Interviewer: New House
(The flagship magazine of JTart Publishing & Media Group)
1.
New
House: What's the design idea of Orona Ideo’s building form? In term of eco and energy saving, what are its (the
form's) advantages or disadvantages?
Xabier Barrutieta: The Zero building is the flagship building of the
Orona Ideo – innovation city, a campus developed by the Orona lift
manufacturing company composed by various buildings that merge business,
research and university. The Zero building houses the corporate headquarters of
the company and its form is inspired by the circle, a constant shape in the
company’s brand image. The design of the building seeks to evoque elegance, dynamism
and elevation through an abstract formal gesture: a hollow cylinder of 90m in
diameter, 16m in height and a 15º incline. It dynamically rises from the ground
to create a 1,500m2 overhang at the entrance from the city and sinks on the
opposite side, allowing passage through and generating a roof-façade for
capturing solar energy. This inclination, combined with a good south facing orientation
of the building plan, provides the roof a very interesting situation for solar
energy collection by means of integrated flat polycrystalline solar panels, and
also presents a friendly and eye-catching façade towards the square.
The circular form of the building plan also helps
minimize the façade area and enhance the building compactness, as the circle is
the shape that embraces the maximum area with the minimum envelope. The inner
courtyard produces a hollow space within the building and generates a circular
south facing façade where the distribution corridor is located. This area acts
as a greenhouse gallery that warms up and permits the passive heating of the
building’s most lively area and the higher floors.
The building form has also a part that is sunk in the
terrain. Here are located the spaces that need more stable climatic conditions
and need no natural light, as the computer rooms, the showroom and the auditorium
among others.
2.
New House: What's the
material(s) of the 2,000 triangular pixels on the curved facade? Besides
creating rich and attractive facade effect, how do they act in saving energy?
Xabier Barrutieta: The first proposed concept
design was a “flying disc of stainless steel taking off from the ground”. The
façade had some openings that reacted to the environment in a way that would
make it fit more sensitively in its place. The design research on the building
cladding evolved to the idea of rejecting the steel covering. The reason was
that the texture of the material would get lost in the scale of the building,
and instead of the brushed steel texture only one bit of information would be
observed form far away. Some other solutions as introducing metal textiles into
the glass lamination process were tried, but finally we opted for a more
versatile solution by inserting a printed PET plastic into the laminated glass.
At this point, the idea of dissociating the material and its scale was tackled,
and the virtualization of the material opened very interesting ways for the design
evolution.
The pixelated façade that
follows the geometry of the inclined cylinder is made out of a skin of more
than 2,000 triangular pixels composed by three different solutions: opaque,
translucent and transparent pixels. They are positioned using a parametric
design that takes into account each one’s orientation, the incident to solar
radiation, the access to external views and the privacy of the rooms.
With the aid of the
superposition of these variations on the unfolded façade drawing, and taking
into account the overall transmittance and a reference threshold for heat loss,
the solutions for the outer and inner façades are designed, each with a
different ratio of openings and opaque areas. This strategy permits tailoring
each part of the façade by making it more transparent or more opaque, and fine
tuning the building bioclimatic performance by means a simple pixel-game.
Besides, the aesthetic outcome of this approach is also very positive, because
use of the pixels blur the scale reference of the building and it becomes more
sculptural, dynamic and abstract.
The roof can also be
considered part of the façade, as its inclined surface is the dominant view
from the southern part. More than 1,000 polycrystalline photovoltaic modules
are integrated on the inclined rooftop of the Orona Zero building that will
have an annual electricity output similar to the electricity consumption of 100
average flats. The downer part of the cylinder that creates the ceiling at the
entrance overhang was clad in mirrored aluminum. This design amplified this
horizontal space and brings more light in this area that is oriented north and
is dominated by the shadow.
3.
New House: Would you please talk in details about the eco
technologies/skills used in the building to save energy?
Xabier Barrutieta: The architectural design
is particularly sensitive to bioclimatic issues and this approach has shaped
most of the architectural solutions. Bioclimatic thinking means taking into
account the assets of the place from the early stages of the design to minimize
the energy demand and to naturally introduce passive energy measures.
