PEARL RIVER TOWER

PEARL RIVER TOWER

Pearl tower by US-based architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill’s (SOM) is designed to use wind and sun power as natural resources. The Pearl tower structure is designed as a high performance building that is shaped by the sun and wind. The tower will absorb its environment and uses it to its advantage. The design features solar collectors to provide solar power and heating for the building’s hot water supply. Wind will be directed into openings on the mechanical floor to power turbines that will operate the tower’s heating, cooling and ventilation systems. According to SOM, the design also maximises use of natural daylight to reduce energy consumption and will minimise solar gain. In addition, rainwater will be collected for use in the tower’s heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, while the structure will be chilled by a combination of stack venting, radiant slab cooling and caisson heat sinks. The trend towards mixed high-rise developments is giving designers greater opportunities to improve environmental performance. Rejected heat from office areas can be used to heat water for domestic and kitchen use.

Pearl River tower, planned for Guangzhou, China, would harvest wind and solar energy. This is an iconic, high-performance building that is designed in harmony with its environment. It is a skyscraper for a new age.  Its remarkably high: the first zero-energy super-tall building in the world. The tower will harvest wind, humidity, and solar power from the environment and use it to maximum efficiency through myriad interwoven systems.