diverse land uses, such as commercial, residential,

manufacturing, religious, and public gardens, are found in its

vicinity. The elevations of these buildings are from two-story

existing buildings to forty-story towers currently under

construction.

The site is flanked by the 28-story Corinthia Hotel to

the northeast , the two-story gold market to the east, 10-floor

residential towers from the south, Dat el-Emad, a 20-floor

office building, to the west, and 40-floor mixed-use high-rise

buildings which are under constructing to the southeast.79

79 Ibid

Fig 3.4: Land-use map

3.4 Circulation Map

Fig 3.5: Circulation map

56

3.5 Sun Path - Winter: 34 degrees - Summer: 81 degrees80

Fig 3.6: Sun path of Tripoli city

3.6 Prevailing Wind Direction: East wind is the prevailing wind in Tripoli city.81

Wind speed: 5m/s

80

GAISMA, Surt, Libya. http://www.gaisma.com/en/location/surt.html, accessed Jan. 24, 2011. 81 Ecotect Software

Fig. 3.7 Prevailing wind, Tripoli, Libya

http://www.gaisma.com/en/location/surt.html�

57

3.7 Views from the site

Fig 3.8: Views from the site

3.8 Views toward the site:

Fig3.9: Views toward the site

58

3.9 Environment Simulations

Building Form Studies:

3.9.1 Solar radiation analysis

Since Tripoli (located at 32◦ 56 N, and 13◦ 10 E) is in the

subtropical zone, it is undeniable that we are facing a problems in

the term of sun, it has high monthly temperatures and high diurnal

temperature ranges.82

For a high-rise built form, vertical surface is most critically

exposed to the full impact of external temperatures and global

direct solar radiation, thus this study investigates on the impacts of

solar radiation towards the building form and orientation. The

computer program “Vasari v5” was applied to simulate the intensity

and distribution pattern of cumulative incident solar radiation on

vertical surfaces.

Therefore it is more important to prevent

solar radiation from overheating the building surfaces.

82 Pidwirny, M. (2006). "Climate Classification and Climatic Regions of the World". Fundamentals of Physical Geography, 2nd Edition. http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/7v.html , accessed on March 10, 2011.

In order to compare the total solar radiation amount that the

building receives based on its form, four schematic forms are

placed on the site, square, cylinder, two squares, and two

cylinders. Second step was applying the solar radiation simulations

on each form in two different times, winter December 21 and

summer June 21

The simulation results reveal that west orientation in the

summer is the most critical part to be protected than other parts

(Fig 3.10), while the south elevation is the most one exposed to the

sun in winter (Fig 3.11). For the form, the results show that the

cylinder form collected lowest amount of solar radiation while

square form received the highest amounts of solar radiation, also

the results indicate that splitting the building to two towers and

orienting one tower behind the other, reduces solar radiation

amount and increases the shaded area.

http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/7v.html�

59

- Summer, June 21 at 4:00 pm

Fig 3.10: Summer solar radiation study result

- Winter, December 21 at 1:00

Fig 3.11: Winter solar radiation study result

60

3.9.2 Shadow Study:

- Summer, June 21, at (10:00am, 12:00pm, 4:00pm)

Fig 3.12: Summer shadow study result

- Winter, December 21, at (10:00am, 12:00pm, 4:00pm)

Fig 3.13: Winter shadow study result

61

3.9.3 Wind Study: Prevailing wind direction: East Wind speed: 5 m/s

- Pressure :

Fig 3.14: Pressure study result

- Velocity :

Fig 3.15: velocity study result

62

Part Four

Programming

63

4.1 General Overview of Needs and Desires:

The cultural base of the community will have a great impact

on the programming of The Living Skyscraper because culture is

also a kind of groundwork that separates neighborhoods,

communities, and cities. Just as the design of the physical

elements of the building hopes to connect the building to the site,

the program of the building will also be established with a

connection to its context. The climate and surroundings will also

help create a unique mesh of the program with the exterior.