One first interesting
aspect comes from the urban design scale, and more specifically the Urban Cell
concept, upon which I currently develop my PhD. The study of Urban Cells
focuses on a specific urban scale between the building architecture and the
neighbourhood. This realm embraces the building and its close urban
surrounding, which together open interesting paths of the design and
implementation of sustainable urban design solutions. The reality of many new
urban fragments of our cities in southern Europe
highlights, when compared to vernacular urban fabrics, the increasing
deterioration of public space and the loss of urban life. Poor urban design has
led to the extreme weakness of a number of essential factors; among which
include the diversity of urban morphology, the structure of the public-private
membrane and the permeability of the pedestrian network. I can tell this is
specially dramatic in some Spanish cities.
The focus on this
intermediate scale allows the integrated study of the building and its urban
areas jointly addressing some specific aspects of sustainable urbanism: the
effective mix of uses, the centralized energy management, creating dense and
healthy urban developments, the design of open spaces, the use of road space
and parking, optimization of centralized facilities, etc. I think that a new
generation of projects based on this scale approach should be promoted to
enable integrated designs both for new environmentally friendly developments as
well as for urban regeneration programs.
Orona Ideo is a project
where I could implement many of these ideas on Urban Cell design. If we take a
look at the Zero building, we see that is mainly devoted to office spaces that
have large internal energy loads. Due to its occupant density and the use of
the electronic equipment that dissipates heat these areas tend to overheat,
while, at the same time, they require diffuse light and need to avoid glare.
The ground plan on the Zero building places the workplace near the outer façade
which is mainly north facing, whereas the south-facing ring-shaped gallery
distributes the flow of people and overlooks the building’s central void. This
is a space of a more social nature where sun capture is welcome and does not
interfere with the work space. The service ring with stairs, lifts, toilets,
utility shafts, etc. acts as a buffer between the two areas and structures the
depth of the bay, creating different spatial situations due to the building’s
inclined geometry. In the rest of the buildings we also introduced some other
passive strategies to minimize the use of artificial lighting by introducing
natural light as deep as possible into the building, making translucent
perforated skins and carefully orienting the spaces according to their use
during the day.
In Orona Ideo the Zero
Carbon Emissions philosophy has been applied. This approach has led to build a
Net Zero Energy Campus, where four buildings are connected to a centralized
system. There is a common District Heating-Cooling system powered on 100%
renewable energy sources: geothermal, thermal solar and biomass, where cold is
produced by means of an absorption machine. The NZEB concept rests on three basic
pillars: Low demand building design, 100% renewable energy consumption and the
local generation of the consumed energy. Orona Ideo is compliant with these
goals and therefore is an interesting benchmark for the standard that is
intended to be implemented throughout whole Europe
by 2020. Orona Ideo is a step forward in the path this goal and a Living Lab
where these future technologies are being tested.
4.
New House: What's the consideration(s) in selecting
building materials for this "green" building?
Xabier Barrutieta: The materials are a big
issue when we are designing a “green” building. There are many technical aspects
you can consider: the life-cycle analysis, the embodied energy, the percentage
of recycled material, the volatile components, durability, recyclability… but
there also other reasons for choosing a suitable material: the market
availability, implementation knowledge, skilled local companies, versatility in
construction details, delivery time, price… Ecolabeling of materials and
certificated products may also help to make a decision on green materials. There
is also one important aspect that needs to be pursued from the design point of
view: the balance in the materials pallete. The Orona Ideo project is an
ensemble of buildings that they all needed to compose one single and synergetic
project through design diversity; it is the same idea as when we observe the
main square of a historical city, where different pieces compose a harmonious ensemble.
Big projects tend to multiply design solutions and thus also the number of
materials used, but this may act against an overall good design. The challenge has
been to coordinate the multiple detail solutions to find the most suitable
materials while keeping them as few as possible and as sustainable as possible.
In conclusion, the decision-making in this realm is complex and there is no
perfect solution for the “green buildings” by definition.
5.
New House：What's the design goal(s) you set at the very
beginning of the project on energy saving? And what kind of eco effect it
achieved upon completion?
Xabier Barrutieta: In the
begging of the project we set up a thorough research to spot the most advanced
experiences on energy efficiency and management of the nearby countries. As
reference for Orona Ideo we set that all buildings had to be A rated and
certified Leed Gold and Breeam Excellent.We visited dozens of buildings in
order to identify the most interesting systems that were in use for similar requirements
in similar climatic conditions. From this study we concluded that the goal of
being fully carbon neutral could be achievable, but needed a very coherent and
integrated design approach in all phases. Therefore, the architectural design
of the buildings and its passive energy concepts must inevitable come together
with the energy mix planned in order to be as effective as possible.
