Next-Generation Curtain Walls With Vacuum Insulation Panels -Sustainability And Design Freedom

摘要

The energy performance of buildings is a key challenge in the context of urbanization and densification of cities. Buildings account for approximately 40 per cent of carbon emissions globally and energy regulations will become stricter in an effort to create more sustainable cities. Future energy regulations will pose a real challenge in terms of building envelope energy performance. Pressure to reduce the energy transmission of curtain walling has brought about a range of technological developments such as glass coatings, thermal breaks and active facades but strict regulations are more than ever being felt in the form of restriction of design freedom. The paper introduces innovative high performance solutions for energy efficient curtain walling. The paper explores the relationship between design and performance. The aim is to gauge the limits of current curtain walling technology and discuss the value of performance enhancements for slim envelopes. The focus is on architectural expression and the freedom to develop geometrically expressive curtain walling for high performance buildings. Slim high performance solutions potentially translate into greater exploitation of building footprint, which is commercially advantageous but also a highly sustainable design element in a dense urban context. The paper provides a critical review, describing the technology as well as the approach to the thermal modeling of the systems. The results are discussed in the context of the commercial building sector in Hong Kong and Greater China with a commentary on applicability for different climate zones.