When completed in 2013, this headquarters building set a benchmark for the ecological design of supertall towers. Equipped with wind turbines, the building has the potential to produce as much energy as it consumes.
This aerodynamic 71-story tower in Guangzhou’s Tianhe District is the result of careful site research that incorporated the latest green technology and engineering advancements in order to harvest wind and solar energy. Awarded the project through a design competition, SOM’s team set out to create one of the world’s most energy-efficient skyscrapers.
The result is the largest radiant-cooled office building and most energy efficient super-tall building in the world, upon its completion. Starting with a double-floor lobby with a fritted glass ceiling and suspended metal panels, five floors of amenities lead to four zones of office floors. The tower’s curvilinear form and orientation capture and funnel prevailing winds into a pair of openings at each mechanical floor, where turbines generate energy for the building. With climate control systems that require less ductwork than the typical tower, the design team was able to add five additional floors to the tower. Solar panels, a double-skin curtain wall, a chilled ceiling system, under-floor air ventilation, and daylight harvesting helped the tower achieve energy savings and reduce dependency on the city’s electrical grid. Other helpful features include a climate control system that manages the city’s humid summers and a radiant ceiling made of metal panels with daylight-responsive LED lighting. The double-skin curtain wall has enclosed, automated blinds that absorb outside sound and are less prone to air leakage.
Driven to create one of the world’s most energy-efficient skyscrapers, SOM incorporated the latest sustainable technology and engineering know-how into its design of the 309-meter-tall Pearl River Tower. Inside and out, the design embodies the idea of humankind existing in harmony with the environment while significantly improving energy efficiency and comfort.
The tower’s aerodynamic form was developed through a careful understanding of solar and wind patterns around the site. The tower’s sculpted body directs wind to a pair of openings at its mechanical floors, where traveling winds push turbines that generate energy for the building. The design optimizes the solar path, utilizing the sun to the building’s advantage while controlling solar loads. Triple-glazed facades with exterior blinds are located on the east and west elevations, and internally ventilated double-skin facades are located on the north and south. Both incorporate automated blinds, which respond to sun exposure throughout the day and greatly contribute to the building’s energy efficiency. Return air is routed through the cavity of the double-layer curtain wall, increasing in temperature as it travels upward to mechanical floors. This hot, dry air then serves as an energy source while dehumidifying the outside air.
Inside, a radiant cooling system delivers sensible cooling to the space through radiation heat transfer. Dedicated Outside Air System (DOAS) is decoupled with the radiant ceiling to promote the highest levels of human comfort and indoor air quality while addressing ventilation issues.
The design of Pearl River Tower significantly reduces the amount of energy required to operate the building’s infrastructure. Energy consumption is reduced by maximizing natural daylight, reducing solar gain in air conditioned spaces, retaining rainwater for gray-water usage, and by utilizing solar gain for the building’s hot water supply. The office tower is chilled by a combination of stack venting, radiant panel cooling and chilled beams, and solar collectors integrated into the façades transform the sun’s energy to usable AC current. With these measures, Pearl River Tower represents the new benchmark in corporate office building design – a new skyscraper for a new age.
This strategy also has a structural advantage: the building faces the prevailing winds and uses them to relieve the structural burdens imposed by high-wind pressures. In effect, wind forces are so well managed that they become “invisible braces” to help fortify the building. Other integrated sustainable elements include solar panels, a double-skin curtain wall, a chilled ceiling system, under-floor ventilation, and daylight harvesting, all of which contribute to the building’s energy efficiency.
01/