Regarding
the eco-effect after completion, I would like to underline the importance of
bringing to the front line the comfort criteria. The sustainability approach is
much more complex to manage that achieving good energy efficiency, and
therefore need to face early in the design the aspects connected with the health
and wellbeing of the occupants and the building management during its lifetime among
others. This may change the general mindset we have been working on the last
years, and opens the debate of need to evaluate not only the measurable quantitative
aspects, but also the quality of our architectural designs.
6.
New House: Orona IDeO building has
achieved LEED Gold and Breeam Excelent certifications and has been
selected by the World Green Building Council as benchmark for Health, Wellbeing
& Productivity in Offices. Would you like to share with the fellow architects about your
successful design experience on this project?
Xabier Barrutieta: Orona
IDeO – innovation city is the first project in Spain Spain
The fact
that Orona Ideo was benchmarked in the Health, Wellbeing & Productivity in
Offices report of the World Green Building Council was a great news, because it
praised many quality aspects of the design perceived by the occupants beyond
the rational efficiency of the building, and that is very valuable from my
point of view. The natural light, the views, the acoustic comfort, the
connection with nature and vegetation… are some of the concerning aspects. The
interior of the building also recreates different working environments, from
desks and closed meeting rooms, to a series of lounge spaces suitable for
informal meetings and personal work. These designs have the ability to imprint
a special character to the working spaces of the building and also seek to transform
the brand culture of the company taking up new ways of working and
communicating among employees.
7.
New House: What's
your opinion on the development trend of Green Buildings?
Xabier Barrutieta: The
awareness on what we call “Green Buildings” is steadily increasing all around
the world. We know that we are depleting the limited resources of our planet to
build our cities and buildings. Nowadays there are a huge amount of projects
and initiatives that claim being green, but there is more vague marketing than
desired behind, and there are only a few cases that can proof their experience with
real data. These serious experiences can be really valuable to confirm the
accuracy of the simulations made in the design phase. But we should not forget
that in reality, the energy resource consumption depends on a specific demand
that sustains a “comfort model” that is probably wrong, but is something that is
rooted in the habits and culture. The way a building is operated and how its
comfort requirements are rationalized are key factors to reduce the building
impact on the planet by minimizing its resource consumption during its
lifetime.
Interesting
things are happening in the realm of cities and urban design, and more
specifically in developing integrated projects of medium size at Urban Cell
scale. This is could be a good way of facing the design of the so called smart
cities. It were as composing a big city through many small size self-sustained
villages. This approach may permit to create building ensembles that will
autonomous and self-regulated, where renewable energy resources, for example,
are locally managed and optimized. This Urban Cells could also be responsible
for their energy balance and storage, the traffic and parking, the vegetation
and urban spaces, and could partially generate their nurturing needs. But this
vision is not only a matter of design and technology, but also of regulations
and policies that will help manage these kind of integrated projects.
I think
that the building technology is developing fast and that in a few years we will
see very efficient buildings out there. The challenge will be to make them
affordable to the wide public, so that it will be possible to transform the
existing buildings at a big scale and in this way lower their impact their on
the environment. But this will only be possible if we always keep a good
architectural quality, both in terms of aesthetic design and design strategy. Creating
boring superefficient boxes is not enough, because people don’t want to live or
work in them.
Biography:
Xabier Barrutieta (1978) is an Architect graduated with honors at the Architecture High School the Basque Country, and also studied in the University of Stuttgart (Germany ) and the University of Mendrisio (Switzerland
He established his own practice in 2003 and since then he has collaborated with several international firms in the fields of urban and landscape design, architecture and ecotechnologies; Arup and Foster+Partners among others.
His work was selected for the Very Young Spanish Architects exhibit and has been awarded several prizes such as Europan10. Despite of his young age, he has been in charge of the design direction and team management of the project Orona Ideo in San Sebastian
His fields are NZEB & green building design, integrated sustainability solutions and urban transformation projects where applied innovation and best design are key to create forward thinking spaces.
