The new Academy of Sciences has long been touting it's LEED Platinum design; a recent piece in the Architect's Newspaper proves Kermit's immortal axiom: it ain't easy being green. As green elements are added to a project, the potential for conflict between building systems increases. Yesterday, we told you about Thom Mayne's beef with LEED and the questionable certification of the environmentally-friendly, intelligently-designed Federal Building; so then how difficult is it going to be to get a platinum rating in a temperature-regulated museum containing a tropical rain forest? Well, despite the over 20,000 tons of recycled material, 60,000 photovoltaic cells, and 2.5 acres of green roof— Very.
In order to keep the space from overheating, (Engineering firm ARUP) developed an electronic lighting and ventilation system that will control mechanical blinds and lower the tree-related lights during the day and blast them with light when occupants leave at night. The system will then automatically “flush the hot air out” in the morning before visitors arrive.Ok, so basically, the building breathes. Impressive, no?
· The Unintended Consequences of Building Green [Architect's Newspaper] [Image courtesy Wired]