The project aims to establish a “community node,” a center that

gathers people to a common place. The program of this vertical

neighbourhood, The Living Skyscraper, is inspired by the

composition of the traditional streets component of the old city of

Tripoli.

4.2 Tripoli’s Traditional Street Component:

The fabric of Tripoli's old city is composed of narrow winding

streets with high walls of brick (Fig 4.1), usually roofed at various

intervals. This form of urban design is an optimal form of desert

architecture that minimizes hot climate effects. It also maximizes

daytime shade, and insulates the “fabric” from severe winter

temperatures83.

Fig 4.1: An example of Tripoli’s narrow traditional streets

Streets in the old city of Tripoli often radiate from public

squares. All public facilities such as mosques, suqs (markets),

hamams (public baths), teahouses and schools are found within

83 Temehu, Tripoli, http://www.temehu.com/Cities_sites/Tripoli.htm , accessed December 12, 2010.


64

these squares (Fig. 4.2). From the public squares, streets branch in

different directions to include the residential units which are

generally grouped around small squares where neighbours,

families members and children can meet and spend time

together84.

Fig 4.2: One of Tripoli’s medina streets 4.3 Program Summary:

1- Residential:

The primary aspect of The Living Skyscraper’s architectural

programming is residential. This includes apartment of different

84 Ibid

sizes. The design of these units will be inspired by the unique

Islamic style that accommodates suitable levels of privacy, desired

access to nature, and natural lighting and ventilation.

2- Commercial:

Suq: the building will include a retail (suq) that supplies the

occupants with their daily needs. It is intended that the suq will

enhance the local neighborhood by providing additional commercial

facilities.

Restaurants:

The Living Skyscraper will include three restaurants will be

distributed inside the tower

3- Cultural and educational:

A center of traditional education will be included in the tower. This

center will provide

• an Islamic studies program

• a traditional handicrafts training center. The manufacture

of various kinds of handicrafts has played a crucial role in the

economic development and tourism sector in the old city of Tripoli

65

(see Fig. 4.3), and have had other positive impacts on local

populations, as well. The Living Skyscraper will include a traditional

handicraft center that promotes and develops local handcraft skills

among inhabitants of the city. This center will be in the first floor to

facilitate access and will offer various traditional workshops in such

areas as pottery training workshop, copper training workshop, and

embroidered clothes workshop.

Fig 4.3: Handicrafts in the old city of Tripoli

- Handicrafts gallery

- Library

- Day care

4- Health:

Gym: the project will include two separate gym, one for women

and the other one for men.

5- Recreation:

Parks: the project will include different parks, 3-4 parks as

skygardens distributed within the tower while the main park will be

located in the ground level.

6- Car parking: Approximately 85 per cent of car parking will be

underground in the two-level basement, while about 15 per cent will

be in the site.

4.4 Program Distribution

Not only is the program typology of The Living Skyscraper

inspired by the composition of Tripoli’s traditional streets, but the

organization and actualization of this programming within the tower

will also reflect the Islamic organization and use of space which

regards maintaining privacy as the most essential aspect to be

achieved.

66

In Islamic architecture, the transition between public and

private spaces occurs through semi-public or semi-private zoning in

order to obtain a suitable level of privacy. This approach of spatial

separation can be seen in the fabric of traditional Islamic cities as

well as in the design of houses. A well-known example of this is

the use of indirect entryways in accessing houses.

The Living Skyscraper design translates the concept of

Tripoli’s horizontal streets and public courts into a vertical system

ranging from public to private facilities, beginning at ground level

and ascending to the top of the tower (Fig. 4.2), starting at

basement levels, which will include underground parking areas.

The ground levels will house various public facilities, including a

retail, an auditorium, restaurants, and a health club. The city’s first

rooftop garden will be installed on the roof of the ground levels.

