Sustainable Tall building Design - 'Food Tower'

I chose Sustainable Tall building module in my second term of studies. It was fun and exciting to work on a scale of that big. We opted to work on a live site in London.. Hurrey!! It was good for us to learn more on a same climatic conditions. The other climatic zones where Singapore and Dubai which are completely different context from I had studies in the first term. We were a team of three (Jesna Mathews, Carmen Du and me).

The site is located  by the Thames river on the Blackfriers road, London. It was an exciting site to work with. The major impact that has to be considered was the impact of the context on the building and vice versa. Since all three of us are foodies, we wanted to design a food tower. I should not forget to mention Carmen Du did a major background research to justify our need for the food tower. We were surprised to find that 80% of UK's food is being imported from other countries. And our research became deeper and we had a very strong reasons for our food tower.

The 'Food Tower' we designed was named as 'Vertical farming skyscraper'. The tower is designed to be elevated to 20' height in consideration of the flood prone area. This 20' accommodates informal and temporary activities like the farmer's market, promotion activities and shop for the food tower and mainly growing spaces. The building is divided into zones. The division is by the growing allotment areas and service floors. The first block is office and laboratory block with a test zone of plant growing allotment areas. The rest of the tower are residential and allotments at intervals.

The shape and size of the building is a result of repeated testing of block models for shadow analysis, impact of light and wind on the building and to its surroundings, growing areas/ allotments, and aesthetics. The top of the building possesses an extensive view of the skyline of London.

The building is designed with major concern of the sustainable aspects of water recycling, solid waste management, use of solar energy, purification, rainwater treatment, choice of materials, designing zones, etc. Care is taken for every step to make it more sustainable. The tower was designed to 30% sustainable activities which can reach up to 50% in no time. The residents who live in a food tower is encouraged to take up a different lifestyle of growing their own food. If full effort is being put, the effectiveness can be made 100%.

Design of a '6th Form Centre'

Mass development

Sectional view of the designed 6th Form Centre, Matlock Highfields School, UK

Here is a post with my works on Sustainable Architectural Design which I did during M.Arch in Environmental Design at University of Nottingham. Trust me, it took 2 terms for me to actually understand what I was doing and what I came to study. But it was indeed a great experience in learning that new world.

The first module was a Environmental and Sustainable Design for a '6th form centre'. The whole concept was completely new to understand and it was an exercise to get familiar with the design strategies according to local bylaws, technologies, techniques and software. We worked in a team of 3 (Naseem Khan, Carlos Hidalgo and me). It was a redesign of an extended cafeteria block of a long stretch of an prestigious Highfields school at Matlock, UK. Its is a beautiful site atop a valley. The building marks a grand view of the building from the other side of the valley. The site had only advantages and no disadvantages for our design concept.

Why is it important to have a designed Opening?

Why is it important to have a designed Opening?

Residence  designed by Ar. Suparna Bhalla from 'Abaxial Architects'. © 2013 Debarpita Mohapatra Photography

We see many buildings with very interesting openings on their façade in various sizes, shapes and for different purposes. We see buildings with minimal or no openings like windows, ventilators and slit openings. This could have been done purposefully due to lack of space or privacy or any other reason. We also see buildings with openings all over the wall and all over the building. This requires proper understanding. Let’s start here.

There are many types of openings based on their sizes, shapes, position and their purposes. A typical window size is 1.35m (4’6”) in height by its required length of the opening. This size is for the sill height of 0.75m (2’6”) from the finished floor level. The opening can vary in size and shape by changing window and sill height, length of the window and position. An Architect can design the openings according to the need. Need can be based on privacy or comfort or architectural or user preference based on the type of building and its usage like residence, commercial, public, etc.

In any building design, façade openings play a key role in planning and designing. It helps in reaching the comfort level of the interior space both physically and visually. Openings are good source of daylight and ventilation. They influence the interior layout considerably when they are designed to the requirement. Furniture layout is planned carefully with the openings to have even distribution of daylight and vice versa. 

Influence of daylight in the interiors can be altered by playing with the opening size and shape. One can split the opening to gain maximum daylight to the dark spaces away from the opening. Light shelves are good alternative to disperse daylight for uniform distribution and light darker spaces.

Openings are a good source of ventilation in a space which can be controlled with the opening size and type. Ventilation helps in altering the interior temperature and helps reducing few degrees. We live in a warm and humid climate. It is necessary to design according to the climate. It reduces the energy consumption, increases interior comfort and reduces cost.  Due to excess solar radiation and heat gain in warm and hot climates, it is necessary to carefully place the openings on the façade. 

Excess exposure to solar radiation and heat gain in our city is a concern. Well-designed openings are a good way to go one step towards reducing the adverse effects of solar gain.

The orientation of the openings should be designed according to the orientation of the building. It is best to receive north light to more spaces as it gives good amount of indirect light. Northeast and southwest oriented openings give good ventilation as they let the prevailing wind direction to pass through the living space. 

When there is another building close by, it is best to look for privacy. Having another building by the side will alter the microclimate. An Architect looks for the best solution for the same for a good design.

Designing according to the environment is a green design. Our ancestral buildings and temples are good example. The green building certificates like GRIHA and LEED give points for the well-designed opening. Though certificates are good encouragement for the society to think green, it is our responsibility to encourage green building design for the betterment.

FIrst Look

I am an Architect who is very passionate about 'Architecture'. I believe in my passion yet take sustainability as my responsibility.

Though being a small town girl, my passion for designing spaces got picked up from my dad. I graduated Architecture degree program from Thiagarajar College of Engineering, Madurai, India (2009 pass-out) and a Master of Architecture in Environmental Design from University of Nottingham, UK (2011 pass-out). My persuasion for study and realisation of my responsibility as an Environmental Architect doesn't start from my masters program. It starts from my childhood, from my parents.

I have worked in Bangalore with a couple of firms. My vision of work is 'not to compromise' on my responsibility. To me 'Architecture' is creating and bending spaces and experiences. 'Sustainability' is to live for today and conserve as much as we can for tomorrow. I consider Architecture and Sustainability as an art to master and maintain. I assure my design will encourage them.

I believe that, 'My thirst for creation will never be fulfilled as learning can never end'.