Building intelligently

zoom

Facade materials play a large role in a building’s energy use.

What is an intelligent building? Ask many people today and the question is likely to invoke talk of electronic devices and so-called ‘smart' technologies that enable central control of various parameters such as lighting and temperature. But is this really the answer?

The term smart building is now frequently used to describe properties that contain these technologies, but a true intelligent building involves much more. "Intelligent buildings is one of those terms that has been misunderstood for many years," stresses Pantelis Kouzis, overseas business development manager for EKA Group. "There are a number of definitions for an intelligent building...it's not black and white."

The European Intelligent Building Group (EIBG) defines an intelligent building as: ‘one that provides a productive and cost-effective environment through the optimisation of its four basic components - structure, systems, services and management - and the inter-relationships between them...focussing on creating the desired indoor environment to maximise the efficiency of its occupants and allow effective management of resources within minimum life costs.'

The EIBG goes on to say that such buildings should incorporate the best available concepts, materials, systems and technologies, integrated to maximise the performance of the occupants and building operation throughout the entire life cycle. In other words, an holistic approach must be taken throughout the design and construction of a building in order that it will continuously provide optimum performance.

"An intelligent building is one that is always fully leased," adds Kouzis. "The key word is flexibility...intelligence is about long-term investment and an intelligent building is a collection of technologies that are able to respond to organisational change over time."

The overall aim of "intelligent" designing is to reduce the operating costs of a building while maintaining indoor air quality and providing a suitable working environment. To ensure the successful integration of all a building's features, the entire design team must be involved throughout the project.

Surface design

One of the biggest factors in the optimisation of a building's operation is the external facade. As well as being integral to the overall aesthetics, the facade contributes greatly to the technical performance of a building and has a significant effect on the overall energy use.

"The building envelope has a major impact on both the indoor environment and the energy consumption of any modern building," reports Mikkel Kragh, environmental engineer with consultancy Arup. Whether a full glass facade or a mix of cladding materials is used will have a huge effect on the capacity of the MEP services required within a building.

An intelligent building design manages thermal transmissions gained through windows and walls as part of the overall energy balance. By designing the structure effectively, the amount of mechanical and electrical plant needed to maintain indoor air conditions can be reduced, as by lowering the thermal gains through the facade less cooling will be needed to maintain set point temperatures.

In addition, by maximising the amount of daylight entering, less electrical energy will be needed to provide artificial lighting; plus, the heat gains from lighting will also lower, further reducing the cooling load. "In hot climates you want light but not heat gain - you want to get better daylight into the space to reduce the artificial lighting needed, but you don't want the thermal gains [associated with sunlight]," stresses George Berbari, ceo of DC Pro Engineering.

Many of the latest buildings incorporate facade engineering as an integral part of the design process. On the Atkins-designed Iris Bay development for example, glazing has been minimised on the east and west elevations where potential solar gains are highest, to reduce solar gain and glare, the fully glazed facade faces almost north. And with the increased emphasis on sustainability in the region, facade engineering is becoming even more important: "This is one of the most important parts of a building to get right to achieve a green building," states Stuart Clarke, associate, Arup. "It's [glazing] that emits heat into the building," stresses Arthur Millwood, technical manager, Emirates Glass.

Print | Email | Discuss this article

| Share |

READERS' COMMENTS

Click here to post a comment

Add your Comment All posts are sent to the administrator for review and are published only after approval. ArabianBusiness.com reserves the right to remove any comment at any time for any reason. Please keep your responses appropriate and on topic. Arabian Business would like to point out that only comments relevant to the story will be published. Any containing personal insults or inappropriate language will not be approved.
Name *
Remember me on this computer
Email *	(Your email address will not be published)
City
Country
Subject *
Comment *
Notify me of further comments
Enter the words above *
Please click post only once - your comment will not be published immediately.

MORE FROM ARABIANBUSINESS.COM