2226 by be baumschlager eberle

Article source: be baumschlager eberle

Energy 

Two considerations formed the basis of our work. First, how can we maintain in the next thirty to forty years our quality of life and thereby conserve resources? The second, followed by the fundamental belief that we need to develop a home that reverses old fashioned mindsets: man no longer reacts to the house but the house to the man .For this we need much less equipment than is generally assumed. We have in 2226 no technical cooling, no heating, no additional ventilation but rather an intelligent software that controls heat output and natural air supply.

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• Architects: be baumschlager eberle
• Project: 2226

Image Courtesy © be baumschlager eberle

Before constructing 2226 we made studies with the essential support of Lars Junghans (University of Michigan) and the physicist Peter Wiederin (Hörbranz, Austria). Parameters were found to develop a building with the least energy consumption and software was developed to steer the energy flow in and out of the building.

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Until now all premises of the design since the setting up in August 2013 were fulfilled. We hope to contribute substantially to sustainability discussions. 2226 is sustainable because it needs no energy for cooling, heating or ventilation, therefore it also needs no nondurable mechanical devices for these energy-flows. Only simple materials for the construction were used with lifespans of over one hundred years, see below. Last but not least we wanted to design a building which is comfortable and liked by users and the most important consumers of architecture – the passersby. As we know all buildings which have been liked over the decades are the buildings which have lived the longest.

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Material 

2226 is a simple building in terms of construction materials. Only basic materials, provided by local firms, were used. No insulation was necessary due to the thickness of the walls and their inertia concerning energy transfer. Brick for the walls, concrete for the ceilings and glass+wood for the windows made up the main material palette. Hydrated lime was applied to the shell for absorbing humidity and Co². With the application of such materials the amount of “Grey Energy” could be reduced.

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Form and Proportions 

One of the important tasks to create a building without mechanical cooling, heating and ventilation was to find the most compact form, because the ratio between volume and shell influences highly the consumption of energy. Therefore the proportions of the building played an important role. We found that a cube with 24x24x24 meters height-length-width resulted in the most efficient relationship of a highly compact building with the highest amount of volume against the least amount of shell. The result is a building with very good heat-transfer-coefficient.

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Proportion also describes the relationship between windows and walls. Here at 2226 only 24 % of the facades are windows, which means the amount of these openings is comparable with most city centre buildings in Europe. It is obvious that the windows at 2226 must carry out special qualities: The windows are high and slim to provide as much natural light as necessary into the depth of the building. They are placed recessed in the 76 cm deep walls to reduce the entry of the (warm) sunlight. In consequence the software-regulated ventilation panels are the most isolated parts of the building.

As you can see the proportions of the building, which are genuine devices of architecture, provide elementary premises for the creation of a sustainable building which needs only few energy for computers and lighting.

Image Courtesy © be baumschlager eberle

Image Courtesy © be baumschlager eberle

Image Courtesy © be baumschlager eberle

Category: Building

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