The next two levels will represent the semi-public facilities—the

education center and the day-care area, which is mostly expected

to serve the occupants of the tower. The remaining floors of the

tower will be residential, separated by rooftop gardens after each

ten floors.

Fig 4.4: Concept diagram

67

4.5 Program precedents

Medina Tower high rise development in Tripoli

Location: Tripoli, Libya, Architect: Sidell Gibson Camilleri

Height: 525 feet (160 metres). Floors: 40F

Status: Under construction; completion date for the project has

been set for December 201285

Use: Mixed use development. commercial, and residential

Cost: €300 million

Fig. 4.5: A rendering of Medina Tower

85 Sidell Gibson Architects, Medina Towers, Tripoli http://www.sidellgibson.co.uk/projects/hotels-and-overseas/medina-towers-tripoli.php#, accessed on December 10,2010.

Medina Tower will be constructed on the Tripoli seafront on

120,500 square feet of land adjacent to other high-rise

developments. The concept of a mix of retail, commercial and

residential facilities is the first of its kind in Libya. The project will

comprise 2,000,000 square feet of floor space spread over 40

floors above ground level and four levels of underground parking.

Medina Tower will feature 200 apartments, a health club, 260,000

square feet of office space, 8,0000 square feet of retail space,

conference and food and beverage facilities, and 240,000 square

feet of underground parking that will accommodate up to 850 car

parking spaces.

Fig 4.6: Some views of Medina Tower


68

4.6 Program Quantitative Summary and Proportions

According to the program requirements, site area, and

some case studies the Quantitative summary of the architectural

program of the Living Skyscraper is illustrated in the following table:

Space Quantity Area Total area Residential Two-bedroom apartment

200 1800 sq.ft.

500.000 sq. ft

One-bedroom apartment

1500 sq.ft.

15000 sq ft/floor

Commercial 1-Retail 80000 sq.ft 2-Restaurant 3 30000 sq.ft 110.000

sq.ft. Cultural and educational

Islamic Studies Center 1 3000 sq.ft. Day-care 2000 sq.ft. Traditional handicrafts

center

Copper handicrafts workshop

1 1000sq.ft. 3000 sq.ft.

Clay handicrafts workshop

1 1000sq.ft.

Embroidered clothes workshop

1 1000sq.ft.

Public library 1 10000 sq.ft. Handicraft gallery 2000 sq.ft.

Auditorium 30000 sq.f . 48000

sq.ft.. Health

Health club (gym) 2

15000 sq.ft. Women’s Men’s

Roof gardens 4 15000sq.f. 60000 sq.ft. Car parking 850 cars 240.000

sq.ft.

Total building area: 973.000 sq.ft, Site area: 194000 sq. ft , Site

coverage: 40%, Number of floors: 40 floors

The following diagram shows the proportions of the various

areas of the The Living Skyscraper.

Fig 4.7: Program proportions

69

4.7 Conclusion

If we apply this unique program to The Living Skyscraper, this

vertical neighbourhood not only has to promote diversity, it must act

as an extension of the city in the sky, dependent on the diverse

activities and resources of the city to maintain a healthy, symbiotic

relationship. By maintaining the traditional urban fabric of the

medina, this project recreates the lost physical continuity of the

area, thus supporting social and cultural continuity. It promotes the

conservation and progression of tradition through new buildings

using, new techniques and technologies.

70

Part Five

Schematic Design

71

5.1 Introduction

Since the most important and fundamental aspects of

The Living Skyscraper are intended to representing Islamic

culture and copping with the hot climate of Tripoli in a

sustainable way that optimizes the building’s performance

and reduces energy consumption, the focus of this project will

be mainly on the envelope of the building, which will be a

double-skin facade. While the external interactive skin of the

façade will react to thermal conditions and provide shade, the

users of the building will be able to manually operate

secondary ventilation systems for the internal skin. The

external kinetic skin form will be inspired by the Islamic

traditional mashrabbia patterns, with gills that open and close

in response to the sun’s movement, creating a “living”

membrane that blends organic and mechanical processes to

create a complex system driven by actuators and thermal

sensors .

