2020 METAL ARCHITECTURE DESIGN AWARDS: GRAND AWARD WINNER
Project: Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design, Georgia Tech
Architect: Miller Hull Partnership in Collaboration with Lord Aeck Sargent
In case you are wondering what makes this building so unique and why the Kendeda Building can be such an inspiration for those wishing to combine beautiful architecture—which you can see in the photograph—and sustainable design, here it is:
The roof’s photovoltaic panels produce 120% of the energy the building requires. The 330 kW solar array is made up of 917 panels covering 16,109 square feet, and will generate 455,000 kWh annually. The projected energy use intensity (EUI) for the building is 30 kBTU/SF/YR which is 72% more efficient than the average building of the same size and occupancy. Designed to generate 42 EUI, the solar array will offset the buildings EUI, generating a netpositive energy facility.
The roof canopy also has gutters that collect all of the rainwater that falls on the photovoltaic panels and brings it back to a 50,000-gallon cistern in the basement, where it provides all of the water the building needs.
In addition to the solar array, the project incorporates salvaged materials. It also includes on-site energy storage and composting toilets and urban agriculture. The building will use the campus chilled water loop as its heat source in the winter via a heat recovery chiller, and will have radiant flooring to distribute the heating and cooling efficiently. Additionally, air curtains at the doorways act as a barrier to outside air coming in.
To see more photographs of this project, follow this link.