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Vikki Lew
In 2023, the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) inaugurated the first two global sustainability disclosure standards IFRS S1/S2 to systematize the ESG standards, frameworks, and initiatives across industries and geographies. Publicly listed companies in the U.S. are required by law to disclose sustainability performance including key disclosure metrics such as energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. The ESG framework is increasingly becoming a global standard, including in the rapidly developing Asia region. This study explores the implications of ESG reporting on facade practice in five attributes: reporting scope, energy impact, material impact, impact categories, and compliance. A portfolio of a U.S. architect practicing in Greater China was referenced in the case study. Carbon accounting and life cycle assessment were performed to quantify facade impact. The results show that the impacts go beyond greenhouse gas emissions and include natural capital and human health. For a highrise building with facade-associated energy saving 2,950,000 kWh per year, it also reduces greenhouse gas emission of 2.329 x 106 kg CO2-eq, fossil fuel depletion 8.95 x 105 kg oil-eq, particulate matters 1.215 x 103 m2a., and water depletion 1.427 x 106 m3. The challenges and opportunities of applying ESG framework to facade are also discussed from global perspectives.
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Luis Fernandes • Tzu-Ching Su • Luis Fernandes • Jordan Shackelford • Anand Prakash – Stephen Czarnecki
Automated facades are, for the most part, still considered as separate from other building systems throughout the design, installation, commissioning, operation, and maintenance cycle. This takes place despite the fact that their energy and comfort performance are deeply interlinked with the operation of lighting and HVAC systems. Over the last two decades, research has shown that there are significant advantages from operating facades as an integrated system with the rest of the building. Nevertheless, significant barriers prevent this type of integration becoming more common. One of them is the lack of a platform that is inexpensive to implement and that easily allows the practical implementation of integrated control algorithms across fenestration and other building systems, using a variety of communications protocols. This is particularly challenging when automated facades are installed in existing buildings, where interaction with legacy building systems that were installed over the past lifetime of the building can require a high degree of interoperability.
OpenFacadeControl (OFC) is an open-source controls framework aimed at unified control of facades and other building systems, including the sharing of third-party sensor information. Through leveraging the Volttron controls platform, it allows the integration of systems and sensors that are manufactured by different companies and that use different communications protocols into an ensemble that functions as a single system. OFC is designed to enable integrated control algorithms of varying degrees of complexity, ranging from simple, heuristic controls to more sophisticated approaches like model-predictive control. Use of a research version to test advanced lighting and shading strategies in a full-scale experimental testbed has demonstrated the ease of deploying advanced control solutions using OpenFacadeControl. This paper presents the structure of OpenFacadeControl and a demonstration case showing the use of OFC in laboratory tests of advanced lighting and fenestration controls that coordinated motorized shades communicating via the BACnet building communications standard and lights communicating via internet-protocol-based application programming interface (API), based on the readings of a shared light level sensor communicating via a different API.
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Jon Kimberlain • Valerie Hayez • Jie Feng
Structural silicone sealant is commonly used in glass fin applications, both as a weatherseal and as for structural attachment. A common concern for sealants in construction applications can be the potential for 3-sided attachment which can limit the freedom of movement in a joint. Potential design geometries were analyzed via finite element analysis to illustrate how limiting movement can be beneficial for structural elements.
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Becher Neme • Thomas Johnson
A case study in developing a custom-designed copper panel rain-screen system for an award-winning and widely published façade project:
Ledger City Center – Bentonville, Arkansas
Summary of the paper description:
The project in this case study is a 6-story bikeable office building in Bentonville, Arkansas. It is designed by Michel Rojkind, Callaghan Horiuchi, and Marlon Blackwell Architects. It opened in Spring 2023.
The project envelope consists of alternating ribbons of glazing and copper panels that follow floor slabs and ramps up and down the building. The copper panels, the focus of this paper, clad an area of 50,000 sq ft with over 5,300 individual panels, consisting of 600 uniquely-shaped panel types.
The copper panels were unusually wide, so joints align with the curtain wall 5 ft module. These panels had a 3D shape that required developing a custom flat seam interlock system and attachment. The design of the façade resulted in many unique parts that needed to be tracked through fabrication and installation.
What was done: The paper will explore how the geometry of the panels was resolved to allow fabrication and installation. And how the system was engineered to resolve the unusually wide copper panels and minimize oil canning.
How it was done: Multiple tabletop mock-ups were developed to study the different panel types and their assembly. This physical testing led to the development of unique shapes that can interlock together while staying true to the design intent.
Engineering of a custom clip system was required to attach the panels to the building structure.
In terms of digital fabrication, despite the high number of unique parts to accommodate myriad panel typologies, one single Revit family was developed to generate 98% of the total panels used on the project. The Revit family also provided all the information and panel detailing needed for fabrication, quantities, sequencing, etc.
Results: A single panel had to be split into multiple components to enable fabrication and reassembly without compromising the overall geometry of the façade and the project's design intent.
Despite the high number of unique panels and a large number of parts, the panel system was fabricated and installed with no need for field measurements and almost no field modification.
Who would be interested: Architects, General Contractors, Installers, fabricators, Parametric design experts.
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