In order to generate the dynamic mashrabbia it is

important to define and explore the Islamic geometric patterns

that used in the traditional masharabbia.

5.2 Islamic Geometric Patterns

Geometric patterns occur in rich profusion throughout

Islamic cultures, displayed as they are on a diversity of

materials include tiles, bricks, wood, brass, paper, plaster,

glass and on many types of objects, such as, windows,

doors, screens, railings, carpets , furniture, ceramic and metal

decorative and bowls, furniture-specially pulpits in mosques,

and on other surfaces. Islamic art demonstrates great

achievements in geometry, calligraphy and arabesque For

more than thirteen centuries Islamic designs have acted as

unifying factors, linking architectural expression throughout

72

the Muslim world, extending across Europe, Africa and

Asia.86 The four fundamental concepts in Islamic patterns:

beauty, harmony, symmetry and unity are all intrinsic to the

contemplative side of Islamic Art.87

5.3 Types of Islamic Patterns

The vast variety of geometric formations and the strict

rules governing their production reveals an important inner

dimension of Islamic tradition, “unity in multiplicity and

multiplicity in unity”.88 This principle is represented by means

of various mathematical forms symbolizing the constant

celestial archetypes within the cosmos.89

86 Jones, D. “The Elements of Decoration: Surface, Pattern and Light.” In Architecture of the Islamic World. Its History and Social Meaning, 144-175. Edited by G. Michell.London: Thames & Hudson Ltd., 1978.

Most of these

87 Grube, E. “What is Islamic Architecture?.” In Architecture of the Islamic World, Its History and Social Meaning, 10-14. Edited by G. Michell. London: Thames & Hudson Ltd., 1978. 88 Jones, 1978 89 Mostafa, M. The Museum of Islamic Art. (1st ed.). Cairo: Ministry of Education Press, 1955.

geometric patterns can be grouped under the following

categories:

1. Geometric patterns based on the Square Repeat Unit and

the Root Two proportion system. These include all patterns

generated by the division of the circle to four, and all patterns

generated by the multiples of four (Fig. 5.1).90

Fig. 5.1: The Root Two proportion system

90 Kritchlow, K. Islamic Patterns: An Analytical and Cosmological Approach. New York: Thames & Hudson Inc, 1976.

73

2- Geometric patterns based on the Hexagonal Repeat Unit

and the Root Three proportion system. This includes all

patterns generated by the division of the circle into three or

six, and all patterns generated from the multiples of six (Fig

5.2),91 for example, hexagons and dodecagons.

Fig. 5.2: Root Three proportion system

3. Geometric patterns based on the pentagon Repeat Unit

and the Golden Ratio proportion system. These include all

patterns generated by the division of the circle into five, and

all patterns generated from the multiples of five (Fig. 5.3),92

91 Ibid.

for example, the ten folded base pattern.

92 Ibid.

Fig. 5.3: The Golden Ratio proportion system

The most striking characteristic among Islamic

geometrical patterns is the prominence of star and rosette

shapes. Such shapes having five, six, eight, ten, twelve or

sixteen rays are the ones that occur most frequently, but

patterns containing other numbers, particularly in multiples of

eight to ninety six, can be found.

Even though geometric patterns are generated from

simple forms; they have been combined, duplicated,

interlaced and arranged in the fascinating combinations that

became one of the most distinguishing features of Islamic art.

Although they are generated according to very strict rules of

74

geometry, the geometric ornamentation in Islamic art

suggests a remarkable amount of freedom, both in its

repetition and complexity. Such freedom offers the possibility

of infinite growth and can accommodate the incorporation of

other types of ornamentation as well.93

5.4 The Proposed Masharabbia Patterns

After identifying Islamic patterns, the next step for

this project will be to experiment and generate some dynamic

mashrabbias in order to understand how these systems

would operate, with response to the sun’s movement as the

main parameter. Fig. 5.4 shows some screen shots of

dynamic masharbbia case studies that were inspired by

Islamic patterns and generated using Maya software.

Each interface consists of repeated units whose

apertures have the ability to open and close throughout the

93 Jones, 1978

day in response to the sun’s position. The gills close when

facing the sun directly in order to provide shade and minimize

the amount of solar radiation in the interior spaces, then the

gills gradually open as the sun becomes far in the sky in order

to maximize daylight.

Fig 5.4: Islamic mashrabbias pattern case studies

5.5 Dynamic Mashrabbia Environment Simulations Three of these case studies were chosen for

expanded research through real time environment simulation

to gain more in-depth understanding of how these systems

75

could affect the interior space and building performance.

These simulations include shadow study, solar radiation

analysis and daylight study using Ecotect software as a

conceptual design tool that provides an accurate and easy

way to simulate the environment.

Based on the form study result in Part Three of this

thesis, which indicate that both the south and west facades

are the elevations most exposed to solar radiation, the

environment simulation study focused on these elevations.

This study aims to investigate the level of shade, solar

radiation and daylight at the time when the mashrabbia is

semi-closed, i.e., when the sun is facing its apertures directly.

The south façade was studied in winter at 1:00 pm and the

west façade in the summer at 6:00 pm. The same study was

done in two different depth spaces, 20-foot depth interior

space, and 30-foot depth exploration space for determining

the depth that would allow an acceptable level of daylight to

enter.

5.5.1 Pattern I

Fig 5.5: The various opening stages of Pattern I

76

Fig, 5.6: Pattern I Environment Simulation Result, 20-foot depth space

Fig 5.7: Pattern I Environment Simulation Result, 30-foot depth space

77

5.5.2 Pattern II

Fig. 5.7: Pattern II Environment Simulation Result, 20-foot

depth space

78


5.5.3 Pattern III

79



80

Simulation Result:

Shadow Study: The result of the shadow study shows

that the three dynamic mashrabbias worked as perfect solar

shading devices, providing the interior space with a good

level of shade, thereby reducing the building’s inside

temperature.

Solar Radiation Study: The result shows that the three

mashrabbia patterns have the potential of reducing the solar

radiation gain, thereby reduce the interior temperature which

in turn reduces the energy used for the cooling system.

Daylight study: Based on the required interior light level,

which ranges from 200 ft/c to 500 ft/c 94

94 Bill Williams, Footcandles and Lux for Architectural Lighting, An introduction to Illuminance, Edition 2.1, (c) 1999.

, the daylight

simulation study indicates an adequate range of daylight,

especially with the first pattern, which shows the highest

range, both in winter and summer. The study also shows that

20 feet is a good range of space depth, allowing an

appropriate level of daylight relative to the 30-foot depth.

5.6 Project Schematic Design

Site Strategy

Based on the site analysis, which demonstrates that a

connection between the old city of Tripoli and the modern city

can be established through The Living Skyscraper design, it

is decided that the main entrance to the site will be oriented

on the east side toward the Gold Market and the old city of

Tripoli, while the second entrance will be located at the west

side in an attempt to connect the project with the main park in

the area which in the modern part of Tripoli.

81

Fig. 5.11: The site

The design concept of the building’s floor plans is

inspired by the Islamic architectural element, the courtyard,

where building components are erected around an open

green space that includes water aspects. The public services

will be located around a large public plaza, in the middle of

which the two towers, which house private residential units,

stand. Each tower has its own entrance and lobby, which will

enhance the residents’ privacy. Skygardens will be used as

connections made across the towers to improve accessibility

and support building structure.

The restaurants will be located on the north side of the site

to access the sea view, as well as a view into the interior plaza.

The auditorium will be at the back side of the building with its own

entrance.

