BioZero—Designing Nature-Inspired Net-Zero Building

Ljubomir Jankovic,Silvio Carta

doi:10.3390/su13147658

Abstract

This article introduces BioZero, a nature-inspired near-zero building proposed for Quay St, Brooklyn, New York. The building is designed for the maximum use of daylight and natural ventilation. This is the result of its shallow plan depth and the inner light wells/ventilation stacks, which also serve the inner circulation space. The light wells/ventilation stacks are created as a result of the organic shape of the internal partitions. The building is constructed from a steel frame and hemp-lime bio-composite material (hempcrete), which smooths out the fluctuations of internal air temperature and relative humidity. The south facing façade is fitted with the Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) photovoltaic array that covers 90% of the opaque surface area of the façade. The design was based on nature-inspired computation, with sustainability principles as guiding constraints. The main findings are that the building achieves −227 tonnes of negative embodied carbon due to sequestration of CO2 in the hemp plant from which the material was harvested, and a net-zero operation. The main conclusions are that in the context of climate emergency, nature inspired design leads to energy efficient buildings with a high level of thermal comfort, which are buildable and sustainable.

Highlights

BioZero, a nature-inspired net-zero building proposed for Quay St, Brooklyn, NY 11222, USA, is designed for the maximum use of daylight and natural ventilation
The grey façade represents the Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) photovoltaic array that covers 90% of the opaque surface area of the façade
The organic shapes in the core of the floor plate (Figure 7h) create passive ventilation stacks/light wells that can be seen above the roof level in Figure 8, and extend all the way to the ground floor, providing natural ventilation and natural daylight

Summary

Introduction

BioZero, a nature-inspired net-zero building proposed for Quay St, Brooklyn, NY 11222, USA, is designed for the maximum use of daylight and natural ventilation. This is the result of its shallow plan depth and the inner light wells/ventilation stacks, which serve the inner circulation space. The light wells/ventilation stacks are created as a result of the organic shape of the internal partitions. The building is constructed from a steel frame and 300 mm hemp-lime bio-composite (hempcrete) in the external envelope, which smooths out the fluctuations of internal air temperature and relative humidity, and achieving. The inspiration for BioZero design came together as result of the project team entering the 2020 ASHRAE LowDown Showdown Modelling Competition. This article introduces details of methods and the design process that resulted in the team’s competition entry

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion