Smart Buildings Saving the World | Visiting Sustainable Architecture

Make sure you stick around to the end where I will reveal the world's smartest building. When people ask me why I study architecture I show them this graph. Buildings are responsible for the most amount of carbon emissions out of all sectors but this doesn't have to be as we have the technology to make carbon neutral buildings. We start in Barcelona where a building which looks like it's being wrapped in bubble wrap is actually a prime example of how we can use technology to make large buildings respect our The technology used on this building keeps the inside cool therefore dramatically reduces the need for air conditioning. Air conditioning in hot countries such as Spain can make up for 40% of the total building energy consumption. Just to cool the inside of a building that is far too much. So how does the technology on this building work? Using sensors the building detects when the sun is shining on the facade and pumps nitrogen into the ETFE cushions which causes them to expand. This creates a block between the heat of the sun and the cool building interior in two different ways. Firstly on the southeast facade the cushions create a pattern of reverse design which creates a shade effect inside. Secondly on the southwest facade the longer cushions insulate the building as the nitrogen acts as a cloud-like solar filter. This combination of design stops approximately 114 tons of CO2 entering our atmosphere per year. This is equivalent to planting over 5,000 trees every single year. We also must use sustainable materials. ETFE is a polymer that was also used for the Eden projects in the UK. It is 100% recyclable and requires minimal energy for transportation and installation due to being only one percent of the weight of glass. This dramatically reduces the need for large supporting structures too. Finally the addition of a roof garden for extra insulation and solar panels for generation of energy make this building an excellent example of environmentally conscious architecture. Roof gardens aren't typically the main design feature of a building. However this next building makes the Sky Forest the core design feature. The Capita Green building in Singapore was designed around a simple concept with major benefits. The building is crowned with a red flower-like sculpture. The petals capture and guide the wind down into the building's cooling void which stems its way right down the core of the building. This providing air conditioning to all 40 storeys at a vastly reduced rate of energy consumption. The air at 242 meters high travels at a high speed and is cooler and fresher due to the Sky Forest which has been planted. The building is 55% of the exterior covered with lush foliage. This not only reduces the solar heat gain but also has a positive effect on the users within by promoting the sense of biophilia. This building has shown that using nature as a design inspiration is one of the best ways we can combat climate change. This next design can be best introduced by the Mayor of London. This building really does represent a glimpse into the future. Bloomberg are a company who have made a large effort in reducing their ecological footprint in their buildings. In total they have saved a massive 95 million dollars in operating costs and have also drastically improved employers productivity. This goes to show that smart buildings aren't just benefiting the planet, they are also benefiting our economy and well-being too. This building achieves such high sustainable credentials due to the new solutions it has for ventilation, lighting, power and water. 4,000 integrated ceiling panels have been included with the petal leaf design. The panels combine heating, cooling, lighting and acoustic functions and use 40% less energy than a typical office lighting system. The building takes up 3.2 acres and yet can still be naturally ventilated. Usually buildings of this scale require high energy intensive mechanical ventilation systems, however this building has the ability to breathe naturally. The bronze fins on the facade hold vents which can open and close, pulling air through the office space into the atrium and out of the roof. The water conservation system saves 25 million litres of water each year, enough to fill 10 Olympic swimming pools. The building also has its own on-site combined heat and power system, therefore the waste heat generated from creating energy can be reused for heating and cooling the building. This building has shown that design can be improved in almost every aspect to help save our environment, but in order to have a big enough effect we need every new building to be designed in such a thoughtful way. Finally the one you've all been waiting for, the world's smartest building. It is called The Edge and is located in Amsterdam. The building's orientation is based on the path of the sun. The atrium bathes the building in northern daylight, while the solar panels on the southern facade collects the energy from the sun. These solar panels are then able to power all smartphones, laptops and electric cars. I find it amazing how your car can be powered while you're at work due to the solar panels on the side of your office building. Once inside the phone app that all employees have takes the forefront. Wherever you go the app knows your preferences for light and temperature. It tweaks the environment you step into according to 20 centimetres of accuracy. This app tells the building system when rooms are unoccupied, which means when there's zero occupancy there's next to zero energy use. The building is learning every day and because it is connected to the internet it is future-proofed so they can add new sensors as technology advances in the future. Finally the building stays warm by pumping down warm water in the summer months almost 400 feet into the aquifer below. It sits here insulated until winter when it is sucked back out for heating. We are planning to build a lot more buildings like these and the next one will be smarter and the one after that will be smarter as well and we won't stop until all cities in the world are filled with buildings that are intelligent and that are not using any energy anymore.