Approximately 85 percent of car parking will be

underground in the two-level basement, while about 15 per cent will

be in the site at the south side of the site.

Project Zoning:

The retail, gym, public library, auditorium, and the towers’

lobbies will be located in the building’s huge base (Fig. 5.12). The

second floor will incorporate a large restaurant, cafe, traditional

handicraft center, handicraft gallery, and Islamic study center. All

82

the remaing floors of the towers—third to fortieth—will be

residential (Fig. 5.13).

Fig. 5.12: First floor zoning

5.13: Secound floor zoning

Building Elevations:

Based on the sun study of the building form, the west and

the east façades of the two towers will be covered by the kinetic

mashrabbia, and it is optional to cover the south elevation ( see

Fig: 5.14,5.15).

83

Fig 5.14: Section A-A

Fig5.15: Building elevations .

84



85

Part Six

Design Development

86

In this part of the thesis the focus will be on design

development which includes two parts: First, developing the pattern

of the dynamic mashrabbia, and the second part is developing the

design of the building. After the mashrabbia takes its final form and

the building is developed, the mashrabbia will be applied on the

building and evaluated to know its effects on both the exterior and

interior spaces of the building.

6.1 Dynamic Mashrabbia Pattern Development

Fig. 6.1: Dynamic mashrabbia pattern ( Maya software)

Each mashrabiya comprises an umbrella-like unit which opens and

closes throughout the day in response to the sun's movements (see

Fig, 6.1).

- Closed: mashrabbia units face the sun directly.

- Semi open: mashrabbia units partially face the sun.

- Open: the units face away from the sun.

6.2 Building Orientation

Before applying the mashrabbia on the building it is

important to now the best orientation for the building. According

to the best building orientation study that was done using Ecotect

software at the proposed site (Tripoli, Libya), the best orientation

for The Living Skyscraper based on the months of highest

temperature is west north, east south, as shown in Fig 6.2.

87

Fig. 6.2: Best building orientation study result, Tripoli, Libya (Ecotect software

6.3 Appling the Mashrabbia on the Tower

Based on the mass solar radiation and shadow studies that

are done and discussed in part III of this thesis, the dynamic

mashrabbia is carefully distributed on the towers in order to be

more focused on both the western and eastern elevations to protect

the building from solar radiation. Some of the mashrabbia units are

established around the first ten floors of the towers to provide the

occupants of these floors with an acceptable level of privacy (see

Fig. 6.3).

Fig. 6.3: Distributing the dynamic mashrabbia on the towers( Revit software)

88

6.4 Design Development - Site Plan:

Since the Living Skyscraper is close to the center of

Tripoli; the tower will have clear views of the old city of Tripoli and

the modern part of the city, as well as the Mediterranean Sea. The

skyscraper itself is composed of two towers spiraling around a

central courtyard. The main entrance of the project is facing the

old city of Tripoli as a kind of connection between the project and

the old city.

Fig. 6.4: Site plan

-Basement Floors:

The project includes a two-level basement car parking

space, with each floor designed to accommodate about 350 cars.

Fig. 6.5: Basement floor plan

The main courtyard

The old city of Tripoli

The main entrance

To the main park

Entrance

89

- First Floor Plan:

The first floor of the building includes the main lobby of the

project, a restaurant, day-care, gym, public library, Islamic studies

center, traditional handicraft center, and the lobbies of both towers.

Each part of the building is accessed directly from an entrance on

the ground level as well as from the basement level so that

visitors do not cross over with any of the other users of the

building.


- Second Floor Plan:

The second floor of the building includes retail, a restaurant, café,

day-care, and the second floor of the auditorium. The residential

part of the project begins from the second floor of the main tower,

which is located in the center of the main courtyard of the project,

and it continues residential until the 47th floor of this tower. The

residential apartments in the second tower are arranged on floors

5- 37 of this tower, and each floor of the residential part of this

tower, as well as in the main tower, includes three apartments.

