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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.

Asia’s First LEED-Certified Convention Centre

The city of Incheon is now blessed with Songdo Convensia, a world-class convention centre built for operation and use. Songdo is the first convention facility in Asia to achieve a prestigious LEED NC 2.2 certification from the USGBC. This convention centre designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox, walks and talks in green by fully equipped with the state of art “ubiquitous system”. 

This LEED certified convection centre is located in ambitious eco-city - Incheon, South Korea, covers 1000 square meters and it is built at a cost of $150 million. An exhibition hall in this convention centre is partitioned into two with a utility wall including sound proof function and includes 8,416 square meters of usable area. Convensia Lounge and exterior lawns are for various colourful events. Multi-functional conference room envelops 2,304 square meters, partitioned into 10-23 rooms with “ubiquitous system” including wireless internet, voice recognition cameras, advanced system including sound-proof walls, 28 electronically operated screens, 28 LCD projectors and much more.

The Songdo Convensia Center features extensive access to public transportation, 230 bicycle racks for citizen and worker use, shower facilities for employees who commute to work via bicycle or walking and preferred parking for fuel-efficient, low-emitting, and carpool vehicles. During construction over 80% of construction waste was recycled or diverted from landfills.

This LEED-Certified Convention Centre also incorporates a versatile, energy-saving lighting system, landscape design that does not require irrigation, a 45% water demand reduction in plumbing fixtures each year and low-VOC finishes and thus promoting healthy indoor air quality for visitors and employees.