Building (SIEEB)

R. S. Adhikari, N. Aste* U. Beneventano, F. Butera, P. Caputo, S. Ferrari and P. Oliaro
Dept. Building & Environment Science & Technology (BEST)

Politecnico di Milano, Via Bonardi 3, 20133 Milan, ITALY

Dipartimento di Energetica, Politecnico di Milano
Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milan, ITALY

1. Introduction

The energy structure of China is coal-based, with coal consumption amounting to 60% of total energy consumption (Chang et al.,2003), thus resulting in emission of large quantities of pollutants and greenhouse gases (GHGs). Building industry is one of the key energy­consuming industries in China, and it is strategically important to introduce advanced environmental and energy technologies into this field and to promote the construction of green energy-saving building.

China is experiencing an extraordinary expansion of its building stock. From year 1991 to 2000 residential buildings were built for nearly 5 billion square meters. In only four years (1996-1999) energy consumption of the building sector jumped from 24.59% to 27.81% of the total energy consumption. It is expected that the building stock, residential and commercial, will double by year 2015 (Chen, 2004).

The Sino-Italy Environment & Energy Building (SIEEB) is an intelligent, ecological and energy-efficient building: a model for a new generation of sustainable buildings. It is a 20.000 m2 building, 40 m high, located in the campus of Tsinghua University in Beijing, and it will host a Sino-Italy education, training and research centre for environment protection and energy conservation. The SIEEB, mainly financed by Italian Ministry for the Environment and Territory, in the framework of the Sino Italian Cooperation Program for Environmental Protection and co-financed by Tsinghua University, is also regarded as a platform to develop the bilateral long-term cooperation in the environment and energy fields, and a model case for showing the CO2 emission reduction potential in the building sector in China.

The building design is being carried out by the Department of Building and Environment Science and Technology (BEST) of the Politecnico di Milano, in cooperation with Tsinghua University, MCA Mario Cucinella Architects and China Architecture Design & Research Group, in a collaborative experience among consultants, researchers and architects. This integrated design process is a most distinctive part of the project and a key issue for green buildings.

In the preliminary design process, a number of appropriate shapes were considered and a feasibility analysis was carried out to check how the building was able to cope with all the requirements in terms of available area, specific building volume and space distribution. The resulting shapes were then analyzed in terms of their solar performance. Using the shape analysis, best shape was developed with the aim of maximizing solar gains in winter and minimizing them in summer. Further, the designing of SIEEB building is carried out on
the basis of various advanced technological solutions and control strategies which include sun shading, radiant heating and cooling, displacement ventilation, efficient artificial and natural lighting etc.

This paper presents the results on the energy performance of the SIEEB building design based on the best shape and advanced technological solutions and control strategies.