Fig. 6.7: Second floor plan.

Residential

Entrnce

90


- Project Elevations:

The buildings’ hanging parks are placed between the towers

and after different numbers of levels which are tall enough to

accommodate full-grown trees (see Fig.6.7). Both towers also

feature sky gardens in the top three floors in order to further reduce

the potential for solar gain. The form of the towers has been

sculpted to provide sky gardens in what would otherwise have

become the most sensitive areas of the building. The sky gardens

also provide visual relief for users of the building and one of its

important amenity spaces during the cooler months of the year.

91

Fig. 6.9: Top: South elevation. Down: West elevation

Fig. 6.10: Top: East elevation. Down: North elevation

92

Project Perspectives:

Fig. 6.11: Project perspective

Fig. 6.12: Project perspectives

93

6.5. Dynamic Mashrabbia Evaluation:

After applying the responsive mashrabbia on the building,

and since the main goals of this dynamic mashrabbia, besides

representing Islamic culture, are first, to provide the buildings’

occupants with stable conditions in the hot climate of Tripoli and

second, to improve building energy performance, it is time to

evaluate the impact of the kinetic mashrabbia on the building

through applying solar radiation analysis and building energy

analysis on the building with and without the dynamic mashrabbia

using Vasari software.

6.5.1 Solar Radiation Analysis

Fig. 6.13: Solar radiation study result (Vasari software)

6.5.2 Building Energy performance Analysis:

Fig. 6.14: Building energy analysis result (Vasari software)

6.5.3 Dynamic Mashrabbia Benefits: 1- Lighting and views:

- Improved daylight

- Acceptable level of shading

94

- Acceptable level of privacy

- Improved views for building occupants

- Represents Islamic culture 2- Energy Consumption:

- Effective reduction in solar gain, about 50%

- Approx. 23% reduction in CO2 emission

- Approx. 23% reduction in energy use intensity

Part Seven

Final Design

95

7.1 Dynamic Mashrabbia Details

7.1.1 Dynamic Mashrabbia Behaviour during Daytime

The shading device, whose translucent

components open and close as the sun moves around

the building, gives the Living Skyscraper a sense of

breathing during its smooth movement. Fig. 7.1 shows the

behavior of the dynamic mashrabbia during daytime,

starting from 7:00 am when almost all the mashrabbia’s

units are open to 7:00 pm when the western units of the

mashrabbia are almost closed and ready to open after

sunset.

Fig. 7.1: Dynamic mashrabbia behaviour during daytime

7.1.2 Detailed Mashrabbia Design

Each mashrabbia comprises an umbrella-like unit which

opens and closes throughout the day in response to the sun's

movements. Each mashrabbia is made up of a series of PTFE

fabric mesh panels that are driven by a linear actuator.

Fig. 7.2: Dynamic mashrabbia detailed design

96

PTFE Fabric Mesh:

PTFE fiberglass fabric is made of high intensity fiberglass

yarn by plain weaving, satin weaving or cross grain, coated with

fine quality PTFE Teflon latex and then dried.95

1. Outstanding electrical insulation and di-electric properties

Features of PTFE high temperature fiberglass fabric:

2. High temperature resistance; continuous operating temperature is -70-260, can resist up to 320 in a short time

3. High release from sticky materials ("non-stick")

4. Chemical, corrosion, and moisture resistance

5. Easy cleaning

6. Mildew and fungus resistance

7.1.3 Dynamic Mashrabbia Effect on Interior Spaces:

Below, some still images show the effact of the

kinetic mashrabbia on the interior spaces of the

building.The dynamic mashrabbia reduces solar gain by

95 Taixing Ruichang Conveyor Belt Manufacturer Co.,Ltd.

http://www.aliexpress.com/store/701153/50337180-293341293/Solar-Panel-Teflon-Laminating-Fabric-Solar-Laminating-Teflon-Fabric.html, accessed May 26,2011

reflecting almost all sun rays. Moreover, it provides the

occupants with a desirable leve of shading while allowing

daylight to enter even when the mashrabbia is almost

closed.

Fig. 7.3: Dynamic mashrabbia effact on interior spaces at different opening stages

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http://www.aliexpress.com/store/701153/50337180-293341293/Solar-Panel-Teflon-Laminating-Fabric-Solar-Laminating-Teflon-Fabric.html�

97

7.2 Building Skin Layers and Ventilation system

The Living Skyscraper skin consists of three layers.

Immediately next to the dynamic mashrabbia comes a double-

glass façade.

The Double-Skin Façade is essentially a pair of glass

“skins” separated by an air corridor. The main layer of glass is

usually insulating. The air space between the layers of glass acts

as insulation against temperature extremes, wind and sound.

During wintertime and at night, the Living Skyscraper can

rely on natural ventilation through the controlled windows in the

inner skin, while in summer and during the hot season, the

building’s skin layers work as an insulation system that keeps the

building cool (see Fig. 7.4).

Fig. 7.4: Building’s skin layers, left: during moderate climate and at nights, right: during hot climate.

98

7.3 Design Development:


Fig. 7.6: Site plan

99

Floor Plans: - Basement Plan

Fig. 7.7: Basement levels plan

- First Floor Plan


100

- Second Floor Plan

Fig. 7.9: Second floor plan

Building Section:


101

Building Elevations:

Fig. 7.12: North elevation at about 4:00 pm

Fig. 7.13: West elevation at about 4:00 pm

102

Fig. 7.14: East elevation at about 10:00 am.

Fig. 7.15: South elevation at about 10:00 am

103

Perspectives:



104

Fig. 7.16: Left, the main entrance of the project. Right, the main courtyard

The two towers are linked physically by the main courtyard

at the ground level and at the high levels by hanging gardens

installed throughout the building, giving access between the two

towers and offering the occupants another connection with the

natural world. The building contains sky gardens in the highest

three floors of each tower in order to further reduce the potential of

solar gain and for more access to nature. Landscaped areas in the

ground level contain mature palm trees which unite the site with

the surrounding nature

Fig. 7.17: The sky gardens

105

Fig. 7.18: The café

The exterior of the towers is covered with the dynamic

mashrabbia, which works as a solar coating provides both

privacy and insulation for the interior, significantly reducing

the solar heat gain, and providing a more comfortable

internal environment.

The dynamic mashrabbia is established on a

honeycombed pattern structure which is a highly efficient

structural solution that is stable, flexible and economical

Fig. 7.19: Close perspective to the dynamic mashrabbia

106

7.4 Conclusion

Designing a high-rise building for a specific location

needs great understanding of the people, culture and the

available building technologies while engaging them in a

meaningful way. The Living Skyscraper project represents

the translation of Islamic architecture to contemporary

architecture for a high-rise building, it attempting to preserve

the Islamic character and culture with a strong climatic

response and energy efficient design. This is accomplished

by the use of BIM and parametric design through different

useful digital tools.

Creating buildings that meet the needs of society

today and in the future is not an easy task. However, the

use of a range of advanced computer-aided design

techniques can greatly help produce such buildings more

quickly, easily, and at less cost, while parametric design can

rationalize complex geometries and relationships, realizing

architectural aspirations that would not otherwise be

possible. Efficient and elegant structural forms can be

created by combining advanced engineering analysis tools

with 3D CAD and parametric design methods. This strong

combination leads to inspiring buildings with minimized

material and energy consumption.

At the same time and as outlined in this thesis, culture

and architectural vernacular has much to offer the modern

world. Sustainable design is not only a way of viewing and

valuing good design but a way of linking the past with the

present to protect our natural world and ecosystems, as well

as to preserve historical and cultural artifact. A successful

tall, “green” building is an integral part of a society’s

financial, technological and cultural advancement.

107

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