In renovation or new construction, the emphasis nowadays is very much on advanced insulation and airtight construction. Not only these technologies are beneficial in energy consumption, but also pays special attention to the quality of the indoor air and the indoor temperature. Continuous and controlled supply of fresh air and outdoor sun protection together ensures a healthy and comfortable indoor climate, even in high-rise buildings.

Black Forest Project, Shanghai, China :

Preventing Overheating by Providing External Sun Protection

Large glass panels ensure that there is sufficient daylight, but at the same time, the direct incoming sunlight often disturbs the visual comfort and increases the risk of overheating during hotter periods. The better insulated high-rises definitely include external solar protection to deflect the sunlight before it has a chance to reach the glass, which helps to avoid increasing costs for active cooling.

External sun protection prevents from overheating in the Black Forest apartments in Shanghai
External sun protection prevents from overheating in the Black Forest apartments in Shanghai

To achieve optimal comfort, it is important to take into account – the orientation of the building, the influence of the different seasons, and the lifestyle of the people who live or work in this environment. It is important to evaluate the different systems during the design phase and incorporate the most suitable elements in the design.

Facts File : High Rise Buildings

In the Black Forest Project in Shanghai (China), the external sun protection screens have been integrated into the façade construction of this 100- m high apartment block. The bottom profiles of the screens were made extra heavy to ensure that they can withstand the wind loads at that height.

According to CEG (contractor): “For the Black Forest project, we decided to work with large glass surfaces by using minimalistic window systems. Which means that the main surface of the façade is glass and there are nearly no actual walls. Because of these large glass surfaces, we knew that overheating and glare might heavily influence the comfort of our residents.

So we made the decision to use external sun-shading, which was not yet very common in China. As the buildings are all at least 25 floors high, and Shanghai sometimes incurs typhoons, the wind resistance was a very important aspect for us.”

Odukale Business Center, Istanbul, Turkey :

Managing Continuous and Controlled Supply of Fresh Air

Odukale Business Centre
At the Odukale Business Centre, the Supply of Fresh Air needed not to have a Visual Impact on the Façade

Basic ventilation guarantees good air quality. Self-regulating ventilation louvres ensure the supply of fresh air that replaces the polluted indoor air. The renovation of a ’70s office building in Istanbul (Turkey) meant that it is now mandatory to ventilate the building for a healthy indoor climate. At the same time, the supply of fresh air could not have a visual impact on the protected façade of the high-rise buildings.

In this case, the government did not want the appearance of this high-rise from the 1970s to be the same as it was before. And it is difficult to reconcile with the mandatory provisions that need to be made to provide those who live and/or work there with continuous fresh air.

Facts File : High Rise Buildings So window ventilators not only had to fulfil the acoustic, waterproof and constructional requirements but should at the same time barely have a visual impact on the architectural details of the building.

Bringing in fresh air directly through window ventilators is a new trend in Turkey, says Mutlu Ergün, Senior Field Operations Engineer at TURKCELL. “The only problem is, a lot of standard windows ventilation is unable to meet the requirements in terms of acoustics, waterproofness, fire protection and architecture, especially when it comes to high-rise buildings.’

Plot 16 Apartments, Moscow, Russia: Natural Ventilation in High rise Buildings

Plot 16 at Moscow, Russia
Plot 16 at Moscow, Russia

Natural ventilation in this 300 m high tower was not that simple to integrate, as in Russia, it is not allowed to have any opening parts in the façade starting from a certain height. Studies have shown that no less than 80% of people in high-rise office buildings or apartment buildings still want to feel like that they can bring fresh air inside.

But opening a window is not always an option in this case. We at Renson, have customized ventilation louvers that always provide a great alternative to supply the necessary fresh air in the curtain walls that are so often characteristic of high rises. The ventilation louvers are aesthetically integrated and are compliant with the requirements for acoustics, wind resistance, airflow, rain, insects, and security and you have the possibility to regulate these by yourself.

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